Master Praz’s take on JOHNNY GADDARR (Hindi, 2007)
The year 2007 has seen its fair share of thrillers released back-to-back, however, none of them have managed to leave much of an impact on me. That is until I saw JOHNNY GADDAAR which not only turns out to be the one of the year’s best films, but quite easily one of the best thrillers made in recent times. This isn’t too surprising given the director at the helm is Sriram Raghavan who made his debut with the near perfect EK HASINA THI.
The movie revolves around a gang of five consisting of Sheshadri (Dharmendra), Prakash (Vinay Patthak), Shardul (Zakir Hussain), Shiva (Daya Shetty) and Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh). Sheshadri gets an offer which allows the gang to make a fortune in four days, and all five of them are keen as this deal will put an end to all their financial woes. Vikram plans to run away with Shardul’s wife Mini (Rimmi Sen) and start his life all over again. Whilst watching the Navin Nischol-Amitabh Bachchan starrer PARWANA (Raghavan makes no qualms about his inspiration for the story idea) on T.V one night Vikram gets the devilish idea of stealing all the money for himself. Vikram decides to double cross all his partners and the bodies start to pile up one by one. So does Vikram get caught? And why is the movie called Johnny Gaddaar? Watch the film to see for yourself.
The story by Pooja Ladha Surti is absolutely fantastic to say the least. Tightly written. This isn’t a whodunit with a “shock twist” or anything like that, as Raghavan describes it, this is a “reverse thriller” where the viewer already knows who the killer is but the other characters in the movie are unaware. Right from the clap-worthy opening credits to the very final sequences the movie is a tightly conceived thriller which entertains from the word GO! The screenplay in the movie is simply outstanding. The movie starts off with a bang, and maintains a sturdy pace right till the very end never letting go for a second. The viewer can never guess which direction the movie is going to turn as the twists and turns ensure that the movie is never predictable. The suspense is breath-takingly canned and each of the murders raises the momentum further and further.
Sriram Raghavan is a bonafide genius.
Not many directors can follow-up a near perfect debut with another brilliant masterpiece, however, Raghavan does just that, and to give him credit the movie is a complete contrast from his first film despite belonging to the same genre. Raghavan is a student of cinema, and he rightly dedicates this movie to the maestros of the thriller genre – Vijay Anand and James Hadley Chase. It would have been easy for Raghavan to remake a film or rehash its story, however, Raghavan ensures that, despite borrowing the central idea of the narrative from the maestros, the movie is completely original. Such a fan is Raghavan that he sprinkles the movie with delightful references – be it flashes from the Navin-Nischol-Amitabh Bachchan thriller PARWANA to Anand’s JOHNNY MERA NAAM. The central character in the movie is shown constantly reading James Hadley Chase novels-stroke of genius and a true fan of the genre. True fans of the thriller genre will relish this movie and quiet frankly fall in love with it. This is, in my humble opinion a perfect homage and a perfect thriller. Raghavan skillfully reveals layer after layer with perfect timing ensuring that each twist comes across as a genuine surprise. The manner in which he cans each and every one of the murders is spellbinding, and the twist at the end is a work of class. A standing ovation for Sriram Raghavan…again!
The year 2007 was tremendously hyped for the debut of Rishi Kapoor’s son – Ranbir Kapoor, who made a terrific debut in SAWARIYA, however, I bet he wasn’t expecting the grandson of Mukesh to make his debut as an actor with a BANG! Folks, Neil Nitin Mukesh makes one of the best debuts in recent memory! The boy is natural to the core and delivers an amazing performance. It’s hard to believe this is his first film. He possesses a striking and charismatic screen presence, has confident delivery and exudes confidence in every frame. The kid was born to act and he surprises with an unconventional debut which will surely find him a prominent place in Bollywood if he chooses his roles carefully. WELCOME TO BOLLYWOOD NEIL NITIN MUKESH!
Dharmendra who has been on a roll of late with emotional performances in METRO and APNE and delivers another winning performance, this time as a hardened ex-smuggled and don. He plays the experienced gangster with style, élan and panache and leaves a lasting impression. His death sequence is simply terrific and one can say with confidence, that Dharmendra has delivered a hat trick! On a personal front, this is the kind of rough n tough “manly man” role I’ve been aching to see Paaji play, and he delivers some classic lines like “It’s not the age…it’s the mileage”!
Rimmi Sen springs a surprise here and performs her part with complete understanding. In my view this is her finest performance to date.
Vinay Patthak is fantastic yet again. The actor is a true chameleon who continues to impress with every film. Zakir Hussain is a knock-out and this is yet another fantastic performance from the actor. Daya Shetty is good in his small part. Govind Namdeo is tremendous as the cop and it’s after a long time one gets to see this talented actor in a worthy role. Ashwini Kalsekar is exceptional and leaves a lasting impression, this actress will go far.
Musically this is Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s most original and exciting score to date, however Raghavan has been smart enough to only use the songs in the background for a few minutes and even then the songs move the story forward. The title track remains one of the year’s best songs which perfectly captures the soul of the movie.
Technically the movie is excellent. C.K Muraleedharan’s cinematography is spell-binding and he captures the ambience and nature of the film to utmost perfection. The title credits are a work of class. The editing by Pooja Ladha Surti is flawless.
All up JOHNNY GADDAAR is easily the best thriller I’ve witnessed in recent years and quite easily one of the best films of the year. It has already become one of my personal favorites of all time and one I will re-visit quite often in coming years. Thank you Mr. Raghavan, and folks….don’t miss this!
Master Praz
June 1, 2009 at 2:27 AM
Best thriller i have ever seen after Jewel thief, infact this iskind of cinema i always dreamt of. good piece of work Praz.
Lalit
June 1, 2009 at 9:49 AM
Good piece here.. a related post:
http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/the-title-credits-of-johnny-gaddar-and-a-note-on-the-film/
June 1, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Good review Master Praz. This is my favourite 2007 film and I like it even more than EHT. There is so much to like here but it’s the detailing that leaves me gobsmacked! Neil was very decent for a newcomer and Rimmi gave her best perf but Zakir was the standout performer.
Here’s a superb review of the film:
http://www.indianauteur.com/jhony_ghaddar.php
June 2, 2009 at 11:22 AM
I too preferred this to Ek Hasina Thi, thanks for this review — loved the whole deal with Dharam’s wife and the “Mora gora angh lai le” song from Bandini: in evoking the image of an “old world” thief out of sync with more ruthless times today, Raghavan also evokes the bygone era in Bollywood, be it by way of the references to Bandini, Jonny Mera Naam, or Parwana. Neil Mukesh’s character might be inspired by the Dev film to take Jonny as his name for purposes of his plan, but his generation has turned “ghaddar”, slaying the father to grab what’s his. Standard Freudian drama, except that this is about cinema (not an Oedipal contest over the mother), and hence the woman singing the song from Bandini is long since dead, the era she hearkens to, long past. Leaving the living fighting over scraps.
June 2, 2009 at 11:46 AM
That’s a great comment and approaches JG at an angle I hadn’t previously considered.
June 2, 2009 at 12:18 PM
I second what GF says here..