Himmatwala
Year: 2013
Writer-director: Sajid Khan
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tamanna Bhatia, Mahesh Manjrekar, Paresh Raval

By what token the original Himmatwala became a classic worthy of a remake is beyond me. Yes, in 1983, I must have watched it twice (or was it thrice?) in my post-XII vacation. But it was only as a hormone-raged teenager and strictly to gawk at the ‘Thunder Thighs’ Sridevi, rather than for any affinity for any other on-screen happenings!

But apparently there was one more teenager back then, going by the name of Sajid Khan, who was not just smitten by the sensuous heroine’s hip gyrations; he was totally taken in by that whole Masala-filled spectacle. So much so that he even made a promise to his college friend Ajay Devgn that in future, he (Sajid) would be making a remake of the film and casting him (Ajay) as the hero!

Well, now that promise has been fulfilled. Sajid has roped in Ajay and both of them have delivered the brand new Himmatwala in 2013.

Practically the whole world has erupted in unison against this remake; critics and common viewers alike have expressed suitable amount of disgust for this film. Watching the film against the backdrop of this huge outcry, what were my final impressions?

What’s the plot?

It is a story set in 1983. For years, a powerful feudal lord (Mahesh Manjrekar), his slimy brother-in-law (Paresh Raval) and his goons are ruling over their village through money and muscle-power. A young stranger (Ajay Devgn) walks into the village and starts challenging the unjust system. It emerges that he has a long-lost widowed mother and a marriageable sister living there and his mission is to avenge his father’s forced suicidal death! In due course, he tames the feudal lord’s arrogant daughter (Tamanna Bhatia) and starts tormenting the terrible man and his cronies! But before he accomplishes his mission, there are some mysteries waiting to be unfolded!

What’s hot?

·         Faithful recreation of the eighties formulaic Masala movie! Even though the story is changed considerably, the central theme is untouched.

·         Ajay Devgn and Mahesh Manjrekar try to make the on-screen torture a bit tolerable.

What’s not?

·         By opting out of spoofing the eighties formulae, Sajid Khan loses opportunity to turn this film into a madcap comedy. As it is, the comedy in this film is horrible, below-the-belt and most importantly it is not funny!

·         The dialogues are as tacky as they get!

·         His reverential reproduction of 80s- stuff such as the fight in a cage, a role for a real tiger, the various religious ‘doses’ from time to time, a long-drawn rape-scene and medieval ‘Bharatiya Naari’ dialogues simply doesn’t work!

·         Tamanna Bhatia is a totally misplaced replacement for Sridevi’s role, which really made the original film rake in the moolah! The girl has absolutely no oomph and no acting prowess!

·         From a long list of badly acted (or badly overacted!) roles, Paresh Raval (casted as a comic villain in an obvious Kadar Khan-mould) and Zarina Wahab (as the hero’s widowed mother) should easily win Kela awards for 2013!

Verdict

Himmatwala is as bad as the critics say it is. But I still admire Sajid Khan for one reason; for showing the courage to make the film that appealed to him as a teenager. His observations about the 70s-80s masala-flicks are spot-on. His fascination for this particular genre is genuine and it is second-to-none barring perhaps his sister and his brother-in-law who made Tees Mar Khan!

For all of them, one bit of free advice. It is time to move on guys. You have had your fun and your successes. But now it is time to say goodbye to your 70s-80s Masala Movie formula fixation. What once worked for MK Desai and K. Bhagyaraj in those years isn’t going to work in today’s world anymore!