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Release date:
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October 14, 2016
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Director:
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Sanjeev Sharma
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Cast:
Language:
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Manoj Bajpayee,
Aditi Sharma, Kay Kay Menon, Vijay Raaz, Aparshakti Khurana, Nitin Bhasin,
Jatin Sarna, Vipul Vig, Annu Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Lushin Dubey
Hindi
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There is a moment in the short film Taandav that went viral on Youtube early this year, in which a
policeman watches a video of himself doing a frenzied dance in full uniform on
a Mumbai road. His face melts into a confused mix of amusement and
embarrassment. Manoj Bajpayee is nowhere to be seen in that middle-class,
middle-aged Maharashtrian cop.
In Aligarh, which was released three weeks later, when a reporter asks
Professor Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras of Aligarh Muslim University about his male lover, the old man looks away shyly, withdrawing further into his slouching figure. Manoj Bajpayee is nowhere
to be seen in that gray-haired academic in an ill-fitting suit.
And now, on a moonlit night in
the darkened corridor of an Old Delhi haveli, a shalwar-clad Pappi stands with
his foot on a balcony railing as he peers into the courtyard below. He is an
intruder in a wealthy home, his thin body alert yet comically poised for
flight, and in one brief shot he conveys everything that his character is: all
bluff and bluster and limited guts. Manoj Bajpayee is nowhere to be seen in
this foul-mouthed small-time crook either.
Bajpayee’s defining quality as an
actor – the ability to lose himself in the people he plays – is a highlight of the
week’s Bollywood release, Saat Uchakkey. Like
Pappi, director Sanjeev Sharma’s film too is cracked, colourful, crude, intentionally
loud and insanely over the top. Everyone in the story is slightly if not
completely nuts, the actors are so unaffected that they come across as
non-actors drawn from these streets by casting director Vicky Sidavv, and the
filmmaker seems to be having a blast as he takes us through chaotic and crowded
Purani Dilli.
Saat
Uchakkey revolves
around the amoral Pappi’s keenness to get rich quick and marry his girlfriend
Sona (Aditi Sharma). He is not alone in his desire to cut corners in life. His
partners in crime are keysmith Haggu (Nitin Bhasin), metalsmith Khappe
(Aparshakti Khurana), knick-knacks seller Babbe (Jatin Sarna), a gambler called
Ajji (Vipul Vig) and the multi-talented petty criminal Jaggi (Vijay Raaz). They
are the seven rogues of the title.
In the first half, Sandeep Saket’s
screenplay draws neat, well-defined sketches of each of the seven in addition
to their bête noir, the local policeman Tejpal (Kay Kay Menon) who is smitten
by Sona. When this disparate group comes together, they are hilarious and hold
out a promise of brilliance. When John Jacob Payyapalli’s camera snakes its way
through the bylanes of the old city, it entices us into their world. The
opening scenes in a mental institution, the presence in the story of the
hypnotist/fraud/mad man Bichchi (Annu Kapoor), the art design and the
beautifully shot scenes in a dungeon in the second half give the film an
interesting mystical-mythical air.
It takes more than a great
concept though to make a great film, and at some point Saat Uchakkey loses itself in self-indulgence. The abuses that flow
off the vile tongues of these bizarre people, for instance, are initially
believable. As time moves on though, too many ugly words feel like they have
been forced into the dialogues for effect – as it happens, to jarring effect.
Nothing illustrates this better
than Pappi’s use of kutiya (bitch) as
a term of endearment for Sona and her unblinking response. Yes, the street
lingo of India’s capital is often steeped in profanity, but it becomes easy to
tell when abuse comes naturally to a character in this film and when the
writing is saying, “Hey, see how clever I am. Be impressed with my use of
invective. I’m so smart and outrageous, no?”
The spoken lines (credited to
director Sharma) are a metaphor for Saat
Uchakkey as a whole: energetic, side-splittingly comedic and convincing at
first, revved up and raring to go, but failing to lift off in its entirety. I confess I spent a considerable part of this film
giggling to myself and enjoying the performances of the wonderful lead cast, but I also left the theatre with a feeling of
incompleteness.
Saat
Uchakkey clearly aspires
to rise above absurdity for absurdity’s sake, but the writing is not strong
enough to pull off the depth it is aiming at (as is evident from that scene in
which a divine being appears to the seven central characters). God is as crazy
as us humans and/or possibly a figment of our imagination; s/he is what we want
her/him to be and/or is playing games with us, we are told. Point taken. Now
take it further, please. This is
a film that could have been a lot more than it ends up being – it obviously wants to be more.
To be fair, Saat Uchakkey stands out for its excellent casting, excellent
acting and – when it is not self-conscious – excellent humour. Now if only that
had been enough...
Rating
(out of five): **1/2
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CBFC Rating (India):
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A
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Running time:
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139 minutes
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A
version of this review has also been published on Firstpost:
Poster
courtesy: Culture Creations
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