Cast: KanganaRanaut, Vir Das, Piyush Mishra, Kumud
Mishra
Direction: Sai Kabir
Rating: ***
Sai Kabir’s ‘Revolver Rani’
reeks of confused storytelling. At the onset it feels like a
comedy but as the plot thickens, you realize that this is a dark film. The
characters have cruel intentions and the protagonist is a mere pawn.
Alka
Singh’s (Kangana Ranaut) political ambitions and her rivalry with the opposition
seem to form the crux of the narrative in the first half. There are moments of
genuine humour as Alka takes on her enemies, guns blazing, perched atop a
Pajero. There is equal measure of fun to be had when her opponents
futilely plan on taking her out.
Kangana’s role demands her to essay
contrasting emotions and she competently delivers with considerable ease. Her
only weakness is her conniving boyfriend Rohan Mehra (Vir Das) who aspires to
become a Bollywood actor and is hoping that Alka will finance his vain
ambitions.
Vir Das seems to struggle with his character. It is completely
evident that he has no clarity about how he should have approached this role. In
his coke-snorting avatar, he does come across as loathsome by the end of the
film but he misses many a step during the plot progression.
Sai Kabir’s
characters are layered and interesting, in fact, the supporting characters are
viciously opportunistic. The problem is as we begin to peel the layers, the
narrative begins to lose coherence. Post-interval as the film tries to deal with
the neatly introduced twist in the tale, the audience is left tograpple with the
sudden developments.
Rohan Mehra (Vir Das) and Bali (Piyush Mishra) are
complex characters and a nuanced execution would have made them a pleasure to
watch. The impact is however,diluted by an amateurish approach.
It’s obvious that Sai Kabir is completely
influenced by the Anurag Kashyap and Tigmanshu Dhulia school of filmmaking. What
he lacks is the finesse and clarity with which they present their craft. The
premise is unique, there is spontaneous humour but the pace and the treatment is
labored. The music shows initial promise but it lacks the tempo of an Amit
Trivedi score.
Expectations from a Kangana Ranaut film, post ‘Queen’
are immense. Kangana does not disappoint and that’s why it is a pity that she is
let down by a story that on paper must have held a lot of promise.
