We’ve even had a massive scale blockbuster-material epic, Baahubali, which not only boasted of stunning visuals but also focussed on well-rounded characters and fantastical storytelling.
However, last year we didn’t quite get any film with a screenplay and narrative like Detective Byomkesh Bakshyi (2015) and Telugu film 1:Nenokkadine (2014), and there’s a very slim chance that we’ll get one in the next few years . Although flawed, these were two films that could have turned the tide for Indian Cinema in the global market, if they would have gotten more recognition and credit.
They both were financial disasters, and had clashed with other mammoths at the box office.
In my opinion, these two films are the most underrated and overlooked mainstream films of the last two decades.
‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshyi’ was *predictably* doomed even before its release. Yash Raj Films seemed to have given up on it and decided to release it a day after Hollywood blockbuster ‘Furious 7,’ which made over 100 crores in India alone as opposed to Byomkesh’s 36-crore-lifetime box office figure.
The film, though, is the perfect definition of ‘slow poison’. The first half is a bumpy ride as it feels stretched out, simply revving up for its interval bang. Though there is very little plot covered in its first hour, director Dibakar Banerjee gets enough time to develop his characters so that the audience is invested in them when the stakes are raised towards an exciting finale.
In my opinion, Sushant Singh Rajput performs here even better than he did in last year’s MS Dhoni. He’s perfect as this brilliant but flawed character. Neeraj Kabi is also a major highlight and a menacing antagonist.
The sun-drenched old Calcutta setting is marvellous and the immaculate production design is a feast for the eyes. Banerjee gets everything on camera elegantly and in an impeccable style.
The second half is near-magnificent and there isn’t any particular scene I would change. The film is also a U/A hard sell, as it has a few gruesome deaths and gory action.However, the film does look dull in a lot of scenes and would have looked even more beautiful if Banerjee made use of a more distinguished colour palette.The ending is a perfect set up for India’s own retro pulpy detective franchise, but is now sadly a one-off waste, as we’ll probably never get a sequel.
The next film I’m going to talk about is Sukumar’s intelligent Telugu thriller, 1:Nenokkadine, which is arguably the most original revenge story ever to grace Indian cinema halls.
The film’s trailer was launched only a week before the film’s release date, and everyone, including me, was expecting another ‘Dhoom’ type film (coincidently, Dhoom 3 released only a couple of weeks earlier) because of the mis-marketing.
Surprisingly though, the reviews came in saying that it was a slow and excruciatingly boring pseudo attempt. However, I still went to check it out on the opening night, in a hall with only 60% occupancy. 2014 hit, Yevadu starring Ram Charan and Allu Arjun, a silly ‘Face/Off’ rip-off (I know it sounds weird but I couldn’t find a better way to put it) opened the same weekend and clashed with ‘1’. Yevadu also got more glowing response, even though it was a terrible film with no soul, and hence, it emerged as the winner.
‘1: Nenokkadine’ is an ambitious passion project that is structured like a jigsaw puzzle. Much like Arrival and Interstellar, it requires a patient and attentive audience. Once Sukumar starts to wrap up the film, tying loose ends and filling up what looked like plot holes a few moments ago, you realise that he didn’t even waste a minute of the run time as every important detail has been crammed in the film right from the opening credits, right till the stylish final shootout.
The screenplay is complex and genre defining; Sukumar shuffles all the scenes to create an engaging yet emotional rollercoaster that travels to Goa and London.
The film wastes no time to set-up the premise and introduces us to the tactical yet vulnerable rockstar (no really, he’s a rockstar in the film), Gautam, played by the suave superstar, Mahesh Babu, via an electrifying rock song, followed by a chase sequence.We are introduced to Gautam’s mental condition, and taken to a beach in Goa, for the beginning of a psychological revenge thriller.
With ever new sequence, we get more revelations. Kriti Sanon joins in for a two-player game, as Mahesh’s sidekick and love interest, and travels to Europe with him to hunt down one of the three men who killed his parents. A slick motorcycle chase commences on the roads of London, which is executed gracefully with crisp editing and long eye-candy shots.
The background score is haunting every time it plays with the striking visuals presented by Ratnavelu’s indomitable cinematography, showing off the film’s great production value.
There are times when the film feels off-tone because of one or two darkly hilarious pre-interval scenes. There’s also some mediocre stunt choreography and wire work that feels out of place in a hand-to-hand combat sequence in the first half. It also deviates from the main story to allot time for the romantic sub plot, but this still helps in building the lead couple’s story arcs, who otherwise perform brilliantly in the film. A few plot points seem unconvincing at first, but make sense in the final act.
In the end, despite being amazing films and having universal appeal, ‘Byomkesh’ and ‘1’ couldn’t strike a chord with the masses due to their departure from formulaic templates. These were the films that we needed, but not the ones we deserved. One was mis-marketed while the other was hardly even advertised. However, we, as the audience, failed these films. Their failure hurts me because loads of people like myself will henceforth not be able to introduce unique scripts with a sufficient budget in this country.
Although, ‘Byomkesh’ took a few elements from Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, ‘1’ was a completely original film. If it was released in the West with a huge action star like Tom Cruise, a vast majority of Indian movie goers would drool over the film.
‘Byomkesh’ could have also become a smash-hit swashbuckling mystery franchise, but it looks like viewers prefer another pointless instalment in the Dulhania Cinematic Universe (I am not against the new film) or a gravity-defying Dhoom-style caper.
If anyone says Indian Cinema will never reach the heights of Hollywood, just show them these two films. Saying that they’re commendable attempts is a mere understatement.
By Shritan Varma
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