“TOO” much “FA”rhaa”N”: My quick take on Farhan Akhter’s “Toofan”
There was a nice song in Chalti ka Naam Gadi, which was sung by Great Kishor da which had a line “जाते थे जापान, पहुँच गए चीन,……. समझ गए ना… याने याने प्यार हो गया…… the japan Pahunch Gaye Chin….Samajh Gaye na …. Yane Yane Pyar ho Gaya…..”. These lines can be used to summarize Farhan Akhter’s Toofan as “ करने गए स्पोर्ट्स फ़िल्म, कर बैठे एक मसाला बॉलीवुड फ़िल्म…. समझ गए ना …. याने याने तूफ़ान हो गया….,Karne Gaye Sports film, kar baithe masala Bollywood film….. samajh Gaye na …… Yane yane Toofan ho Gaya…”
It is very difficult to categorize this movie as it is neither pure biographical, nor a complete sports-based movie, nor an out and out social drama, nor a love story rather it is a concoction of all. Like the dreaded cyclones and typhoons which generally loose its devastating velocity moment it touches the land, this story of a Dongri based gully boy who has change of heart and wants to become a Boxer to have an “izzatwali life” suddenly loses its momentum as it metamorphoses into a love story from what could have been a hard-hitting story about a pugilist.
Rakesh Om Prakash has given some classic movies like Delhi 6, Rang de Basanti & Bhaag milkha Bhhaag in past, however, he also gave a forgettable movie “Mirzaya”, maybe he has not yet recovered completely from the Mirzaya effect hence this Toofan. Like a hydra’s tentacles the story keeps growing in any direction from a Tapori Bhai who is a wasooli king working for his mentor in Dongri, accidentally bumps into a doctor who refuses to treat him because he is gully ka goonda then Potta Potti Ku pata leta, aur Potti Potte Ku sudhar deti, Potta boxer ban jata aur story mein twist Potti ka khusat baap is the Boxing coach and aur Ek twist Potta Ali hai aur Potti Parbhu (ekdum MKD formula), then Rona dhona, Milna bichadna aur dhona (this time in the boxing ring), then some match-fixing scandal, then Elphinstone railway bridge episode aur Potti off ………. Uff this is just the half of the story
Ultimately “such” ki jeet hoti hai and they live happily ever after. If you find this story outline interesting then you can watch Toofan on Amazon Prime, else you can watch equally bad Toofan of Amitabh Bachchan which was released in 1989 directed by MKDs son Ketan Desai.
If Oscars has a category on body shaping or body sculpting, then Farhan Akhter would have got the award for beefing up his torso with well-chiseled features. However, some moments make the movie watchable especially when the supporting cast enters the frame, awesome Paresh Rawal is the best amongst the lot, so are Mohan Aghashe and Supriya Pathak. The art director also has done a commendable job in selecting some wonderful locations, and deft camerawork makes each frame a piece of art.
The best thing to happen in the movie was that the director was not ‘tempted’ to make Farhan Akhtar sing (or should I say croak). The music and songs of the movie do not have a trademark of ROMP stamp, (few Tapori numbers in the movie has potential to become chartbuster). The second best thing that happened, is the movie is released on OTT (Amazon) which gives the audience option of opting out or watching it piecemeal.
I don’t know why, I get a feeling that Ranvir Singh could have been a better option than Farhan (maybe I am biased by his Gully boy performance). This is a good example of how one can overdo and kill a good script by adding unwanted elements, which could have delivered a ‘Knockout punch” ended up in hitting the audience ‘below the belt’.
It is unfortunate that Toofan is released alongwith Malik , hence comparison between Farhan and Fahaad and Malayalam Movie makers and Bollywood walas is ought to happen.
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