Bollywood Inquiry August 2019: MISSION MANGAL, BATLA HOUSE & SAAHO

Bollywood Inquiry is a monthly column on the biggest new Bollywood movies. Disclaimer: I may not have seen all of the past month’s globally released features.

Mission Mangal (Jagan Shakti)

I remember when Roger Ebert described Akshay Kumar as a cross between Jerry Lewis and Adam Sandler in his review of Chandni Chowk to China, the poorly received action comedy that was a breakthrough in wider distribution for Bollywood, as it was Warner Bros’ first Hindi picture. Though, Ebert confessed to needing to see more of the star’s work before concluding his assessment, he wasn’t far off, considering Kumar was buckling down on similar fare such as Singh is Kinng, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa (he had a thing for needless double letters).

Nowadays, Kumar’s Hollywood counterpart is probably Liam Neeson, a comparison born out of their resignation from versatility to typecasting. The Taken star’s current trajectory is as a middle-aged action hero, his filmography blurred with a number of indistinguishable avenger movies bred from the blockbuster success of his turn as Bryan Mills.

As for Kumar, his recent roles in Gold, Pad Man, Toilet – Ek Prem Katha and now Mission Mangal represent his own repetitive phase – patriotic, made in India, lowest common denominator, clap-your-hands-everybody, cheap sentiment biopics and/or social dramas. He must have been riled up last year when the Indian Supreme Court declared that the national anthem was no longer compulsory for cinemas to play before every screening.

These unchallenging movies fulfill the bare minimum of entertainment by catering to a wide audience by diluting facts for feelings and peppering the narratives with flimsy filmy elements that undermine the effectiveness of the heavy-handed sociopolitical agendas, interspersed with Kumar’s indiscreet attempt to campaign for PM Modi, tainting the craft with pro-BJP propaganda.

I acknowledge that this review of Mission Mangal is beginning to read like an analysis of the actor’s recent cinematic choices but this is the context in which the film’s existence is best understood. Lets not it get twisted either – Akki, as he’s affectionately nicknamed by his legions of fans, is a very charitable guy, having donated multi-millions of rupees to help various affected people in his country. But his films leave a lot to desire, especially in their clumsy attempts at activism.

Mission Mangal is loosely (of course) based on the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) first interplanetary expedition to Mars. The unmanned space probe entitled Mars Orbiter Mission (MoM), or Mangalyaan, is headed by scientist Rakesh Dhawan (Akshay Kumar) and project director Tara Shinde (Vidya Balan). We begin with the failed launch of the GSLV-F06 rocket, a failure that forces the duo to shift their focus on to another space project. They’re gifted with the MoM project, which is thought to be impossible due to the small budget allocated for it. The leading man gives yet another performance on autopilot, comfortable in the zone he’s occupied in recent years.

It’s the rare space film where the space stuff – which should be the coolest part – is significantly less interesting than the domestic drama. Of course, the best films achieve both, such as First Man and Arrival. But Mission Mangal is hardly either of those – it’s an inchoate attempt at aping Hidden Figures. I learnt a few things about the Mangalyaan: one was that it was the cheapest trip to Mars executed by any country, another was that India was the first nation to send an orbiter to the Red Planet in its maiden attempt. Both facts were widely publicised in the marketing and long before.

According to R. Balki’s unremarkable screenplay, the ISRO was motivated by an insecurity about China and Russia getting there first. I also learnt that the methodology of planning was as simple as drawing increasingly bigger circles around earth on a simple white board, and that the process was as simple as hitting buttons like it was a video game – except it seems harder to do a combo attack on Mortal Kombat.

Kumar is outshined by the talented actresses around him, each delivering consistent and understated performances, even selling us on the screenplay’s most inadequate character choices. Vidya Balan is effortlessly sympathetic in portraying Tara Shinde’s attempt to reconcile work with family, which includes the conflict of a Muslim convert son and his prejudiced father. It’s an impetus for her to succeed in the mission after being indirectly responsible for the initial rocket’s failure.

Spacecraft autonomy designer Neha Siddiqui (Kirti Kulhari) further upholsters the theme of identity crisis as she deals with landlords rejecting her on the basis of having a Muslim name. Taapsee Pannu’s navigation and communications expert Kritika Agarwal tends to her wounded ex-serviceman husband in between her duties as a scientist. Varsha Pillai (Nithya Menen) deals with fertility issues whilst remaining dedicated to MoM. Then there’s the alternative lifestyle-living propulsion control expert Eka Gandhi (Sonakshi Sinha). The team is assembled by Tara and Rakesh like Nick Fury casting the Avengers, except all done in five minutes rather than five movies.

The multi-generational star power empowers Mission Mangal to appeal to audiences of all ages but then fumbles it by succumbing to broad gender stereotypes – perhaps to appeal to “traditional family values.” Varsha is scolded by her mother for not bearing children, Eka is creepily ogled at by her colleague Parmeshwar (Sharman Joshi) for laughs and Kritika’s awkward attempt at learning to drive is mined for more laughs. Possibly the most ghastly moment belongs to Tara, though, when she conjures an idea on how to launch the probe… in the kitchen as her maid is cooking.

Engineering this wobbly balance of trusty performers and unreliable writing is a director who doesn’t have so much as a portrait on IMDb; his ten credits are all for working as assistant or associate director on major movies such as Kumar’s own Pad Man. That specific film probably explains how he came to helm this feature. Some merit can be awarded for technical competency and a game supporting cast but, otherwise, Mission Mangal is the most simplistically boring trip to Mars one could take.

Batla House (Nikkhil Advani)

Batla House is John Abraham‘s second attempt on film this year to uphold India’s national security, except this time he’s situated in a story based on real events. Batla House centres on the violent 2008 encounter between police and the Indian Mujahideen (IM) at Delhi’s Batla House locality, which resulted in three casualties (two suspects and a police officer) and two injuries.

The good news is that this star vehicle functions at a much higher octane than Abraham’s previous effort. We begin with the raid in Batla House, which comes weeks after five bomb blasts in Delhi that resulted in over 100 injuries and 30 deaths. The IM claimed responsibility for the attacks. Leading a small team of officers, ACP Sanjay Kumar (Abraham) wants to tactically approach the building housing the suspects (a bunch of students) but Inspector KK Verma (Ravi Kishan) is impatient in engaging, a decision that leads him to a fatal end. At the same time, Kumar is shot in the heart of his bulletproof vest in an instantly traumatising encounter with death.

Upon clearing the building, the aftermath is two dead suspects, two who get away, and one live arrest who’s far too fraught to offer up any concrete information on the escapees or their involvement in the serial bombings. In the ensuing investigation, an antagonist is created in the form of a political and media cycle that demonises the police officers by promoting the encounter as a martyrdom of innocent students, with some even deeming that the encounter was fabricated.

One such character is newsreader Nandita Kumar (Mrunal Thakur), the wife of Sanjay. After a foreboding thirty minutes of characterisation, Thakur graduates from the tired trope of shattered housewife to a compelling conflict in the tenacity she brings to Nandita, a key asset to a media that challenges Sanjay’s team’s account of the event. poking holes in the guilt of the accused. Eventually, she sides with her husband to question if there really were “innocent boys” at Batla House. It’s essential for him to have all support as he deals with PTSD.

Abraham‘s act as the tough but traumatised officer is legitimate. The open emotional wound left in the aftermath of the encounter lets the actor explore unprecedented territory after a slew of prosaic characters. Kumar’s PTSD is rather powerfully captured, the memory of the bullet hitting his chest causing him to physically convulse every time he remembers it. Advani complements the performance by choking the frame with the gruesome images of a dead man firing his gun into the camera during Kumar’s intense recollections of the encounter.

The director does so well at shifting gears as necessary – we’re treated to several exciting sequences to sustain the momentum in between the drama of the police stations and newsrooms – but he runs out of gas by the film’s end. The elongated finale is a courtroom scene focuses on a verbal battle between the living suspect’s defence lawyer and the protagonist. We’re narrated multiple perspectives of the event in order to recontextualise it according to both the lawyer and Sanjay, but the impact of the “twists” are more akin to untying a pair of shoelaces and tying them up again.

Under the current Indian administration, there’s been a rise in movies that could be deemed “BJPloitation”, designed to exploit populist sentiments against Pakistanis and/or Muslims. Batla House is a little more careful in this regard.

Specifically, there’s an interrogation scene in which Sanjay questions the Muslim suspects’ knowledge of the teachings of the Holy Book and questions why the IM think they can speak for all Muslims with their corrupted interpretation of the religion. But the attempt to present an objective point of view is undercut by prejudices that leak through in the portrayal of a disgruntled Muslim community in Nizampur that supposedly wants to protects the terrorists.

Overall, a thrilling core narrative and star leading performances are enough to overcome Batla House’s inconsistent ideology and garrulous climax.

Saaho (Sujeeth)

In the days since the release of Mission Mangal and Saaho, the space movie has certified itself as a blockbuster with earnings of over 260 crore rupees (about $36m) on a budget of Rs 32 crore (about $4.5m). I should hope that the blockbuster success gives the studio a reason to make a sequel because I’m dreaming of one which follows Rakesh Dhawan and other top scientist minds trying to work out just what the hell Saaho was about.

Capitalising on the pan-India stardom of its star Prabhas, this expensive misfire attempts to appeal to a mass audience with a continent-spanning narrative about good cops, bad cops, gangsters and families (and Red Bull). I can’t make head or toe of the premise but I’ll try. Basically, it’s an incoherent mishmash of storytelling items from Fast & Furious, Dhoom, Mission Impossible, with a dash of Mr and Mrs Smith.

Roy (Jackie Shroff) is the leader of an underworld crime empire in Waaji, a fictional mega city in future India. The production designers put some futuristic flourishes in the customised cars and buildings of present-day India to draw Waaji, but then they get lazy post-interval and simply relocate to Dubai.

Roy is murdered in a car crash after being plowed into by a colossal truck – a method of killing used very frequently here. Potentially linked to the murder is a trillion-dollar heist and the thieving suspect is an enigmatic character played by Johnny Gaddaar star Neil Nitin Mukesh.

The host of characters who get involved in chasing him include: undercover agent Ashok Chakravarthy (Prabhas); Amritha Nair (Shraddha Kapoor). a highly skilled member of Ashok’s newly assigned taskforce and prospective love interest; their fellow team members, which include hacking expert David (Murali Sharma); Vishwank (Arun Vijay), the power-hungry vengeance-seeking son of Roy; and the new rulers of the crime syndicate, led by the permanently scowling Devraj (Chunky Pandey). Too many cooks spoil the broth but, in hindsight, I’m not sure the broth had any potential.

The byzantine proceedings are more difficult to follow than the Metal Gear Solid timeline and less clear than Eraserhead, partly because they induce a literal headache with all the aural and visual ugliness. Hellbent on employing the element of “surprise”, Sujeeth keeps twisting his narrative until it resembles a physically deformed balloon animals and we’re staring dead-eyed at the unappealing spectacle, certain of its lack of purpose as either art of entertainment anymore.

Spectacle, that’s the key word here. With one of the biggest budgets in Indian cinema history, everything is blown up in Saaho, sometimes literally. Much of the budget is allocated to the plentiful number of action sequences, which range from shootouts and axe fights to Iron Man-style flying suits.

Swervy cam is the second worst thing to shaky cam when it comes to orienting the geography of an action scene and not only is it confusing to watch as the camera swirls around, it’s straight up nauseating. The first melee fight takes place in a multi-storey building and it’s so awfully composed, with ledges and pillars obstructing every hit so we only ever see bodies flying back from the impact of Prabhas’ punches and kicks. Of course, the movie star remains planted firmly on his feet every time throughout the chaos, dissipating any sense of danger early on.

Saaho is most likely to be a commercial success just based on hype alone. Prabhas returns to the big screen two years after winning over the world with his acclaimed lead role in the Baahubali duology – the second part remains the highest domestic grosser in India, even after the juggernaut performance of Endgame in every territory.

There looks to be a repeat of record breaking box office according to early reports. I’m no analyst myself but I’ve observed that the Indian audience is quick to adapt to reality after hype, as recently reflected in the ultimate failings of disappointing star-studded tent-poles such as Thugs of Hindostan and Zero. Therefore, I don’t believe Saaho will sustain the momentum once word of mouth spreads because the words on every cinemagoer’s mouth will likely be, “what a terrible movie.”

Next Month

And that concludes the August 2019 edition of Bollywood Inquiry! As Saaho journeys to a huge box office figure, Nitesh Tiwari, the director of Dangal, the highest grossing Indian film worldwide, returns in September with a Big Chill-esque dramedy entitled Chhichhore. Take a look below for the trailer for Chhichhore, and keep an eye out for Dream Girl opening this month too. The rom-com stars Article 15‘s Ayushmann Khurrana, the most exciting actor in Bollywood right now.

Which Bollywood films are you looking forward to this year or have enjoyed so far? Let us know in the comments.