out with another popular episode from the life and times of Major
Mahadevan in their latest much hyped Kandahar. The film is partly
inspired from the controversial Kandahar hijack that took India by
storm in 1999.
Scripted and directed by Army officer turned filmmaker Major Ravi,
Kandahar is mainly about the emotional conflicts in the minds of a few
characters. Of course there are moments when every Indian would feel
proud about being born in this great land, but the shaky script,
ordinary action sequences and a faulty climax lets the film down.
The entire first half is about the build up to the hijack with an
idealistic teacher named Lokanath Sharma (Amitabh Bachchan) supporting
his son Soorya (Ganesh Venkitaraman), to become a brave Army commando.
There is a parallel track happening where a Muslim woman (played by
KPAC Lalitha) painfully realizes that her only son has fallen into the
charm of some terrorist outfits.
Both the stories move on parallel lines as Soorya trains in the Indian
Military Academy at Dehradoon, while the other guy gets trained to
become a 'Jihadi terrorist' in Afghanistan!! The story takes some time
before the hijack happens, almost all on a sudden. A few terrorists
get into an Air India aircraft and forces the hapless pilots to fly
the plane with full of passengers on board, to Kandahar in
Afghanistan. They demand the release of three dreaded terrorists in
order to free those in the plane. Major Mahadevan and his team are now
designated to take on the terrorists.
The absence of a genuine script is evident as the main aspects in the
film gets too little time compared to the melodramatic events which
are there aplenty. The climax of the film is its biggest weakness and
sticks out like a sore thumb. The way Mohanlal and co enters the
hijacked aircraft and overcomes the well trained terrorists is done in
a very amateur manner. The visuals are generally fine, but the
highlight of the film perhaps could be the performances of the lead
actors.
Mohanlal is absolutely fantastic as the mild mannered Major Mahadevan.
The actor expresses in a subtle way, which is in fact a trademark
nature of his character as well. Amitabh Bachchan character speaks
only in Hindi and is obviously doing the film so that there will be
some combination shots with Mohanlal.
The scenes between the two are highly contrived. Still Bachchan shines
and shows why he is regarded as an evergreen icon. Ganesh Venketram
has the right looks, but his character doesn't connect well with the
viewers. Major Ravi's performance as a tough training officer is
impressive.
The rest of the cast including Sumalatha, Ragini Dwivedi and Ananya
among others have nothing much to perform in their limited roles. The
music by Shamir Tandon is pretty fine.
A note of advice for all of you who haven't watched Kandahar, it is
not a conventional action film. But the film has some sincere and
enduring moments, which can shake you up in a positive way. Watch it
for Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan, both of whom are known for their
acting prowess and you won't be disappointed.
Verdict: Below Average
http://www.sify.com/movies/malayalam/review.php?id=14959479&ctid=5&cid=2428
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