- Date of Release: 26 November 2021
- Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres
Antim
RATING
Introduction
With not many new releases from the weekend, I decided to finally watch Antim which I had missed watching last weekend. An official remake of the original Marathi film Mulshi Pattern whose review you will also find on Popcorn Reviewss, Antim had its task cut out right from the beginning. Yes it did star Salman Khan in a more human role but he wasn’t coming off a great release(Radhe). But with an experienced director Mahesh Manjrekar who did understand the Maharashtrian culture and the issues which the original film had to offer, I was quite curious to watch how Antim had finally shaped up. Is it worth your time, stay tuned.
Story & Screenplay
An official Hindi remake of the original Marathi film Mulshi Pattern, Antim follows the story of a simpleton who is the son of a farmer and his journey in becoming a criminal and a social outcast. The story might seem straight from the 80s and 90s but make no mistake this story is quite relevant considering the farmer’s issue that it tries to address. The screenplay here has been modified to cater to the taste of the masses. For those of you who have watched the original would know that Mulshi Pattern had a very non linear screenplay that made the narrative layered. In Antim, the screenplay is straight forward and unfolds in a linear timeline instead of oscillating between past and present. So there is a bit of a compromise as far as the narrative is concerned. And to the maker’s credit, this isn’t a scene to scene remake. When you have a superstar protagonist, you will give him a few fight sequences here and there which wern’t present in the original. And I did not mind that. The case in point being his introduction or the fight scene at the interval mark. But in most scenes, the core emotion is retained fairly well and the issue which it had set out to address is conveyed although not as effectively as the original. On the downside, the narration could have been a little more layered, this could easily be passed off as a routine gangster story because the drama lacked texture. Also, many of the characters outside the two main protagonists have a contrieved role and are not as fleshed out as the original. But on the positive and a big positive, is the climax that has a nice little buildup catering to the masses and classes before a shocking twist(for those who haven’t watched the original) that it ends with. I personally found the climax to be a notch better than the original and its impact. Overall, a decent screenplay which is watchable and fairly engaging.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are mass appealing that were lapped up by the audience with claps and whistles. But the dialogues also convey a crucial message and effectively so! The music is below average here and one big letdown. It also stalls the flow of the drama. But the BGM more than makes up for it. It is excellent and gives you the right kind of high during a few scenes. The action scenes are well choreographed. Director Mahesh Manjrekar has done a pretty good job considering that the original film was a cult. He may have faltered in a few places by not providing an adequate amount of buildup(case in point being the restaurant scene in the second hour) but he does manage to retain much of its emotions that were prevalent in the original.
Performances
The performances are good but can’t help but think that none of the side characters were memorable. Both Jisshu Sengupta and Nikitin Dheer do a good job but the impact was lacking as their characters were quite underwritten unlike in the original. Upendra Liyame as Nanya Bhai is quite fantastic. Sayaji Shinde as Udya Bhau and Sachin Khedekar as Dattaram have their moments to shine. One character that stood out despite a limited screentime was Manda essayed by Mahima Makwana. The girl exudes of innocence and has a terrific screen presence in a job which was so well done. Salman Khan as Rajveer exudes of style and substance and does a good job as well although I felt his personality was overpowering the character at times. But he was terrific in the pre climax and climax! Aayush Sharma as Rahul was the star of the show. Such a terrific performance, living each pulse of his character, it was a brilliant job done. He had the best written role with many emotions to play with and he does a fabulous job!
Conclusion
Despite its flaws, Antim is a decent remake of Mulshi Pattern. This is not your typical Salman Khan film. If you haven’t watched the original then this can be watched for sure. Available in a theatre near you and premiering on 24th Dec(tentative) on Zee5.