- Date of Release: 6 October 2023
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Language: Hindi
Mission Raniganj
Introduction
Onto the next release of the weekend and I finished watching the new Hindi film, Mission Raniganj starring Akshay Kumar yet again in a familiar territory. Year 2022 had been a disastrous year for the superstar with all his films bombing at the Indian Box Office. Some had attributed to his over exposure while a simple statement of wrapping up a period drama within 42 days had eventually backfired on him. Things did turn from bad to worse wherein the film Selfiee, which was Akshay returning to comedy, opened to the lowest collections in Akshay Kumar’s illustrious career. Having said that, there was a mini revival in 2023 in the form of OMG 2.
The moment I did get to know about Mission Raniganj releasing, I instantly knew that this was an acid test for Akshay, probably because the succesa of OMG 2 could not only be attributed to his star power. But a subdued marketing strategy of not promoting the film at all was a burning concern for me. A part of me said that the makers were taking a leaf out of the promotional strategy of Pathaan and Jawan where less was more backed by the star power of SRK. And there is no denying the star power of Akshay Kumar too but the subject here based on a riveting true incident did require that little push to allow the viewers a glimpse into what they were signing up for, while being proud of the achievement of the individuals involved. Shockingly, the buzz around the film was zero and despite a positive word of mouth, the theatre wherein I ventured to watch Mission Raniganj remained empty. But then the important question is whether Mission Raniganj manages to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Based on a riveting true incident from the year 1989, Mission Raniganj follows an incredible rescue operation lead by late Jaswant Singh Gill, a mining engineer, to rescue a set of miners trapped in a mine. With time running out, will he be able to save all lives despite multiple hurdles? The story here can be viewed from two dimensions – one from the point of view of the main engineering performing the rescue operation, and the other, from the point of view of the miners which itself would be an incredible tale of survival. The story here essentially weaves around the former with fewer bouts of the latter in what is packaged as a heartfelt drama. The screenplay standing at almost 140 minutes does blow hot and cold here in what was a standard template of survival and rescue.
When it comes to survival dramas, a few names pop-up like the Malayalam film 2018 or even the yesteryear’s Amitabh Bachchan starrer Kaala Patthar, the reason why these films were successful was because of the world building coupled with the characterization that had struck a chord with the viewers. But therein lies the biggest drawback with Mission Raniganj. There is absolutely no effort made in the world building or even allowing the viewers to spend enough time with the characters. The drama opens with a stray incident to introduce the protagonist followed by a needless romantic track and a song out of nowhere. It was the most insipid start to a survival drama.
The proceedings lack the nuance in the first hour wherein the writers choose to get straight to the point of the incident without any buildup whatsoever. The unfortunate incident shown is decent but in reality the magnanimity of the incident ought to have been overwhelming. With multiple jump cuts followed by the vested interests of multiple people involved, the narrative style was routine, given that I couldn’t feel the pain of the miners until then. But the drama does gather some momentum almost 20 odd minutes before the interval wherein you are finally introduced to the miners. And that is when the drama begins its journey on ascendency.
It is often the second hour that results in a dip in the drama but the case is completely opposite here. The second half is riveting and builds on the momentum which it had newly found in the first hour. And suddenly, I found myself invested in the drama. The different challenges of the rescue operation along with bouts of a political angle in play does make for a compelling viewing. The writers decide to raise the stakes too by introducing a 48 hour timer that adds to the urgency of the drama which remains at the surface level in terms of the template used but suddenly starts acing it. The events leading up to the final act are interesting and even the most subtle emotions begin to hit home leading to a rousing final act(albeit with creative liberties). So overall, Mission Raniganj survives majorly due to a wonderfully penned second hour although I did feel that the writers ought to have invested in the world building and characterization.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational with occasional jargons thrown along the way but they do manage to create an impact. The music is good but atleast a couple of songs in the narrative were rather unnecessary. The BGM is decent and does its job in parts. The cinematography is good but I wished there were even tighter camera angles for the audience to ecperience claustrophobia, along with bouts of urgency. The VFX is pretty decent as well. The editing is patchy, particularly in the first hour wherein it dilutes the impact of the screenplay. But things get slightly better in the second hour. Director Tinu Suresh Desai misses the mark with the execution in the first hour by a long margin. But he does find form minutes before the halfway mark only to carried forward the momentum in the second hour which in fact rescues the film. So while it was a hit and a miss kind of an outing for him, but it eventually did tilt towards being positive!
Performances
The performances are amazing here although almost all characters are one-dimensional wherein the script did not allow them to blossom. Parineeti Chopra as Nirdosh has literally nothing substantial to do and her role was pointless, although there were no real complaints with her performance. Actors like Rohit Tiwari, Rajesh Sharma, Veerendra Saxena, Sudhir Pandey, Anant Mahadevan, Pavan Malhotra(very endearing) and Arif Zakaria shine despite a limited screen time. Varun Badola is first rate here in a job done well. Jameel Khan is endearing and an absolute treat to watch. Kumud Mishra is wonderfully restrained and delivers a good performance. Shishir Sharma is calculative and the clean shaven look given to him did add a menacing layer to his character wherein he performed really well. Ravi Kishan is excellent in a nicely performed character. Akshay Kumar as Jaswant Singh Gill seemed like he was sleepwalking through his role in the first hour. But he does find his mojo in the second hour leading to a rousing little performance with nuanced energy which he did possess.
Conclusion
Mission Raniganj is a decently rousing survival drama that does make for a decent one-time watch. It isn’t as brilliant as a few critics are making it to be, but at the same time, it isn’t bad as well. It is somewhere in the middle tilting towards being positive. Available in a theatre near you.
