Vijay 69
Introduction
There is a straight up thematic similarity between the new Hindi film Vijay 69 and the other Hindi film Uunchai (incidently both starring Anupam Kher). In both films, you have the stacks pitched against the protagonist(s) related to the age-factor which perfectly doubles up as an underdog story. And while the underlying emotions of Uunchai is associated with the dying wish of a friend, here in Vijay 69, the journey is more personal. In a scene, you see Vijay (Anupam Kher) trying to list down the achievements of his life. You do get to know that he has participated in the Nationals for Swimming and won a bronze medal. Yet through his character, you do get to know that he hasn’t achieved much in life. This is also ironically represented through the opening sequence wherein you see him gate-crash his own funeral only for him to focus on the coffin in probably the only pensive moment of the sequence, almost signifying his final leg in his life filled with underachievements. The character of Vijay might be a stark representation of most elders in our society who are made to feel the impact of their age very early on before ‘actual’ old age sets in. And so, I am all for stories that would turn them into underdogs, like is the case with Vijay 69 (and needless to explain that 69 is the age of the protagonist).
Story & Screenplay
One thing that I couldn’t ignore while watching Vijay 69 is the outlandish pitch of the drama. In fact, the tone is majorly on the higher side that mostly overpowers the underlying layer of emotions that is associated with Vijay. I am all for presenting the story as a light-hearted entertainer with a dash of sports thrown in, but had the tone even been at a mid-level, this tale would have worked much better. This is not to say that Vijay 69 is a complete trainwreck, in fact it does have its share of moments which can be termed as ‘well-intended’ and ‘with its heart in the right place’, but the tone definitely dilutes this aspect of the drama.
Much of the events revolve around the life of Vijay, and so I did like his characterization too. Vijay defies the stereotypical image of an elderly man – for starters, he is unabashed with his share of expletives despite being kept in check by his daughter, he still enjoys swimming and is probably one of the fitter humans for his age bracket. But the streak of loneliness that accompanies his character is what makes him grounded in many ways. His relationship with his wife (now dead), is wonderfully represented through the song from Waqt (1965), ‘Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu’, something that doubles up as a trip down memory lane while serving up as a theme of inspiration for him. Hence, it hardly comes as a surprise that you see him wanting to participate in a triathlon while wishing to ‘achieve’ the distinction of being the eldest person in India to complete the obstacle race. Thus, this central conflict does lead to several challenges along the way for Vijay.
While I didn’t quite enjoy the tone of the drama, I have to admit that atleast it stayed consistent throughout the film. This basically meant that there was no room for melodrama to kick into the narrative, which in a way worked in the film’s favour. As a result, Vijay’s conflict with a younger athlete’s dominating father to his over-the-top media interactions or even his outlandish equation with his coach, all felt a part of this universe, even as I began to silently cheer for him. Sure, the topics of loneliness and underachievement needed to be the foundation of the drama which would have added depth to the proceedings for sure, but the frivolous nature of the drama does work in spurts and jerks here. The emotional streak in the drama is maintained in a dual manner – one that dealt with Vijay’s past featuring his wife who has presently expired, and the other through the dynamics that he shares with his friends and family here, who ridicule him to begin with but later act as pillars of support. This includes his equation with the young athelete that contributes to some tender moments that balance the largely unfunny moments with the media.
The proceedings aren’t short of any drama particularly in the final act that can be termed as cliched but they definitely have their heart in the right place. In fact, the final act does its bit in stirring up emotions at some level with the sequence of events that eventually brings a ray of hope for Vijay. The segments connecting the dots are manipulative but there is a tinge of sweetness accompanying the narrative that makes you want to root for the protagonist. You can see the struggle of Vijay in the finale race while also being witness to how much this race means to him, thereby resulting in a predictable but a feel-good end. Overall, the screenplay is decent but could have been better had the tone of the drama been accounted for.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues needed to be sharper with the humour if that was the path chosen by the creative heads. The humour is largely flat and the only impact that the lines create is in the emotional moments that makes you want to invest in the drama despite the distractions. The music largely features the yesteryear’s number ‘Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu’ from Waqt(1965) that nicely acts as a recurring theme in the drama while perfectly symbolizing the journey of its protagonist. The BGM is adequate but doesn’t really enhance the viewing impact for the viewers in any way. The cinematography is good which coupled by the production design and the lighting, creates an ambience of hope for the protagonist. The editing is good as well wherein the duration of the drama is kept in check while also accounting for some decent transition shots. Director Akshay Roy whose last outing Meri Pyaari Bindu(2017) is criminally underrated, does a decent job here although he should have controlled the tone of the drama better. That solely remained the biggest flaw in his execution because the written material would still have made for a supremely wonderful watch. Having said that, he does create some tender moments along the way that nullifies a few flaws while presenting a perfectly watchable drama.
Performances
I usually don’t like to single out a particular actor for his poor performance but I couldn’t help but say that Chunky Pandey as Fali is atrocious here with his Parsi accent. Being a Parsi myself, I can assure you that this is far from the accent that we use in our daily lives, and that this in fact is a stereotypical notion that has continued on celluloid for far too long now. It is caricature at best wherein Chunky Pandey does miss his mark by a long way while being largely unfunny in the process. But other than that, the performances are good. Ekavali Khanna as Vijay’s wife does shine in a brief role that is packed with a lot of emotions. Pawan Chopra as Rakesh, Kunal Vijaykar as Kishore and Ravish Desai as Abhimanyu have their moments to shine. Adrija Sinha as Ruhi is supremely talented and she does a fine job here. Ketika Sharma as Malti has a pleasant personality onscreen and she is quietly charming with her character in a good job done.
Dharmendra Gohil as Rakesh and Mihir Ahuja as Aditya are two characters at different ends of the spectrum, both in terms of age and their ideologies, and both manage to leave a mark here. It was wonderful to watch Guddi Maruti after ages, and she is sincere with her character. Vrajesh Hirjee as Coach is blessed with an amazing comic timing and he does a fine job here. Sulagna Panigrahi as Deeksha is wonderful to witness and she wonderfully keeps her character grounded with a strong layer of emotions towards her onscreen father. Anupam Kher is a legend in every sense of the word. The versatility in his work can be seen through two films this year, The Signature wherein he delivered an acting masterclass filled with emotions, and here as Vijay wherein he consciously filled his character with emotions aplenty even when the writing wasn’t the best with respect to the tone of his character. I feel he understood the requirement of what would eventually work here, and slowly integrated the same while working on the second layer even while being mildly frivolous on the top layer. This was another astounding performance that rescues the film in many ways.
Conclusion
Vijay 69 is a well intended and feel-good drama slightly marred by its tone-deaf screenplay that ends up being a decent watch, overall. Available on Netflix.
