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| [[Sudesh Bhosle]], [[Kavita Krishnamurthy]], [[Anupam Deshpande]]
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Rather unusually for a [[Bollywood]] film of the time, a West African track was used in the film. [[Guinean]] singer [[Mory Kanté]]'s hit [[Yé ké yé ké]] appears in the film, but is not on the soundtrack.


==Awards==
==Awards==

Revision as of 21:41, 17 May 2013

For the remake film, see Agneepath (2012 film). For the TV series, see Agneepath (TV series).

Agneepath
DVD Cover
Directed byMukul S. Anand
Screenplay bySantosh Saroj
Kader Khan
Story bySantosh Saroj
Produced byYash Johar
StarringAmitabh Bachchan
Mithun Chakraborty
Madhavi
Neelam Kothari
Danny Denzongpa
Rohini Hattangadi
Alok Nath
CinematographyPravin Bhatt
Edited byWaman Bhonsle
Music by
Distributed byDharma Productions
Release date
  • February 16, 1990 (1990-02-16)
Running time
174 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹ 28,56,00,000
Box office₹102.5 million (US$1.2 million)[1]

Agneepath(Hindi: अग्निपथ;English:The Path of Fire) is a 1990 Bollywood crime film directed by Mukul Anand. It stars Amitabh Bachchan as the main protagonist Vijay Deenanath Chauhan along with Mithun Chakraborty, Madhavi, Neelam Kothari, Rohini Hattangadi and Danny Denzongpa as the antagonist Kancha Cheena. The film was produced by Yash Johar.

The title was taken from a poem of the same name called 'Agneepath'[2] which was penned by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Amitabh's father, and which is recited at the beginning of the movie and creates a thematic link that continues through the movie, particularly in the climax, both literally and metaphorically.

It has grown a strong cult film.Bachchan and Chakraborty received the National Film Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award respectively for their performances. The film was remade in 2012 with the same title, by Johar's son Karan Johar, as a tribute to his father.

Plot

The film begins with a morally upright and honest Gandhian Schoolmaster, Deenanath Chauhan (Alok Nath), teaching his son, Vijay Deenanath Chauhan about a poem, 'Agneepath', which describes 'The Path of Fire' which a man must cross in his life. This theme becomes an integral part of the story. Master Deenanath is a well-loved person, who wishes to bring education to the Village, Mandwa. However, his wish is not shared by a corrupt jamindar, Dinkar Rao (Goga Kapoor).

One day, as Vijay and his friends play about near Rao's house, a man named Kancha Cheena (Danny Denzongpa) arrives at the house, and Rao hands over some papers to him, which, Rao tells him, are the Title Deeds of all the Villagers' homes. Kancha's plans are revealed then: he wishes to make Mandwa a centre for his drugs trade, as he wishes to rule a place where the laws are lax and is not on the map of India. Dinkar Rao mentions that the schoolmaster is a huge hindrance to their plans, whereupon Cheena tells Rao that he must kill the schoolmaster, or Rao will suffer the consequences. With the aid of the owner of a brothel, Chandabai, Dinkar Rao lures the schoolmaster into the brothel. The villagers assume that the schoolmaster is an immoral hypocrite who solicits prostitution, and they beat him to death. The schoolmaster dies while cradling his son and reciting the poem, "Agneepath".

Vijay's Mother is devastated, and the image of the schoolmaster is so tarnished that 12-year old Vijay had to carry his corpse to the cemetery on a cart. The family leaves for Mumbai to begin life anew. There, Vijay does odd jobs to earn for his family. It is also there that he learns about the harsher truths of life. He burns down a Petrol Pump because the owner of the Pump tried to rape his Mother. Vijay is caught in the act by Inspector Gaitonde, who tries to redeem the boy. He is then hired by four of Kancha's enemies.

Then we see an older Vijay, 36 years old, now a gangster with a drawling, raspy voice and stylish gait, who works for four of Kancha Cheena's enemies, namely Terelin, Shetty, Usman Bhai and another. Vijay slowly eliminates his bosses and works his way up the echelons of crime, becoming a feared and reputed gangster in Mumbai. Then Vijay tries to cut a deal with Kancha, and gradually brings about his Empire's downfall. However, in an action-packed climax sequence, Kancha holds Vijay's wife, Mary, his sister and his mother hostage, and challenges him to a showdown, daring him to cross a rubble-laden, path of fire. In spite of being shot twice, Vijay kills Kancha. In an emotional sequence, Vijay drags his mother to the remains of their old house in the village, now a smoldering pile of brick, reciting "Agneepath". Vijay passes away, with his head on his Mother's lap, culminating in an emotional end, in which Vijay's mother remarks to the end, "My son is not a gangster...he is not a gangster."

Cast

Production

A characteristic feature of the movie was the dark undertones and the grim atmosphere of the film, which was unusual for any of Amitabh Bachchan's films.[3] It was noted that the film was "grim" due to the protagonist, Vijay Chauhan's bloodlust and ferocity.[4] The film utilised a lot of dark distortions in the imagery, which were a common theme in some Gangster Films.[5] Mithun Chakraborty's unique role of Krishnan Iyer was inspired by one of his room mates of his struggling days, before he become a popular film star. In his struggling days Chakraborty used to be room sharing with Devio who used to pay 150 Rupees while Chakraborty Used to pay 75 Rupees. Devio had the a bed while Chakraborty used to sleep on the floor, one specific time Chakraborty used his bed whilst he was at work and when Devio came back he scolded Chakraborty. This incident remained with Chakraborty and he put Devio's character on screen. Tinnu Anand, who played the role of the Village Drunkard, shaved his head to obtain the age difference between him and Amitabh Bachchan.[5] The film was shot extensively in Mumbai in several locations such as Andheri, Goregaon, and Colaba.[6] The locations and the photography drew positive feedback from critics.[7]

Reception

When released, Agneepath was failure, both at the box office as well as among the critics. "Over the top, inane songs", dialogues "veering towards melodrama" and, more importantly, Amitabh Bachchan's experimentation with his voice did not go well with the masses and the critics alike.[8][9] Film Trade Analyst Komal Nahta wrote thus about Bachchan's voice,

"...But the biggest undoing of the film is Amitabh Bachchan’s voice. He has spoken the dialogue in a different voice (inspired by Marlon Brando in Godfather) which will not be accepted by the audience. Further the mixing not being clear, his dialogues are incomprehensible at places..."

He further wrote that the film lacked a gripping drama, well-set script, and that even the Murder scenes lacked excitement.[7] Satish Naidu in his review noted that the narrative had a slow pace in the last hour.[3] Another fact that worked against the advantage of the film was its weak story.[10] Rediff's review of Agneepath suggested that perhaps, the grim, violent, aggressive and dark portrayal of the underbelly of Mumbai's underworld had worked against the film.[11]

However, the National Award for the best actor being bestowed on Amitabh Bachchan changed the perspective in which the film was appreciated. Over the years, favourable reviews trickling in made Agneepath a cult classic. Currently, Agneepath has been rated 7.5 by on a scale of 10 in the Internet Movie Database by 1,723 users.[12] In review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 641 user ratings favour the movie.[13] Sanjay Dutt, the actor who plays Kancha Cheena's role in the remake praised the film saying that it was well ahead of its time when asked about the original film-

“I loved the original film and if I was the whole of audience, I would have made it a big hit. I think may be the film was too ahead of times. Mukul is a brilliant director and his vision was so much ahead of his time.”[14]

Satish Naidu commented in his blog that Agneepath's direction, camera work and cinematography "had some serious physicality going for the film[there]". He further drove home his opinion, describing the betrayal of a certain "undeveloped terrain below" by the jagged, staccato-like movements of the camera work. Further, Mr.Naidu praised the way in which Mukul Anand portrayed Amitabh Bachchan in the film.[3] An interesting aspect of the film was its cinematography, handled by Pravin Bhatt, which has been described as "marvelous" due to the "beautiful scenes shot in Mauritius. It is worth noting that the ship bombing scene was executed well, and that the portrayal of the picturesque scenery of trees and fields in full bloom(in the songs, especially) met with rave reviews.[15] Movie Reviewer Peter Nepstad in his blog, the "Illuminated Lantern" wrote that:

"Agneepath is deliriously melodramatic. The first thirty minutes, the prologue of the film if you will, in the village of his youth, ranks among the best openings of any Bollywood film I've ever seen. Afterwards, when most Bollywood films crank it down for some syrupy romance or goofy comedy, Agneepath plops its adult protagonist right in the middle of a gang fight. Often a film has a great set piece at the beginning, then deflates by the end, but Agneepath continues amping up the conflict from beginning to end, from riots in a village to riots in a city to mudfights in the slums to swordfights in the middle of a festival."[16]

The movie's review in Rediff.com, mentioned that,

"Agneepath, despite its amplified sentimentality, strong language and violence works on account of this very dynamism. "[17]

It was claimed to be seen by 35 million audience in theatre with over Rs 70 million collections.[18] According to trade website Boxofficeindia.com, the gross collection of the movie was Rs 10,25,00,000, way below the film's budget of Rs 28,56,00,000. Thus, despite being the fourth top grosser of the year 1990, the movie was a disaster at the box office.[19]

Vijay Deenanath Chauhan

The adult Vijay Deenanath Chauhan is introduced into the film with the famous dialogue spoken by Amitabh Bachchan in his deep baritone:

Vijay Deenanath Chauhan. Poora naam. Baap ka naam, Deenanath Chauhan. Maa ka naam, Suhasini Chauhan. Gaon, Mandwa. Umar, chattis saal, Nau Mahina, aath din. Ab...yeh solvah ghanta chal rahela hai, hain ?

Translated into English, it means:

Vijay Deenanath Chauhan. Full name. Father's name, Deenanath Chauhan. Mother's name, Suhasini Chauhan. Village, Mandwa. Age, 36 years, 9 months, 8 days. Now...we are into the 16th hour, huh ?

This particular phrase was Vijay Chauhan's tagline throughout the whole film, and it so happens that this very phrase was to be one of the major reasons for Agneepath's huge cult following.[9] Bachchan's acting met with positive response, winning him an award and a nomination. Mr.Naidu observed that apart from Chandra Barot (Amitabh Bachchan's director in Don), no other filmmaker other than Mukul Anand had portrayed Bachchan with such success before. During certain moments of the film, Naidu wrote, Vijay Chauhan had become less of a character, and more of a "force of nature." Bachchan's Vijay Chauhan, a gangster, with the angst of an avenging son, complete with a gruff baritone and kohl-lined eyes, blended seamlessly into the tone of Agneepath's violent content.[11]

Soundtrack

# Title Singer(s)
1 "Kisko Tha Pata" SP Balasubramanyam, Alka Yagnik
2 "I Am Krishnan Iyer M. A." SP Balasubramanyam
3 "Ali Baba Mil Gaye Chalis Choron Se" Runa Laila
4 "Ganpati Apne Gaon Chale" Sudesh Bhosle, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Anupam Deshpande

Rather unusually for a Bollywood film of the time, a West African track was used in the film. Guinean singer Mory Kanté's hit Yé ké yé ké appears in the film, but is not on the soundtrack.

Awards

Won

Nominated

Remake

In an interview with The Times of India, Karan Johar explained that he had the intention of remaking the original Agneepath ever since the film released 22 years ago, because according to him, the failure of the film broke his father's heart.[20] The idea of the remake materialised on the sets of Johar's film My Name Is Khan in which Karan Malhotra was an associate director. Johar told Malhotra his desire to remake the original film and asked him to revisit it again for which he agreed immediately.

Hrithik Roshan played the lead role of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan and Sanjay Dutt plays the role of the main antagonist Kancha Cheena.[21] Priyanka Chopra was the female lead. The character of Krishnan Iyer played by Mithun Chakraborty in the original was removed and Rishi Kapoor played a newly introduced negative character, Rauf Lala.[22] Other members of the cast include Om Puri and Zarina Wahab[23] among others.

Shooting of the film mostly took place in Diu and Mumbai's film city. Originally slated for release on 20 January, Agneepath was postponed by a week to 26 January 2012. Unlike the original, the remake opened to positive responses from critics and the audience. Agneepath collected Rs 217.5 million (US$4.34 million) on the opening day.[24] According to review aggregator Review Gang, professional critics have given the film a rating of 6.5 stars out of 10.[25]

The film was also modified and remade in Tamil as Sivasakthi, starring Sathyaraj and Prabhu Ganesan directed by Suresh Krissna. The film did moderate business at the box office.

References

  1. ^ http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=196&catName=MTk5MA==
  2. ^ Sayuj, Riku (1 February 2012). "Agneepath (अग्निपथ) – A poem by Harivansh Rai Bachchan". Wandering Mirages. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  3. ^ a b c [1] Agneepath:Movie Review, by Satish Naidu
  4. ^ [2] Moviediva: Hindi Movie Reviews; Agneepath(1990)
  5. ^ a b [3] IMDB-Agneepath: Trivia
  6. ^ [4] IMDB-Agneepath: Filming Locations. Some of the studios have been listed, and in total, Eight Locations have been mentioned.
  7. ^ a b [5] Blast from the Past: A review of the 1990 Mukul Anand's Agneepath, by Komal Nahta
  8. ^ [6] Agneepath: Movie Review- did not go well with the masses as well as the critics. The main one being that Amitabh Bachchan had experimented with a change in voice in this movie, not very much appreciated by his fans initially...
  9. ^ a b [7] 10 Must-Watch Films that weren't Blockbusters: Agneepath
  10. ^ [8] Blissful Nirvana: A Blog that reviews Hindi Movies.
  11. ^ a b [9] Rediff.com-Movies-Reviews-Revisiting Amitabh Bachchan's Agneepath(Slide 1)
  12. ^ [10] IMDb: Agneepath(1990)
  13. ^ [11] Rotten Tomatoes: Agneepath(1990)-Amitabh Bachchan
  14. ^ [12] Sanjay Dutt praises Amitabh's Agneepath: Bollywooders
  15. ^ [13] Life, Films and Nostalgia: Agneepath (1990)-Comparison with new,appreciation and review
  16. ^ [14] Illuminated Lantern: A blog describing the heart of South Asian Cinema-Agneepath(1990) directed by Mukul.S.Anand
  17. ^ [15] Rediff.com-Movies-Reviews-Revisiting Amitabh Bachchan's Agneepath(Slide 3)
  18. ^ [16] Magazine Scan.
  19. ^ [17] 4th Biggest Grosser
  20. ^ "Agneepath broke my father's heart: Karan Johar". The Times of India. 26 January 2012.
  21. ^ http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2010/nov/281110-Agneepath-remake-Sanjay-Dutt-Karan-Johar.htm
  22. ^ http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/30/2011010620110106022045461abd4a9fe/Rishi-to-do-a-%E2%80%98looks-test%E2%80%99-for-Agneepath.html
  23. ^ http://www.asianage.com/bollywood/zarina-star-agneepath-remake-782
  24. ^ http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3968&nCat=
  25. ^ http://www.reviewgang.com/movies/208-Agneepath-Review

Agneepath Movie Review

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