Apne movie review

Anil Sharma's 'Apne' which brings the 3 Deols together  for the first time is a lavishly mounted film, replete with emotions, patriotism and good performances.The plot is about ex-boxer Olympic Silver medalist Baldev Singh Choudhary (Dharmendra) and his 2 sons Angad (Sunny Deol) and Karan (Bobby Deol). Baldev Singh's boxing career prematurely ends when he is deviously framed of doping charges. He pleads innocence but to no avail, angered by the injustice, he vows to avenge his dis-honour one day through his sons. The elder son Angad initially does try to fulfill his fathers' dream but gives up due to financial constraints, which becomes a bone of contention between him and his father. The younger son Karan is physically handicapped by a childhood accident and so takes refuge in music and dancing and is unable to live his father's dream.

Enters a wannabe boxer Gaurav (Aryan Vaid) who pleads with Baldev to coach him. After initial reluctance Baldev agrees, Gaurav for a short while sparks Baldev's imagination of fulfilling his dream but suddenly Gaurav has a change in heart and opts for a foreign coach (a very convenient twist to the plot- quite reminiscent of Rocky 5). Baldev is shocked by Gaurav's rejection that is when Karan through a strange accident gets over his handicap and takes it upon himself to fulfill his father's dream of fighting theWorld heavy weight Champion and defeating him. How Karan manages to almost fulfill the dream before being pipped to the post and then thereafter Angad filling in for him(a la Rocky Balboa) and eventually fulfilling Baldev's dream is what Apne is all about. Although the plot is quite far-fetched since it is set in a country where boxing is not a popular sport, the film does evoke some emotion at places. However, it is hugely inspired by the Rocky series and to some extent Million Dollar Baby (especially the track of Dharmendra and Victor Banerjee of coach and second quite like Clint eastwood and Morgan Freeman).

However, where it lacks in content (Neeraj Pathak- story,screenplay and dialogues) it makes up in the form of some good performances of Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Kiron Kher (She is fabulous as the wife of Dharmendra). Bobby Deol is hampered by a weak characterisation and so ends up looking confused between a Singer/Dancer and a Boxer. Shilpa Shetty is competent as Sunny's wife and Katrina Kaif is just about average in a small role. Victor Banerjee is fine but doesn't have much to do save play a go between the Deols. The film has been shot brilliantly, be it the misty fields of Punjab and the streets of Chandigarh or the high rises of America. Cinematography(Kabir Lal) is of the highest standards, infact it is one of the assets of the film), Edtitng is pacy and Sound Design of Leslie is also of high quality. The DI(Digital Intermediate) portions too stand out and have been effectively used to enhance the screenplay. Director Anil Sharma seems to have come close to his Gadar form especially in the climax when Sunny Deol puts on the boxing gloves, however, the raw in your face feel of emotions of Gadar is missing. Also the casting of actor who plays the World heavy Weight Champion is weak he has the physique of a basketball player rather than a boxer. On the whole Apne is watchable but only for die-hard Deol fans, it should do very well in Punjab and South-hall (Strong Deol territories).

Rohit Tanejaa is a film director.