Agneepath
2012 · Directed by Karan Malhotra
Original language: Hindi
- action
- crime
- drama
The story
When his father is lynched by a mob after being framed by a gangster, a young boy leaves his village along with his pregnant mother and flees to Mumbai. He takes up a life of crime and swears to avenge his father. A remake of the 1990 film.
What it’s like
Saturated, operatic frames of Mumbai at night: sodium-orange streetlight pooling on wet tarmac, deep crimson and teal in cramped chawls, and the restless heat of a city that never seems to cool. Camera work is kinetic, with swooping crane shots, tight handheld moves through crowds, and slow push-ins on faces that hold grief and fury. The score is big and percussive, with dhol-driven swells and a mournful vocal theme that returns at emotional peaks. The vibe is brooding, grand and mythic: a revenge saga that plays like tragic opera set in gangland. Its pace is long and deliberate, with stretches of simmering dread broken by sharp bursts of action. The emotional register is heavy, centred on a son's obsessive vow and the cost it takes on his family. Intensity is high: frequent fistfights, shootings and stabbings, a brutal mob killing shown in flashback, and some menace and cruelty, though there is no gore for its own sake. For people who want a dark, sweeping crime melodrama with bold colour and a driven, wounded hero, and who can handle sustained violence.
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