Movie Review: Tevar

Director: Amit Ravindernath Sharma

Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Manoj Bajpayee, Raj Babbar and Deepti Naval

There’s an irresistible lure to the idea of a single man beating up a hoard of goons for the sake of love. That thought is like a perennial ray of hope. It attracts storytellers like moth to light. But Hindi films have been serving that formula for generations now. It’s still working wonders down South. Regardless of which part of India you’re in, that excuse to make a masala entertainer is getting too old.

Tevar serves a hefty helping of the same. Arjun Kapoor plays Pintoo who’s from Agra, is a Kabbadi aficionado and he punches like Sunny Deol. Sonakshi Sinha plays Radhika who dances like a dream and in doing so attracts the repulsive attention of a political thug called Gajender. That lecherous part is played by Manoj Bajpayee. Put together the three make quite the unconventional love triangle. And their not-so-common romance saga is based in the badlands of Agra and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The story largely plays out in an utterly predictable manner. Girl in peril is saved by the boy. They’re on the run from the bad guys. They fall in love. And what happens to their little story inspired hundreds of movie climaxes right through the ‘80s and ‘90s in Hindi cinema.

So while the story is a tad old. Debut director Amit Ravindernath Sharma packages it in a slick, vibrant avatar. The action is in glossy slow motion. The production design is rich, detailed and very larger-than-life. In some ways, Amit’s visual preferences are quite fancy; you’d think you’re watching the work of some prolific filmmaker. But there’s also another aspect to the direction that comes in abundance. The inconsistency.  The never ending length of the movie, at a brisk two hours and fourty minutes doesn’t help at all. And then Amit indulges a bit. He lets some of his scenes get repetitive. Sonakshi’s character for example takes two full song sequences to fall in love with Arjun’s character. And then at times the cinematographer goes overboard with natural lighting and having the actors look almost like silhouettes. But then there are touches that work wonders as well. Like a scene where Pintoo forces Gajender and his henchmen to drop their pants at ransom. It’s hilarious.

The casting is somewhat funny too. Apart from the main actors, the choices for the supporting cast seem a little uninspired. You have fresh faces playing bit roles like Radhika’s brother, or her parents or Pintoo’s friends. But those actors with rustic looks just seem out-of-place in a film that’s trying to be opulent. It’s borderline nitpicking but it does keep pricking you right through the runtime. The central cast though does a fantastic job. Manoj Bajpayee is the anchor of the film. His performance of a mercurial and eccentric man madly in love is phenomenal. He just proves why he’s considered a powerhouse of talent. Raj Babbar in a limited role is good as well. But it’s the young leads who hit big. Arjun Kapoor is quite literally doing things that are best left to Salman Khan. The young actor delivers the goods. But it just doesn’t create the kind of energy you’d expect from the likes of Salman. Sonakshi Sinha is limited to an inadequate role. Even so, in certain scenes she displays a genuine talent. The love track between Arjun and Sonakshi gains speed in the latter part of the story and you believe in it, simply because of Sonakshi’s efforts.

End of the day Tevar is all about the onscreen attitude of its leading man. Arjun’s done a decent job, but sadly the director chose the most worn out story in cinema. If it’s old and common it can’t be too exciting.