| When I first heard about 'Viruddh' being made, I got excited after hearing the storyline. However, all that excitement was swept away when I heard that Mahesh Manjrekar was directing the film. While Manjrekar has shown to be a competent actor, his directorial efforts have ranged from decent (with films like the overrated 'Vaastav' and 'Astiva') to downright terrible (there are quite a few of his films that are in this category).
While Manjrekar has ended up making an above-average film, one feels that it could have been a lot better with a better director.
'Virrudh' tells the simple story of a middle-class family who lose thier only son and want justice. The first half of the film is fun and filled with light moments, while the second takes a serious turn to a predictable climax.
One of the problems with 'Viruddh' is it cannot decide if it's trying to be a regular Bollywood fare or a realistic film. Manjrekar tries to give the film a realistic feel to it by not having any songs, however throws in scenes like Sanjay Dutt bashing up the family's lawyer which was filmed like it was straight from a Mithun movie. Also, the product placements were pretty ridiculous and really threw several parts of the film off course. If it's realism Manjrekar is going for, he should take some lessons from Ram Gopal Verma.
That is not to say that 'Viruddh' is a bad film. The film contains yet another amazing performance from Amitabh Bachchan who keeps scaling new heights. When the Big B is motivated for a film, it shows and one can have a several hour debate on whether he was best in this, 'Black' or 'Sarkar' this year.
The first half is actually pretty good, I would give 3.5 stars for the first half itself. Bachchan's flair for comedy shows, and Sharmila Tagore impresses. It's hard to believe that Bachchan and Tagore were never a sellable on-screen duo in their hayday after watching their chemistry in this film.
The film deteriorates in the second half. Scenes are shown where Amitabh Bachchan is getting ready for a big fight against the system which never happens. While the performances are great in the second half, the scripting is not. The climax is very predictable, and it may have been more interesting to see the father come up with a more clever plot to expose his son's murderer.
However, with all the faults, I would still say this movie is worth seeing, especially for Bachchan's performance. This year has definitely been the year for the Bachchan's, and while this film might not turn out to be a hit, Bachchan's performance should definitely fetch him several awards (if he doesn't take them for 'Black').
Worth a one time watch.
Final Rating: * * ¾.
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