In Praise of Pankaj Kapur

I find him one of the most under-rated and under-utilised actors in films. Most films in which he appears, he leaves an indelible mark. Even the not-so-successful ones. He is a trained theatre actor, and continues to act there.

A cult movie which was successful, and first drew my attention to him, was Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Along with Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani and Satish Shah, it was a laugh riot. Then came TV serial Karamchand Jasoos in 1985 or so, which was a big hit among kids in particular. He played the title role. We as an M.R. agency had done some research on the show in Mumbai. He dubbed for Ben Kingsley in Attenborough's Gandhi.

Recent films of histhat I have seen were Matroo ki Bijli ka Mandola and Finding Fanny. In both, the film has gone a few notches higher because of his acting. I don't remember many of his serious roles, like Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, and others, but in comic roles, his dialogue delivery, expression, and timing are superb.

Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola

It was a mixed set of reviews that prompted me to check out the film. And first of all, I must say I enjoyed the film. It is not dark, like Omkara was ( I didn't finish watching that, actually). It is a lot of fun, exuberance, and some lurking evil here and there.

Pankaj Kapur is one of our most talented actors, and he's got something to chew on here. His performances, even the one in Karamchand Jasoos on TV eons ago, were outstanding-of course, he was one of the villains in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro too.

His zany take on the man named Mandola is superb, and some moments (in the end, he does a doggy after the villain lady calls him a kutta in a damning dialogue) are absolutely ROFL! Anushka Sharma has lots to do, and with her mix of good looks and peppy acting, she does it well. I think she has rocketed after Band Baaja happened in her life. Imran Khan is the weak link here, and someone of Nana Patekar's calibre (younger, of course) could have added a lot more to his character.

Shabana is good in a new (for her) kind of role, and the supporting cast is good too. I watched it in Haryana (Gurgaon) and lots of people identified with the lingo the film uses - its setting is Haryana. The political satire is actually not very effective as in jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, but some sequences reminded me of it in their treatment. The take-offs on Mao and the use of the 'b'word- a popular curse word out here, are done quite well. The music is actually very lively, and adds to the mood in general.

Maybe 15 minutes chopped off would have added to its crispness. But I say that about all Hindi films. Anyway, it was paisa vasool for me!