Agent Pakau!

            I've been a fan of Sriram Raghavan's work ever since I first watched Ek Haseena Thi. It was instant love and respect, that was further intensified by the brilliant Johnny Gaddar. So, naturally, I had expectations from Agent Vinod, even if the trailers never really appealed to me. I guess it is because of those expectations that the film disappointed me.

            To begin with, the film doesn't have a feel of a Sriram Raghavan film; the realism, the uncompromised direction, sharp detailing, the Neo-Noir touch -all of it is missing! It's total Bollywood here, from the sudden and weird humour to the yikes-ily composed mujra number popping in between or the absent logic in between  or the romantic number in between a thrilling action scene or the entire romantic track in itself! Am sure all this has been done on the insistance of the producers, to raise the film's commercial viability.

            The film doesn't have a bad premise at all. In fact, it starts off in a brilliantly done sequence telling us what exactly the agent is after. But that's only at the beginning,  the keeps-you-guessing  feel of a spy film that leaves you on the edge of your seat is sorely missing here. Even it is written in the script, it just doesn't translate on screen. This is mostly because the actors are too busy trying to look good especially, Kareena. She sucks to the core! And when I say this, she really does! One of the twists involving her, during the intermission, lacks the punch because of her uninspired acting! I don't know what happened to the actress who gave us Omkara and Jab We Met. She seems uninterested half the time. And I don't know why she was absent from the scene of her character's conclusion. Saif, contrary to what others are saying, didn't impress me much either. He isn't bad of course. In fact he is one of the only elements about the film that worked. But he is capable of doing much better! (Read Ek Haseena Thi, Omkara, Being Cyrus)The supporting cast doesn't impress much either, lot should be credited to the bad characterization; some are real stereotypes like the fake white lens wearing character played by Shahbaz Khan. Plus, the ever brilliant Zakir Hussain is given such a small part!

            What works in favour of the film is it's Cinematography, smart Editing and some of the action sequences that are quite thrilling. The music by Pritam is god-awful! Yes, it is. I mean that in context of not suiting the film. The song Pungi is enjoyable as a stand-alone song. I like it too. But it isn't meant for a spy film. And the way it's been used in the film, it's appalling! Why try so hard to impress the audience? I think, if the Producers would have let Sriram do his work, the film would have been much better and the audience would have liked it for what it is! (Kahaani, for example) You can't put all the elements, that the audience likes, in one film. What comes out is a royal mess! (Look at the Charlie Chaplin scene, in this one. Messy!) It's because of all these elements that the film has an inconsistent tone.

            What the producers have tried hard is also to get a U/A certification by compromising on scenes where the scene required to have a bit of a mature take. Like the scene with a Moroccan security guy, who wants to bed Kareena,  is shown cartoon-ishly dancing around in the hotel (to an old Hindi song), in his boxers, to seduce her. A few minutes ago, in one of the scenes at a ballet show, he's shown looking down a woman's cleavage with sheer lust making them uncomfortable. Now, am not sure if it is supposed to be quirky characterization or what. It just doesn't translate but ends up being a bad scene. It's these types of scenes that makes Agent Vinod just another Bollywood film. I'm stressing on the word "Bollywood" here. I hate the word. It's wannabe-ish. And that's exactly what this film ends up being. It wants to be a spy film as good as James Bond, but doesn't come close even after stylish production values.

            Yet, I won't say I'm disappointed in Sriram Raghavan. I have faith in him and his style of filmmaking. His first two films are evidence of the fact that he is one of India's great filmmakers. And here, I'm not using the word "great" casually but with the weight it's supposed to be used. If you don't trust me, watch those two films. They truly are underrated gems, without the backing of big producers and distributors, which is also why they didn't get him enough recognition. As far as this film is concerned, his vision was compromised with and it's evident throughout. Actually, every great filmmaker once tries his hand at making a big budget commercial film which often gets hijacked by the producers and the film fails miserably (For eg. James Cameron's Piranha 2, Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, Guy Ritchie's Swept Away). But atleast it'll get Raghavan recognition and a huge paycheck. After which, I hope he goes back to making the kind of films he made earlier. After all, his fans (like me) have waited for 5 years since his last film. And we deserve a treat. Hell, he deserves a treat for himself by getting to make something that he really wants to in a way that he wants to.

            Now finally, on an ending note, if you really want to watch this film, go ahead. It's not a bad film, it's brilliant in parts but not so brilliant in it's entirety. Just don't expect it to overwhelm you. And for others, watching Kahaani again would a far better option. It's this year's best film, so far. (I say that even if I didn't like the end.) Or watch Ek Haseena Thi and Johnny Gaddar on DVD. These films will surely leave you mesmerized.