Ab Tak Chhappan

I still remember watching Satya for the first time. I was completely blown away. Here was a movie that was very different so from the other Gangster films that I had seen. So realistic, so Mumbaiyya and so believable. Despite "Company" (which was a very good effort) and "Vaastav" (more focused on the journey of the protagonist) which came close, no underworld movie could ever live up to Satya.

When I watched Ab Tak 56 for the first time, I said to myself "Indian Cops have their own 'Satya' now". The quote by Nietzsche in the beginning itself tells you that this is no ordinary film. What strikes you about the "encounter" at the start of the film is the relaxed manner in which it is carried out. There is a cold and scary feel to it cos you realize that it is part of their routine.

Ab Tak 56 is not the story of an honest cop or a corrupt cop but of a cop who is ready to do what it takes to get rid of the criminals when all lawful means are exhausted. With simple shots and camera angles, director Shimit Amin manages to capture the essence of the characters and gives a realistic and rough feel to the movie. Editing seems non-existent and hence effective. The music is also impressive and haunting and stays with you long after you've left the movie hall.

But for me, what really takes the cake are the dialogues and the superlative acting from each and every character. Sandeep Srivastava has done a brilliant job as the dialogue writer. If I start listing my favourite dialogues, I'm afraid I'll end up re-writing the entire script of the movie.

The movie boasts of some stellar performances. Yashpal Sharma is detestable as Sub-Inspector Imtiaz Siddiqui and so is Jeeva as Joint Commissioner Suchak. Revathi, Hrishita Bhatt, Mohan Agashe and Kunal Vijaykar have small roles which they play to perfection. Nakul Vaid as the rookie Jatin Shukla was a revelation. The scene where he has to hesitantly shoot the wounded gangster – Oh My God! He learns under the tutelage of Sadhu Aghashe and firmly believes in him.

Prasad Purandhare as Zameer Zafar is impressive. His conversations with Sadhu are real jewels of dialogue writing. Never before in Indian cinema has any film brought out such a beautiful relation between a cop and a gangster.

Not that I have not been a fan of Nana Patekar before this film but this film pushed me from a fan to a devotee. Nana as Inspector Sadhu Agashe gives the performance of a lifetime and one of the best I've ever seen in Hindi cinema. From the way he talks to his expressions, from the way he taps his cigarette to the way sips his tea – it's almost as if Nana can do no wrong. He is at his best in each and every scene especially when he's teaching Jatin about how the police force functions. His cool and composed manner of doing things is scary at times. His dialogue delivery and body language had me convinced that he is one of the finest actors in the country. It's a shame that he did not win any popular awards for this one.

Last but in no way the least, Shimit Amin does a brilliant job of bringing all this talent together and exploiting them to the fullest to come up with a modern masterpiece of Indian cinema. In an industry that is sickeningly accustomed to lifting stories from here and there, Amin takes an original script and brings it to life with a beautiful treatment. I just hope that he continues the great work and doesn't give in to Bollywood-isation! If he can do that, I'm sure he'll be a force to reckon with in the coming years.

I love the way he experiments. Ab Tak Chappan was a thrill to watch just as much Satya and company was. Jatin the new comer also lived up to his role and Nana Patekar was at his best. Suchak was really irritating but I think he fit the character he was playing - he had really ugly teeth. The story has a great progress and no songs in the movie makes it better. I only wish he signs up Urmila for his other up coming movies. I think they are the best director and actress combination I have seen. I have not seen Naach as yet but I am looking forward for it. I for some reason don't find Antra Maali that exciting to watch on the screen - unlike Urmila.

Crime drama genre is just like the chess game, if handled sensibly and very seriously. Its like you don't notice the motive or intention behind any move played by players ( in a movie, there are protagonist and antagonist) But as soon as the game comes towards climax, and protagonist checkmates the villain, you think of all those moves in sequence and how those moves trick the opponent to fall into his own trap. This game becomes more interesting and engaging when you get to know thinking behind every move played by the players. This is what director Shimit Amin achieved, with his brilliant direction, in this film by portraying each character and their role in main story which makes the movie one of the best crime drama movie.

When you first see the poster and Nana Patekar in it with a tag line like "If I have to think about what's right and what's wrong just like you guys (addressing to the readers), then Who will do it (the killing)", u get the feeling that you will get to see something very interesting on the screen.

The fearless encounter specialist, with very supportive commissioner of Mumbai Police Department to perform his duty without any restriction to clean the underworld and at the same time struggling to keep himself away from becoming a victim of jealousy of his own department member, faces difficulties while doing his job when a new commissioner is appointed. And execution of new orders from commissioner about an encounter leads to set a chain of incidents which create a gripping mind game.

The depth in the character of Sadhu Agashe is wholeheartedly portrayed by legendary Nana Patekar with nuances and remarkable detailing. The dialogue delivery, body language and attitude of this actor is perfect for fearless Encounter Specialist. At the same time Nana Patekar portrays a loving family man, a protective father, frustrated cop. His facial expressions were outstanding while having a dialogue with his colleague about how cops are puppets of the politicians and system. All the other supporting actors play their role very well. Special mentions are Yashpal Sharma and Nakul Vaid.

The character theme for Nana's character created by Salim-Sulaiman suits that character. The editing is tight and doesn't lose the hold and pace. Story and screenplay are awesome. Dialogues given to Nan's character are quirky and help build the character strongly. Dialoges between Nana and Don also add some humor in scenes. Cinematography is OK. Overall a good crime drama with magic touch of Nana Patekar is what Ab tak Chhapaan can be well described as. And yeah it is worth having along shelf life on DVDs.

An excellent movie and a definite must see. Great plot, screenplay, direction and cast - with just the right amount of Nana. Goes to show that Bollywood can produce movies of cinematic brilliance second to none. I saw shades of Training Day in the beginning of this movie (corrupt cop showing the ropes to a rookie cop), but the similarities ended there. IMHO, Nana did a way more credible job than Denzel's overhyped and overrated Oscar winning performance. A very serious and realistic movie, but not very dark and it did not treat the subject with a heavy-hand. I think this was why the movie moved along at a good pace, and always kept the viewer involved. Gets bonus points for having a white person on screen that can actually speak English [if you've heard white people speak English in Hindi movies, you know what I'm talking about]. A very solid 9/10.

I almost stopped watching Hindi movies because of the mediocre quality and story lines. One exception for this is Ramgopal Verma movies. This is a nice movie with great performances from the star cast. This is must see movie for those who are sick of watching stupid dancing and love stories. The adaptation of the story and characterization was exceptional good.You should watch this movie for Nana Patekar. based on the life of Mumbai cop Daya Naik this movie deals in a more realistic way. The film delves into the life of the common man, which he has apart from being an encounter specialist. I rate this as one of the best movie of the year