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Class of '83 Movie Review

Author: Rochak Saxena
by Rochak Saxena
Posted: Oct 11, 2020
CLASS OF ’83" WORKS WELL IN PARTS, NOT OVERALLDirector Atul Sabharwal attempts to make a thrilling police film, but it doesn’t do anything beyond a certain point

Well, Class of ’83 can surely be called a powerful comeback for Bobby Deol. Infact this is the kind of a role that audience had been waiting to see him in. While the film paints an era, it is also unsatisfactory to see how the entire piece revolves around a single point and there is not much to adore in terms of aura.

PLOT

Vijay Singh (Bobby Deol), after demotion, is now the Dean of Police Training Centre. He decides to train five foolhardy students from his current batch of cadets as organised assassins in his attempt to free the city of Bombay of corruption and underworld.

STORY/SCREENPLAY/GENERAL

The film is based on the book The Class of 83: The Punishers of Mumbai Police by S. Hussain Zaidi. The story or the premise is strong and substantial to say the least. Where the film lacks is the screenplay by Abhijeet Deshpande.

The initial points of the film involving the setting up of the training and how students there are treated and trained, comes as a fresh treatment. The entire depiction is dramatic ofcourse but shown in a very appealing way. You like what you see. Since the main five boys are all newcomers, it is interesting to not be at a guessing point. Anybody could do anything and the absence of baggage works wonders for them.

Things begin to lose for the cinematic bug inside you when Dean Vijay chooses the five boys for not something spectacular as he claims to be. Given the narrative, he sees certain skills in the losers of the batch which he mentions as well. But as an audience, you never see even the far glimpses of those skills. Infact, what is shown to be their skill is ultimately treated as their failure when the three of them enter their instructor’s house at night. You do realize at this point that the camera falls on them and you get to know them only because they are the main actors, otherwise the writers haven’t actually bothered to give them those credentials that the entire film is based on.

While the film talks of an entire era, it keeps on revolving around one gangster from start till the very end and everything that happens, happens around single point of focus. So to think of it as a film that is projected in a certain manner, it disappoints to a great extent seeing a uni-directional approach.

What is good however is to see how the five men undertake their missions and how ego slowly creeps in giving rise to conflict. This angle is particularly important and gives the film dimensions. So the film does work for you in parts, mostly technical where visual appeal works, along with a Chacha Chaudhary comic reference along other subtle ones. There is also a reference to how post offices were used in mafia business discreetly in those times.

PERFORMANCE

Bobby Deol carries a persona all throughout and he is not monotonous. He is emotional in his back story and also the small scene where one of the men dies and he weeps, he is very good. He maintains a certain body language, suited well for the character.

Annup Sonii has made a mark as a politician, in a role that is different from his personality. He does a good job. Joy Sengupta has a good supporting role and he does a very good act by giving the film an unpredictability and depth. Similarly, Vishwajeet Pradhan is also very good, bringing in strictness and humour in equal proportions.

Hitesh Bhojraj, Sameer Paranjape, Ninand Mahajani, Prithvik Pratap, and Bhupendra Jadawat are all very good. They have all done decently, leaving an impression. Bhupendra, Hitesh and Sameer have been given relatively more screen time than the other two because of the shades of their characters.

OTHER TECHNICALITIES

The film doesn’t have songs and rightly so, you don’t even feel the need. Music score by Viju Shah is gripping and suited to the definitions of the film. The score sets the tone right and keeps you immersed in the arc.

Cinematography by Mario Poljac is very good for it gives a superb visual appeal. The era that is created through the aid of production design by Anita Rajgopalan Lata and Donald Reagen Gracy works wonderfully for the film. Bombay of 80s is created thoughtfully with small details of costumes, telephones, streets, vehicles, and articles used by people in their daily lives. It is the visual engagement with the film that you do watch the film with interest. Slightly here and there, the film would have fallen like house of cards.

Editing by Manas Mittal is in tune with the writing. At 98mins, the film seems fully worked up conveying all that it needed to. There are some dull moments as well, but those come from poor writing for that part.

For once, it is a good film, working well in parts. It however remains half baked and you do feel something missing from the final piece. It did have the potential to be a much better affair though.

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About the Author

Rochak Saxena a Mass Media Teacher, former journalist at Dna and an ardent lover of Hindi films - literally. The blog derives its name from the popular term ‘Willing Suspension of Disbelief’, most commonly used in the world of literature and cinema.

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Author: Rochak Saxena

Rochak Saxena

Member since: Oct 08, 2020
Published articles: 1

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