“Jaan de denge hum iske liye, kya baat kar rahe hain aap”
Warning – this will be full of spoilers. Avoid reading if you haven’t watched it yet. Dekh aao fir padhna. Aur agar sirf verdict chahiye toh you can skip directly to the last paragraph.
Article 370 – Politics vs Film
I’ll be reviewing the film only from a cinema perspective and not from any political angle. We all have different ideologies, we know a about some information more than other, we see few characters a little differently in real life due to personal experiences, and thus, no matter what I say, it will upset one or the other and then that discussion would go in another direction, and not be about the film So I watched the film as fiction and that’s how this review is going to be, on filmmaking aspects.
Article 370 – The Opening
We already saw the opening narration by Ajay Devgn as the makers released it like a promo. It was a very good way to open the film, giving all the historical information as the film is set much later in the future. It was simple, to the point, had good animation and the voice over by Ajay Devgn was very impactful. This is what we expect from a senior actor and he nailed it.
Yami Gautam
Yami is a great actress and she has been proving it with every single project. Article 370 is one of her best performances, if not the best.
The opening scene itself is a very good one, where she in disguise as a salon lady. Sorry, I know it’s not right to compare, but given the scenario right now, where actors are selected on the basis of popularity and then boosted with a lot of PR, in the first scene itself I felt there are a lot of actors who would not be able to pull off this scene with such ease.
There is one long monologue about Article 370, which Yami says to Priyamani’s character which was very impactful. Yami nailed it there, starting her sentences in despair and then slowly getting frustrated and finally angry at the situation. She is expressing yet controlling her behaviour coz she is speaking to a senior. The tears drop just at the right moment. Loved that scene.
Another good one is when she is shouting at her senior. She even performed well in the combat scenes as well – the one in the beginning, when she gets attacked, and one in the end.
Powerful Women
One thing I love in films/series from any part of the world, where they do not force feminism. This film does just that. The characters of Yami and Priyamani could have easily been male characters. But they showed female characters and both were very well written characters. The performances just enhance the overall feel. Loved both of them so much and kudos to the director for their presentation.
Action of Article 370
This has to have a special mention, especially the first operation. I pay very strong attention in detailing and I have mentioned this a lot of times before when big movies do not execute the scenes well. Either they shoot it wrong or edit very blandly. This particular sequence gave me the feel of what we get in good Hollywood movies. They built up the intensity til gunfire broke. The music, the cutting on scenes in and out of the house, the camera and of course the actors, it all blended very well. The was a top-angle shot in the end where the terrorists were cornered and were being shot at from 3 directions. You can only see the bullet trails in the darkness. That was so good.
The last one too was very well executed. When Zooni finally shoots Naikoo and it is a low angle shot, the emotion came out so well from the actor, but it was also good for the audience because the scene was built-up so well up to that moment.
Other Cast
I loved the casting. They chose the right actors for all the parts and they all held their ground well.
- Vaibhav Tatwawadi played a good part as the soldier. Lag rha tha kuch Love angle hoga Zooni ke sath but then we lost him in the attack. Good role, good performance.
- Raj Arjun ko Secret Superstar ke baad pehli baar dekha. chota par accha role tha.
- Skand Sanjeev Thakur as Wasim Abbasi was decent.
- Raj Zutshi and Divya Shah as political members of Kashmir did their part well. Forcefully villain nahi banaya unko ye accha laga. Obviously narration ke opposing forces they toh thoda negative honge, but zabardasti monster paint karne ki koshish nahi ki jaisa kaafi bar hota hain.
- Iravati Harshe as the reporter was a balanced character. I feared ki The Vaccine War ki tarah cartoonish villain na bana dein, but they showed her well.
- Even the Pakistani characters were not made into a joke like they did in Fighter.
- Ashwini Koul as Zakir Naikoo also performed very well. Fighter ke villain se betetr portrayal tha to be honest.
Real Life Characters
Arun Govil excelled as the Prime Minister. We have seen a lot of portrayals of the PM in several movies. Mostly they don’t take names but the look is enough for us to understand who the actors are playing. I loved that the makeup was done well, and the character was not caricature-ish. He did not try to copy the voice or speech patter, only that there was a very subtle hint. Copy karne ki koshish karte toh gadbad hoti.
Lekin ye gadbad Home Minister ke character ke sath ho gayi. Trailer mein hi wo parliament wale scene mein funny lag rahe the, haan wahi scene ho inka money shot hai jisko promos mein tv-internet par bar-bar dikhaya ja raha hai. Even before that scene, when he appeared on screen, or said another dialogue, people laughed a few times. He was not funny or did anything wrong, perception hi aisa ban gaya tha, caricature vibes aa rahi thi.
Kiran Karmarkar is a good actor and wo dikha. He was very sincere in his acting and in the end he delivered in the scene with perfection. What we saw in the trailer is almost the last line of the scene. But the build up before that is so good, that we forget that it’s funny. That entire scene is done so well, that when that “jaan de denge iske liye” line came, people clapped. Kahi na kahi wo scene replicate karne ke chakkar mein kuch funny laga audience ko, lekin final output sahi raha. Ant bhala toh sab bhala.
Writing & Direction
One of the best things about Article 370 is that it’s a very balanced film. Faltu jingoism nahi hai. Faltu ka kisi ko villain nahi banaya hai, ruling party ko aisa nahi dikhaya hai ki ye toh best hain ye nahi hote toh dekh ka kya hota. Dekho ye sab narration chal rha hai isliye bol raha hu, aur sirf film ke hisab se bol raha hu. They showed everyone as characters, as people who believe in something, and want to do something, they face challenges along the way, they overcome it and they finally do what they hoped for. Kisi ko bahaut mahaan ya kisi ko bilkul shaitaan sabit karne ki koshish nahi ki hai, like I said before, narration hai toh negative forces hongi, but wo pure eveil disney villain jaisa portrayal nahi hai. It is an actually well made film. Factually sab apna apna decide karo main politics mein nahi ghus raha.
Direction is very very good. It’s not flawless, but done with conviction. Cameraman did his job, editor did his job, the actors did their job. But the director gave them the brief, the director looked after the execution. So credit to him. Can’t say how much liberty he gave his cast and crew to go creative and how much he took care of the creative aspect himself and did as per his vision, but in either case, it is his choices and actions which led to the final product. In many parts, the build-up is excellent, it keeps you hooked and invested in the story. A job well done Mr. Aditya Suhas Jambhale, I had concerns due to the topic but you delivered.
Verdict
If you are a fan of serious films, then this is highly recommended. You will not regret a theatrical watch. The direction and performances are something that will be better for a theatrical experience. Ghar pe distractions hongi, 4-6 bar pause karoge phone check karoge, same feel nahi ayegi. You can watch the trailer of Article 370 again to be sure and the film is better than that.
Don’t go if you are someone who does not relate to the topic. Trailer toh dekha hi hoga, topic political hai, aur agar aap abhi se trigger ho rahe ho toh koi point nahi hai theatre jane ka. Agar aap apolitical ya neutral ho, toh as a film zarur dekho. Acchi film banai hai.
Also check out Fighter and Animal Phone Wallpapers here
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