A lone cop against the system

ShoolRamgopal Varma is back on his trademark trail after the feel-good Mast. With Shool, he has scripted a greater reality than Satya. No...

Shool
Ramgopal Varma is back on his trademark trail after the feel-good Mast. With Shool, he has scripted a greater reality than Satya. Not for the first time though every ten years there is a cops-versus-corrupt system film. Varma has also introduced us to an exemplary director, 23-year-old E Nivas. After an overdose of the Mumbai underworld, the frame moves to bucolic interiors here, Motihari in Bihar, where Inspector Samar Pratap Singh Manoj Bajpai is a Zanjeeresque angry young man. Similar idealism, packed with more fire, except that there are no two choices for the protagonist.

Samar Pratap Singh comes with wife Anjali Raveena Tandon and daughter Sonu Baby Avi to this sleepy village, buzzing with political activity. The fiery inspector will not fall in the line with an already sold-out staff and pugnacious Bachchu Yadav aka Bhaiyaaji Sayaji Shinde and cronies. He is unsuccessfully petted and cajoled by colleagues and seniors. In the process, he loses his daughter. Rustic humour,frequent brawls, a UP Bihar by Shilpa Shetty apart from this and the title song, Sandeep Chowta8217;s music is too noisy and intrusive and lot of bloodshed smoothly take the film to a predictable finish. Sayaji Shinde is brilliant as a power-starved, psycho MLA. Manoj Bajpai refuses to be repetitive in an otherwise cliched role, and Raveena Tandon shuns detractors with a notable de-glamourised act. Despite E Nivas pulling off a commendable debut, this is no Ardh Satya.

Rockford
IT actually started with English August, but Nagesh Kukunoor8217;s low-budget Hyderabad blues is thought to have created a new genre in Indian cinema that broke the traditional barrier between commercial and art films. Back with his second sit-back and enjoy8217; flick, Kukunoor8217;s skills have matured like fine wine. He uses the same sophomoric style of telling an everyday story here, all of 13, Rajesh Naidu Rohan Dey comes of age at a Catholic boarding school called Rockford. His friends Selva Kailash Atmanathan and DavidFischer Imran Mirza help him catch life without the safety net of his parents. Good at academics, Rajesh is, unfortunately, not a good sportsperson. In comes Kukunoor as assistant gym teacher Johnny Mathew.

In him Rajesh finds a father, mentor and friend to learn the ways of the world and eliminate fears like awakening sexuality and a teacher with a face of Dracula Sohrab Ardeshir. From pranks the best one gets an award every year, adolescent love with girls from the neighbourhood school and infatuation everyone is head-over-heels in love with teacher Lily Vegas, played by Nandita Das, the story moves on to more serious things 8211; Rajesh pays the price for becoming popular too soon. Rohan Dey shows unhindered sincerity with the role of an unsure kid trying to find his own place in the world. Commendable, what with no prior acting experience.

Equally good are Atmanathan and Imran as Rajesh8217;s friends and Ulrika Krishnamurthy as his girlfriend. Music by Ashirvad is worth tapping feet with. Also,the film is better shot than Blues. However, Kukunoor8217;s act is hackneyed. In the next, he should stick to direction. Still, if you want to be reminded that you were there once, go for it.

MEETA BHATTI
Hum Saath-Saath Hain
IT8217;S a trademark Rajshri8217;s film, but this time, the family film8217; bit seems to have been overdone.

A modernised Ramayan, the players are Ramkishenji Alok Nath, Mamta Reema Lagoo and their four children Vivek Mohnish Bahl, Prem Salman Khan, Sangeeta Neelam and Vinod Saif Ali Khan. The film begins with Ramkishenji and Mamta celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. A marriage quickly follows, 8211; in this case, of Vivek with Sadhana Tabu, then Prem8217;s engagement with Preeti Sonali Bendre and Vinod8217;s romance with Sapna Karishma Kapoor.

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It8217;s in the second half that the Ramayan starts. Sangeeta is compelled to move out with her husband, which jolts Mamta badly. Since Vivek is her stepson, she becomes insecure and egged on by her socialite friends, shestarts talking about separation of property between the sons. Most of the brothers start to head out. Naturally, all8217;s well that ends well.

Elaborate sets and costumes and good cinematography are the film8217;s highlights; the same, though, can8217;t be said about the songs 8211; seven in all. The cast has also done a good job.

8212; SABIHA KALOLWALA