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Gangaajal
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'Gangaajal'

By ApunKaChoice Bureau
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Ajay Devgan and Gracy Singh starrer Gangaajal is the story of an honest cop and his struggle to root out evils from the society.

The film opens with the appointment of Amit Kumar [Ajay Devgan] as the new Superintendent of Police of the district town of Tejpur by the banks of river Ganga in Bihar.

In

this small and sleepy town, Amit comes across a good number of corrupt and debased characters like the tyrannical Sadhu Yadav and his debauched son Sundar who think of themselves as local kings of the area.

Inside the police station Amit finds police constables who turn a blind eye to everything around, one of them being the beedi-smoking corrupt DSP Bhurelal.

Once he settles down in his duty Amit tries to inject some honesty and dedication in the police staff, but only in vain. The dust of years of corruption and degeneration won’t be blown away so easily.

Only one policeman Bachcha Yadav draws inspiration from Amit and decides to transform his life and take an honest approach to everything. Meanwhile, Amit wins the confidence of couple of other policemen. But he can’t alleviate the disillusionment of townsmen with the corrupt and unjust police force.

When the going gets tough for Amit, his wife, Anuradha [Gracy Singh], acts as his morale booster and conscience keeper. She is deeply troubled by what is happening around her and questions him at every step. A disturbed and frustrated Amit withdraws from her.

Meanwhile, the frustration of the local people and goons keeps brewing. Some of Amit’s subordinates vent their frustrations on two of Sundar's cronies in police lock-up by blinding them with acid.

Following this incident Amit becomes a social crusader than cop. What ensues is the battle between the evil and good in which many lives are put on line.

Directed by Prakash Jha Gangaajal is a grim and dark movie with no zing quotient. The movie is completely void of any light moments, or romance (except one song). There is also a strong dose of blood and gore along with frequent usage of abuses and expletives.

Jha relies heavily on realistic depiction of the story to the point that entertainment value takes a backseat. In fact, the director has incorporated some true incidents (Bhagalpur blindings of 1979-1980 when 30 undertrials were blinded by policemen) in the film to make it look different from others of its ilk.

While the initial reels of the movie captivate a viewer with the introduction of a new character every ten minutes, the pace drops in the second half when the story gets into the same-old good versus bad stereotype. Even the symbolism of acid being described as the gangaajal used to cleanse the system does not filter through the confusion of the post-interval mayhem.

Ajay Devgan gives a scintillating performance as the cop who is hell bent on cleaning the system. His intense persona and his facial expressions (with the look of despair and then hope) really make him stand out in the movie. Gracy Singh on the other hand goes unnoticed in a role that relegates her to the sidelines.

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