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Maqbool
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'Maqbool'

By ApunKaChoice Bureau
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

After his acclaimed directorial debut in Makdee, Vishal Bhardwaj has come with a hard-hitting thriller Maqbool. There are no two opinions that the film has top quality work from actors and the director.

The movie begins with a prediction. Two corrupt cops Purohit and Pandit (Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri) - playing roles similar to the two witches in Shakespeare's classic Macbeth - are interrogating a man in their police van. While Purohit asks questions, Pandit draws an astrological chart of planets and stars. Blood spills all over the chart and Pandit predicts that Mumbai will be ruled by Maqbool, the deputy of don Abbaji.

Vishal

succeeds in showing the greed and guilt of the protagonist Maqbool and his lover Nimmi. There are a number of sequences that have his well executed to this effect:

When Maqbool begins to see the blood on the terrace where goats had been slaughtered. The shot beautifully shows the inner conflict of the protagonist as he contemplates killing his boss Abbaji to take over his crime kingdom and his mistress Nimmi.

Another sequence (in the second half) that stands out is when a dead companion is brought to his home and Maqbool thinks that he saw the man open his eyes and smile at him. It shows how the guilt of killing Abbaji begins to torment Maqbool.

Pankaj Kapoor gives a laudable performance as the aged don who has a remarkable wisdom to take crucial decisions. Tabu too slips deftly into the role of his mistress Nimmi who desires Maqbool. Particularly impressive is the way she brings about the anguish of a guilt-ridden woman who begins to see blood stains even on clean walls.

Irfan Khan plays the protagonist with the intensity and power that the character required. On the sidelines Nassiruddin Shah and Om Puri keep adding fun and humor to the story while playing the role of cops who believe that 'a balance should be maintained' between various crime groups so that they end up killing each other and therefore reduce the work for police.

On the whole, Maqbool is gripping right from the beginning and keeps a viewer glued to the screen till the very end.

Must Watch.

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