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'D' Raw, rugged and realistic

By Nitika Desai
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

The bylanes of Mumbai are reproduced on celluloid with remarkable authenticity. Set against this squalid, life-like background is the story of Deshu, the protagonist of the movie ‘D’, which can be described – without any exaggeration –as yet another excellent Ram Gopal Varma production.

Deshu (played brilliantly by Randeep Hooda) is a quiet young man with a distinct brooding intensity. One day he witnesses the killing of a man in his chawl by gangsters who work for a Bhai named Maangli.

The

police round up Deshu to identify the killer. Deshu is in a fix. He knows that if he identifies the killer, he will be the next on Bhai’s hit list. And if he doesn’t, he would have to bite the police baton and take a good beating at the hands of cops. Deshu wisely chooses the latter.

After this, Deshu approaches Maangli’s rival bhai, named Haashim (Goga Kapoor), with a deal that he will kill Maangli for a place in Haashim’s gang.

Deshu kills Maangli and wins Haashim’s confidence. Thereby begins the rise of Deshu in the underworld. He becomes one of the trusted men of Haashim, but is envied by the latter’s two sons Mukarram and Shabbir (played by Sushant Singh and Yashpal Sharma).

Deshu rises to higher ranks and hires his own men, among whom is the happy-go-lucky Raghav (an impressive Chunky Pandey). Deshu also befriends an actress (played by Rukhsaar).

Meanwhile, Mukarram and Shabbir can’t digest Deshu’s good fortunes and convince Haashim that Deshu has been cutting more than his share of money in the deals. The bada bhai gives his nod to act against Deshu. And thus begins a bloody battle in which many, including Raghav and his wife (Isha Koppikar), are killed.

A third gangster intervenes to broker a peace deal between Deshu and Haashim’s men. But the chances of either of the conflicting parties coming out alive from the peace deal are bleak.

Director Vishram Sawant deserves full credit for making a gripping crime thriller that neither glorifies crime and killing nor does it preach any moral lesson. Sawant tells a simple tale with compelling honesty and without straying too much into style at the cost of substance.

Randeep Hooda puts life into his character with his rugged looks, deep voice, his controlled silence and facial expressions. It is hard to imagine anybody else playing Deshu.

Chunky Pandey makes an impressive comeback. Goga Kapoor (as Haashim) has a very imposing screen presence while Sushant Singh and Yashpal Sharma show their good command over histrionics. Rukhsaar has a marginal role which she plays with conviction.

‘D’ is a must watch for the lovers of good cinema. The movie grips you right from the beginning and keeps you glued till the very end.

‘D’ is raw, rugged and realistic. It could certainly have looked much better without the songs. But no complaints. The movie is definitely worth watching.

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