Cast: Arjun Rampal, Aishwarya Rajesh, Nishikant Kamat, Farhan Akhtar
Director: Ashim Ahluwalia
Budget: 15 Crores approximately
Daddy is a biopic on the dreaded gangster turned politician, Arun Gulab Gawli, who was for a long time associated with major kidnappings, extortions, contract killings and other major crimes in Mumbai. The film covers a time span of 40 years and is told from the point of view of six different characters who were connected to him.
The film starts with a man being shot to death in his own home by two unidentified men.
Arjun Rampal as Gawli, wearing a Gandhi topi asks his daughter why on TV they address him as Robinhood. His daughter says, “Jo chor to hai par villain nahi”.
We are taken to the 70s when Mumbai's textile mill industry witnessed mass strikes and eventual lock-outs. Many people resorted to illegal activities like matka gambling and hafta-vasuli.
When one of Arun’s friend is murdered he is forced by other friends to join them in taking revenge and thus Arun commits his first crime. When in jail the witnesses refuse to identify him and he is released, his friends tell him, 'Bhai Ko tumhari daring ka pata chala’ and 'Bhai ka haath hai tumhare upar’.
So it feels strange when unlike his other friends Rama and Babu, Arun refuses to bow to the supremacy of “Bhai” even refusing to shake hands with him on Eid.
In the full film there are several characters who try to tell that Gawli didn't choose this line, he wanted to leave crime, because he was born in Dagdi Chaal and not in a posh area, he became what he was. In the end also there is a statement that although he used his power and henchmen to get lands cleared but that land was used by big businessmen for making their apartments or malls.
I haven't seen a gangster film where from the starting till the end we are made to believe that the gangster was indeed a victim of circumstances.
Arjun Rampal used prosthetics to make his nose look like Arun Gawli but he fails to portray the character of a feared Don who had the guts to organise a shootout of Dawood. In a scene shot in prison he tells his wife “Mujhe yaha se bahar nikalo ye log mujhe marwa denge”. When the wife arranges for his bail he tells her, “Mai jail Mai hi rahunga, bahar ye log meri fielding lagaya hua hai, maar denge mujhe”..If the feared Don was such a weakling what was the need to make a film on his life?
Arjun Rampal as Daddy is as bad as it can get. His dialogue delivery is flat. He’s expressionless in most of the scenes. Even when he tells the girl he’s attracted to, “Tu mujhe mast lagti hai” his voice has no energy.
In a scene, Arun & his ladylove are watching Hema Malini's, Dreamgirl in a theater. His friend, Rama, is making out with a girl in the back seat. Arjun looked as clueless in this scene as if was blackmailed to come to the theatre. Marathi actor, Rajesh Shringarpure as Rama outshone Arjun in many scenes.
Another actor who gives strong competition to Arjun Rampal in the poor acting department is Farhan Akhtar who plays the role of Dawood.
Although the film starts with a disclaimer that it is based on a true story, the name of Dawood is changed to Maqsood.
The only way we can connect Farhan's character to Dawood is that throughout the film he keeps wearing big shaded glasses. He is shown in every third scene but hardly has any dialogue worth mentioning. He’s shown watching cricket (so the audience can guess that he's a part of the Betting Syndicate).
Director, Ashim Ahluwalia made his debut with Miss Lovely in 2014 for which he won Special Mention Jury, National Award. In an interview before the release of the film he said that other directors were unsuccessful in presenting the real Mumbai of 80s. As he has lived through those dark alleys and conjusted areas he knew what Bombay was like in that time.
He has managed to recreate Dagdi Chaal and other shady areas. The crew also shot in areas where Gawli’s biggest rivals lived, an environment that was openly hostile to them.
In an interview Ashim also said, “I like putting people in this insanity. It is not healthy but it is very good for the movie. Taking people into really difficult locations and getting them out of their comfort zone. You are on edge there because you are getting yelled at by real gangsters or there are rats falling from the ceiling.”
All these background preparations would have worked if we had powerful actors in the key roles who had better dialogues to say.
The only actor who clearly shines in this dark film is Nishikant Kamat who plays the role of Inspector Vijaykar Nitin. He's non-affected by the sob-stories of Gawli’s friends and family and thinks that it would have been better if he had done Gawli’s encounter when he got the chance.
The film was released in approximately 700 screens and made less than 5 Crores in its opening weekend. It will be a difficult task for the film to recover it's budget.
“In a line, Daddy could have been more entertaining if the director focused more on making the lead actors act than on creating the perfect background.”
Timepass. Can be seen in theatres only if you like to watch documentaries on gangsters.
