Movie Review : Laal Kaptaan

Producer- Aanand L. Rai

Director- Navdeep Singh

Star Cast- Saif Ali Khan, Deepak Dobriyal, Manav Vij, Zoya Hussain and Simone Singh

Genre- Period Drama

Rating- **1/2

A tedious narrative which tires you

Jyothi Venkatesh

Laal Kaptaan is set in the late-1700s, which was a time of fantastic tumult in India.  In an 18th century setting, a Naga sadhu in India sets out on a journey across Bundelkhand to seek revenge for an injustice committed in the past. What is his motive and who is he really, forms the rest of the plot. The Battle of Buxar has taken place, the Mughals are losing their grip and the British are on their way to taking control of the country. North India is a mess of competing interests: Afghans, Marathas, assorted tribes and clans. The blood thirsty Naga sadhu out on the prowl is Gossain( Saif Ali Khan), who has a score to settle with a warlord named Rehmat Khan (Manav Vij) and goes on a wild spree of killing people slashing throats without even a second thought.

With a running time of more than two and a half hours, the film has a meandering screenplay and a narrative which is too long drawn out for us to digest. The cinematography by Shankar Raman is exemplary while Saif Ali Khan’s get up and the action sequences remind you of Pirates of The Caribbean. One wonders why on earth Sonakshi Sinha agreed to do a cameo in this film since she is gone the minute you blink for a second or two. Deepak Dobriyal is superb as usual while Manav Vij could have done better as far as his acting chops are concerned.

Zoya Hussain does a remarkable job as Saif Ali Khan’s romantic interest while Simone Singh makes a comeback in films after a long time with a refreshing change from her usual sweet saccharine roles. Though director Navdeep Singh tries his level best to infuse life into a narrative which is as long as this one is, he fails with a slow pace which drags the film on and on and even lulls you to sleep and one wonders whether it was the same director who had earlier given us master pieces like Manorama Six feet Under or for that matter NH 10.

At times the film sets out to make you remember Thugs of Hindustan since the films have been almost set in the same period with a lot of colorful costumes

 

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