Gangster

The very last moment of the Aashiq Abu film Gangster has it saying something different from what we used to see in these gangster movies. But apart from a few scenes that praises the attitude of Akbar Ali Khan, the movie fails in creating a fresh wave which I believe the trailer was able to create. Very rarely deviating from the predictable pattern of heroism, Gangster is sadly an average product from Aashiq Abu and team.

The story focuses on the life of Akbar Ali Khan, born to a mafia don in Mumbai. He lost his family in the dirty mafia game and rose from that background he also became a part of it. In the new arena where Akbar, Mani Menon and Uncle Sam ruled the mafia world of Mangalapuram a new guy, Anto – the godson of Uncle Sam arrives with a new deal. The mismatch in attitude of Akbar and Anto causes some issues in the proposed deal and the movie focuses on the after effects of this disagreement.

As I said, my impression about the movie was that it would have a fresh take on the Gangster life, as I have not seen Aashiq Abu attempting genres that were attempted earlier. Around that interval session, the Ajmer resurrection phase I could smell the deviation from the usual path. But sadly what happened after that was something from the Amal Neerad school of film making. The guy just hunts down his enemies and traitors without much complications. In the midst of this, there are some memorable sequences like Akbar’s answer with the cup, Dileesh Pothan’s character’s personal life, some of Uncle Sam’s dialogues worshipping the central protagonist.

In the making, there are some visually stunning frames and engaging background scores that keeps you engaged in the movie even when it is moving forward without much surprises. Aashiq Abu has tried to treat it in a different way by including some long silences and some genuineness in certain reactions of characters. But that was restricted to limited scenes and the treatment and story went to that predictable phase.  Script follows a less surprising path. Dialogues are cool, but there are times the attempt to make it cool gone to a “I didn’t get it” level. Cinematography is superb. I loved the song Allahu Akbar. Edits crumbled a bit in the first half. Those animation sequences were impressive. The stunts are somewhat good as they occasionally created some thrill.

On screen, Mammootty’s Akbar is an extension of Bilal. Akbar is a bit more humane and we do get to see him struggling. The next person in the performers list is the villain played by Sekhar Menon. Applauds to the casting team for his selection.  Sekhar did the role very effectively. Dileesh Pothan was nice as the police officer. John Paul was good in his acting debut. Nyla Usha, Kunchan, T G Ravi, Hareesh Peradi and many more faces that are familiar are there in the star cast.

To conclude, Gangster is a disappointment in comparison with the expectation.  Alby’s cinematography and some scattered scenes that define Akbar’s attitude level will surely get appreciated in the long run.  My rating is a generous 2.5/5 for the Mammootty starrer Gangster. Its technical glory, but story.. I am so sorry.