A gang of four masked do-gooders, comprising characters played by Randeep Hooda, Kangana Ranaut, Neil Bhoopalam and Angad Bedi, show the middle finger literally and metaphorically to various low-level functionaries who are making life difficult for Mumbai’s citizens. Emraan Hashmi, playing Emraan Hashmi pretending to be a character, is the undercover cop who infiltrates their gang but has a change of heart when he finds out the motivation for their name-and-shame actions. Cut to Arunoday Singh in the most intriguing guest appearance of the year – a gym instructor who now lies comatose in hospital after being maimed during an argument with a fixer’s son, waiting for the next cameo to drag along his sputtering career.
What Lage Raho Munnabhai took one scene to do – middle class denizens shaming officialdom into action – takes close to two hours in Ungli. The movie lacks conviction, spark and purpose, never coming to life despite a decent premise and cast. Woven around the credulity-challenging heists are extraneous songs, stilted bonding scenes between various characters, and some kind of message against corruption.
Rensil D’Silva’s second movie after Kurbaan has been made with the belief that there has never been a movie before about corruption and vigilante justice. Never before have we seen men and women decide that the law is a hindrance rather than a tool for justice. Never before have we watched policemen grease their palms, government officials hold up pensions and spoilt brats harm innocent people. Yes, we have never seen an autorickshaw driver being rapped for refusing to take a passenger, so that’s probably what they call progress.
Reading
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1
Start the week with a film: ‘Tortoise Under the Earth’ is a haunting portrayal of displacement
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2
‘Felt like I was under hypnosis’: How digital arrest scams dupe Indians of their hard-earned money
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3
Ten-year-old preacher’s mother moves court against ‘anti-Hindu’ YouTubers
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4
How a feminine hygiene firm created brand awareness with innovative marketing strategies
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5
Science fiction: Jagat is frozen in stasis for 100 years for a crime he may not have committed
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6
50 more flights receive bomb threats in a day
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7
How the invasive water hyacinth is helping build livelihoods – with an ecological bonus
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8
Four reasons why Congress does not learn from its electoral failures – and what it can do about it
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9
The amazing story of ‘The Indian Ladies’ Magazine’ and its founder Kamala Satthianadha
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10
101 ex-bureaucrats urge Amit Shah to act against ‘majoritarian aggression’ in Uttarakhand