Toofaan Movie Review: Star Performances and Cinematography is Shines Everywhere

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Mrunal Thakur, Paresh Rawal, Vijay Raaz, Sonali Kulkarni

Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime

Ratings: 3/5 (three stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Farhan Akhtar was in the news for a long time for the film Toofaan. The film was already about to release but due to the hit of Covid, the release date kept moving forward. However, finally the wait of the fans is over and the film has been released. In such a situation, let us tell you how is the film Toofaan?

Toofaan Movie Review: The Story

The main characters of the story are Ajju Bhai aka Aziz Ali (Farhan Akhtar) and Narayan Prabhu (Paresh Rawal). Through these two, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has said a lot openly and sometimes in gestures. Ajju Bhai is a goon from the Dongri area, who works for Jafar Bhai (Vijay Raaz). Ajju wants to gain true respect by becoming a boxing champion. In this, his inspiration becomes Dr. Ananya (Mrunal Thakur), who works in the charity Charity Hospital in the area.

Ajju goes to Maharashtra Boxing Association coach Nana Prabhu. After initial hesitation, Nana agrees to train him. Ajju wins the state championship. However, when Nana learns that Ajju is in love with his own daughter and wants to get married, he pushes her away with abuses. Ananya tries to convince her father, but Nana’s anger does not subside. Ananya comes to Ajju, Meanwhile, to overcome the financial crunch, Ajju fixes in the National Championship and loses. This gets exposed and Ajju is banned for five years. He has a fight with Ajju about this, but Ananya’s anger subsides after Ajju’s friend Munna (Husain Dalal) convinces her. Both get married. A daughter Mayara is born. After this the story takes a leap of five years.

Ajju would have left boxing and started a traveling company. On the other hand, the ban imposed on him is lifted. Ananya wants Ajju to return to boxing and win the championship and wash away the stain of fixing. But Ajju refuses… but Ajju does not know that the biggest test of his life is yet to come. His life again comes to a halt on the same question… What is honour?

Through the character of Marathi Brahmin Nana Prabhu, the film talks about prejudices of one community towards another, and then through his friend Bala (Dr. Mohan Agashe) answers those prejudices. Such discussions today are often seen embroiled in the debates of WhatsApp forwards and social media. When Bala asks Nana that if you have problem with Muslim community then why keep training Ajju and Nana replies that he is different. There is a spirit in him. However, behind Nana’s hatred is his past, in which he lost his wife (Sonali Kulkarni) in a terror incident.

There is one more incident. When Nana learns that Ananya is in love with Ajju and wants to get married, her reaction comes down to prejudice against Ajju’s community. The film shows the same bias from the other community’s side. Seeing Ananya at Ajju’s house, when the neighbors talk about changing her religion, Ajju opposes her. No need to change name. No religion

Toofaan Movie Review: The Review

One good thing about the film is that no attempt has been made to show coercive action during boxing, sports have been shown as sports. On the other hand, the way Farhan has worked hard for the film, it is really praise-e-worthy. The music of the film is also good and works to take the film forward. Along with this, Hussain Dalal, Vijay Raj, Supriya Pathak and Darshan Kumar have also done justice to their characters.

The weakest link of the film ‘Toofaan’ is its editing. Meghna Sen would have done what Mehra told her, but as smartly as she showed Aziz Ali in the stitching scene, if she shows the same intelligence in the rest of the scenes, then the film can be shortened by at least 20 minutes. . There was no need to show prayer, namaz and prayer in the climax of the film, the hopeful eyes of Aziz’s baby girl and the love for Aziz on Nana Prabhu’s face is enough for this. After a long time, a movie has come which you can watch with the whole family on Smart TV. So this weekend will come a storm in your drawing room too!

In the year 2013, Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra made Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. The film was great, but it was too long. Now after eight years, Rakesh has brought the storm. Then the film is quite long but this time it is average instead of brilliant. Means there has been degradation instead of upgradation. On top of all this, the storm story is absolutely predictable from beginning to end. You are definitely told in the beginning that this story is fictional, but still the makers have not taken any creative liberty. Nothing new or out-of-the-box was offered to show.

Talking about the good side of the film, only Farhan Akhtar’s name comes to mind. The actor has put in a lot of hard work for the film and that is clearly visible on screen. At the same time, the weakest side of the film is its story and screenplay, which has no strength. Sometimes your intention is right to tell a story, but it doesn’t look that strong on screen. Hurricanes are an example of this.

Toofaan Movie Review: The Performances

Talking about acting, there are three phases in the journey of Farhan Akhtar’s character. First Dongri’s Ajju Bhai. Second state champion Aziz Ali and third Aziz Ali, accused of fixing trying to get back his honor. The changes Farhan has made in his body language and structure in all these three phases are the lifeblood of the film. Though Farhan’s efforts have been seen by the audience in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, his physical transformation in Toofaan is of a different level.

In the role of Ananya, Mrunal Thakur is seen to be very restrained and responsible. The colors that Paresh Rawal has given to the character of Nana add to the intensity of this storm. Hussain Dalal, Ajju’s friend, Vijay Raaz as Jafar Bhai and Supriya Pathak as the nurse helping Ajju-Ananya have managed to make their presence felt.

Darshan Kumar has not been weak in the negative role of State Boxing Champion and later National Boxing Association official Dharmesh Patil. However, his role is small. The good thing about the film is that in the contemporary debate that follows it, no character has been shown to be unnecessarily negative.

Paresh Rawal is a mature artist and it is considered in his habit to easily adapt to any role. In such a situation, here too he has not done anything different. In the role of coach, he has done justice. Mrunal Thakur has not been given much screen space in the film. But this artist left his mark even in a short time. His chemistry with Farhan is also good and some good dialogues have also come in his bag. Among the co-stars, the work of Hussain Dalal, Supriya Pathak, Vijay Raj and Darshan Kumar will also be said to be worth watching.

Toofaan Review: Direction and Other Aspects

Talking about the direction of Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, this time he has made some mistake. The story has been average, watching the film, it also seemed that he took up the controversy forcibly. Intercaste marriage was shown in the film and one character even gave it the name of ‘Love Jihad’. When the film is about sports, the story of boxing is going on, then this love jihad angle was imposed in the middle which could have been easily skipped. Leaving this controversy behind, the climax of the film will be called fine. The end of the story is already known, but still there remains a bit of excitement. Boxing matches also seem closer to reality and they are fun to watch.

Talking about Anjum Rajabali’s story-screenplay, Toofaan has all the elements of typical masala Bollywood films, many of which can be seen from the visuals. Characters and love stories like Ajju have been seen in Hindi cinema in the past as well. However, the accompanying dialogue with the storm scenes sets it apart. The dialogues of Vijay Maurya have deepened this effect.

Toofaan Review: The Last Words

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra himself has been adept at writing screenplays full of interesting twists and turns. ‘Rang De Basanti’ is an example of that. Here they have not been able to touch their own benchmark. Farhan Akhtar’s hard work, his transformation, his tone are all visible. He has lived Ajju. Mrinal has complemented well. Paresh Rawal has surprised again. The songs are meaningful and give momentum to the story. But overall, there is a tightness. Wish it had been worked on.

The film is 2 hours 41 minutes long and this is also the biggest weakness of the film. Editor Meghna Sen could have shortened the film by at least half an hour. Perhaps the script would have been tied to this as well. Anjum Rajabali and Vijay Maurya have written the dialogues of the film, which are average. The dialogues do not contribute in raising the characters in that sense as the heavy issues are raised in the film. Jay Oz has used the city of Mumbai as a character with his camera. The cinematography of the film is good.