Kangana Ranaut in Dhaakad delivers exactly what was promised: a high-octane, high-decibel action thriller. The film doesn’t make you wait: as it is driven by a story that starts off well but gets a bit preposterous along the way. And yet it works, almost despite itself, especially as a star vehicle for Ranaut who looks stunning and kicks all sorts of ass. The actor plays a gender bender, and here we might pause to consider this sexist world in which an action-oriented film is restricted to only male actors.
Special Agent Agni (played by Ranaut) is a fearless field officer of the International Task Force, a fantasy unit of the Indian government. She has been assigned to find information and eventually, eliminate Rudraveer (Arjun Rampal), an international human trafficker, and a coal mafioso along with his muse Rohini (Divya Dutta). Things turn personal when Agni discovers a truth that connects her to Rudraveer.
Debutante director Razneesh Razy Ghai, who has co-written the story, tries hard to break the clutter, and somehow, the film impresses and falters in parts. With edge-of-the-seat moments, it doesn’t digress into needless subplots or song and dance sequences. But the weak screenplay and a bit of a confusing narrative let the film down.
A special mention to Japanese cinematographer Tetsuo Nagata’s camerawork for creating a perfect world of blood and gore, the brilliant hues of grey, red and blue.
With a runtime of just two hours and ten minutes, the film starts feeling a bit long, especially in the third act where things feel a bit repetitive. It’s pacy, smart, subversive, and knocked out with such verve and attack that you’re not in the least bit bothered by how far-fetched it all is. Some action portions feel a bit unreal and in some places, even simplistic). The filmmaker somewhere fails to allow the audience to think much. They just have to sit back, go with the flow, flabby and clunky in bits, and admire Ranaut blazing on the screen.
Which she does, with such fierceness and gumption that you cannot take your eyes off her, especially when she is in full stride. She throws herself so completely into the role that, while we never lose sight of the fact that we’re watching Kangana Ranaut. I can’t think of any actor more deserving of their own pulpy action franchise than her.
Her solid performance combined with high-impact stunt work puts a stamp on her as a formidable female action star. Besides her, Rampal seems to be on a roll, bringing some manic energy and an amazing swag to his character and even stealing some scenes away from Ranaut. Dutta, as Rampal’s business partner, gives a solid performance. Saswata Chatterjee and Sharib Hashmi seem to lack a punch.
Watch it for Ranaut being at her best and don’t care too much about the unrealistic world it takes you to.
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