Toofaan Review (4 Stars): It Will Move You To Tears!

Toofaan Will Move You To Tears, It’s Rakeysh Mehra’s Best Since RDB

Toofaan(Amazon Prime)

Starring: Farhan Akhtar, Mrunal Thakur,  Paresh  Rawal

Directed by: Rakesh Omprakash Mehra

Rating: **** ( 4 Stars)

Toofaan(Amazon Prime): This week, Amazon Prime has a  lot to be proud of . Two outstanding feature films Malik in Malayalam and Toofaan in Hindi,  although the language in both cases is the least vital component in  its vibrant  validity and  renewable  vitality.

Toofaan, I  have to admit, starts  off sluggishly . As  the triumphant  underdog’s   saga  of  a goon from Dongri who becomes a  national  boxoffice champ, Toofaan takes on  all the typical tropes of  the sports  genre: gruff coach, elitist  decision-makers,  supportive girlfriend and what –have-you.

But  then  suddenly it changes tracks to become something much more than a sports drama, something far more  relevant  moving and vital . It become a testament to the power and pain  of love in a growingly intolerant society powered  by toxic levels of prejudice  and   suspicion. Following the  intercaste marriage   of    the boxer  Aziz Ali and the love of his life Ananya Prabhu, the  screenplay(Anjum Rajabali, Vijay Maurya) speaks to us   in a language that’s at once  ineradicably topical and deeply moving.

 On many  occasions I found myself  teary-eyed as   we follow the craggy cruel path  of  the  love story. Akhtar and Thakur bring a  lot of warmth and  empathy to their screen  relationship. They  understand  love. More  importantly they know  what  lies in store for their  forbidden  liaison. To our relief director Mehra  doesn’t dwell  on the ugly underbelly  of  communal anxities. But yes, we  do see  the couple facing the hardships that  arise when they cross into another  community through marriage.

Some of  the familial  interaction in the second-half are so translucently  dramatic I was  completely bowled over by the sheer sincerity and  , yes, innocence of  vision  revealed in the  unalloyed  emotions . There is not a disingenuous  bone in the body  of the storytelling.

Farhan Akhtar  and  Paresh Rawail deliver knock-out performances  in this  pugilistic  drama. Rawail’s  journey from rabid  communalism to  compassion and acceptance is convincing because , well, he is  that  kind of an actor. And given the  integrity   of  the director’s  vision no actor  can afford to  go wrong.

The  interactive scenes between Paresh Rawal and his  little  grand daughter are moving in a  very old fashioned way.  More than anything else,  Toofaan reminds us how far our cinema  has  moved away from its  roots. Why are we so shy of  crying, singing and dancing  in our films? Toofaan is  an unabashed tearjerker . But the emotions are  never manipulated ,never insincere.

I wish  some of  the brilliant  supporting cast  had more to do : Mohan Agashe(who as Paresh’s  lifelong friend  just fills  the  frames with a  fund of fond emotions),   Vijay Raaz(whose role begins and ends  abruptly), Supriya Pathak(so charming but so little  to do) and Hussain Dalal(playing Farhan’s bestie, watch him in the  full-on lip-sync song—a  first in a Rakeysh Mehra film—dancing with Farhan  imitating all the celluloid greats) .

But no one is shortchanged in this heartfelt melodrama  filled with  a kind of aching nostalgic yearning that I thought I would  never see in  mainstream Hindi cinema  again.

And yes, Mrunal Thakur the  only  important female character,   holds her own in a  film that is really about the men, their egos and  their  defeats, their conflicts  and their inability to come to terms with socio-political  changes  individually and societally.  Put this  film on  your-must see  list this weekend  . It is  Rakeysh  Mehra’s best since Rang De Basanti. And that’s saying a lot.

About the Movie

It is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language sports drama film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and starring Farhan Akhtar as a national level boxer, alongside Mrunal Thakur and Paresh Rawal in supporting roles. The film will schedule to release on 16 July 2021 on Amazon Prime Video.

Story of ToofaanMovie

‘Toofaan’ which narrates the story of a boxer marks the second collaboration of Farhan Akhtar with Rakeysh after the massive success of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, the biopic based on Indian athlete Milkha Singh. In the film, Farhan will be seen as a national-level boxing player. The movie has been shot across Mumbai at real locations like the Dongri slums and the Gateway of India.

Trailer 

[tnm_video layout=”mnmd-post-media-wide”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RJqgz7WHTg[/tnm_video]

Where and how to watch Farhan Akhtar-starrer ‘ToofaanMovie’?

The forthcoming film was slated to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

All you need to do is download the Amazon Prime Video app from Google Play Store on your Android phone or iOS.

If you have never used the Amazon Prime Video service previously then you can opt for a 30-day free trial period.

Just log in to your account and opt for the free trial period by entering your card details.

Enjoy the sports drama ‘ToofanMovie’ on your devices.

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