Laal Kaptaan – 2019’s Most Underrated and Underappreciated Bollywood Film!

I mean just LOOK AT THE POSTER! At SAIF’s GET UP! I seriously don’t know why people ignored this film after that exciting trailer and all those badass posters. Laal Kaptaan is something bollywood has never attempted before, something unique and something unconventional. It is basically Bollywood’s attempt at the western genre filled with revenge, deceit, mythology and drama. Much like Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name Trilogy“, our protagonist is called Gossain/Bhoot throughout the course of the film and we never get to know his actual name. In a gist, Laal Kaptaan is a unique revenge saga of a very mysterious but insanely appealing and dangerous character.

(Image: © Eros Now)

 

The one thing that this film does the best, is that it transports you to that era and it never once breaks your suspension of disbelief. That is achieved by its master class cinematography, excellent set designs and most importantly the costumes and make ups. Saif Ali Khan and Deepak Dobriyal’s get up was so aesthetic and incredible that it took their character portrayals to new heights. Another thing that makes Laal Kaptaan visually stunning is its solid color grading, which is highly unlike Bollywood. Apart from one particular night scene, the color grading and the editing of the film is flawless and mesmerizing.

But… But the film did definitely suffer from a mediocre plot, which never once surprised the viewers and went on pretty blandly for over two and a half hours. Therefore, much of the burden of carrying the film fell on its visuals and performances. Talking about that, Saif’s performance in Laal Kaptaan can be considered his career best since Omkara (2003). Though he was more versatile in Kaalakaandi (2018), but here, he was simply at his best! His dialogue delivery, especially, has improved a lot over the years and the film was at its peak every single time words poured out of his mouth.

(Image: © Eros Now)

 

Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain and Maanav Vij also delivered tremendous performances with accurate accents and apt expressions. The rest of the cast also did great with whatever roles they were offered, though I didn’t particularly like Sonakshi Sinha’s cameo. Most of the film’s best moments arrived when Saif and Dobriyal’s characters came together on screen as they have a solid chemistry previously proven in Omkara and Kaalakaandi. In one of the best scenes of the film, Saif and Dobriyal dance in front of a bonfire, laughing maniacally on an awesome track titled “Taandav” and that literally transports you to another dimension!

(Image: © Eros Now)

 

Talking about tracks, there are just four songs in the film’s album and each of them play a definitive role in intensifying the dark tone of the film especially, “Kaal Kaal” and “Lahu ka Rang Kara“. So yeah the film succeeds incredibly in creating that audio and visual appeal required to suck the viewers in but as I mentioned above its a bit longer than it should have been and plot is a bit bland. One more thing that I think to be a minor problem was that it was a little low on action towards the end and after all that buildup, I definitely expected something more explosive. But yeah, the action in the film was quite realistic and a bit gory as well.

(Image: © Eros Now)

 

Please note that when I say the story wasn’t great doesn’t mean the script wasn’t great as well. No, the script was amazing, filled with excellent dialogues which force the viewers to think about life and the motive of human existence with other philosophical and mythological stuff. I won’t say it is a must watch but Laal Kaptaan is an experiment which everyone should experience once and formulate an opinion only after watching it. For me, Laal Kaptaan is a highly successful experiment with visuals, concept and execution like never seen before in Bollywood and not mention, Khan’s applaudable performance. So what are you waiting for? Go watch it!