There was a promise that was made, and that’s something which has been delivered by filmmaker Milap Zaveri. Right from the time the promotion began for Marjaavaan, it was quite obvious that this one would take audiences straight into the 80s and the 90s when films featuring the likes of Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt and Mithun Chakraborty ruled. There was a hero, a heroine, a villain and just the right mix of action, music, drama and emotions. Well, this is what Marjaavaan turns out to be and though one does feel that at places the narrative could have been stronger, by and large you get what you expect.
The film is about Sidharth Malhotra, a hitman, who has been adopted by a gang lord (Nasser). Riteish Deshmukh is the dwarf son of the gang lord and while he hides his inferiority complex under a supremely confident persona, there is strong resentment that he carries against Sidharth. Meanwhile, Tata Sutaria comes in the life of Sidharth even as Rakul Preet Singh, who loves him, sees him drifting apart. Fate brings them all to a point though where Sidharth has to make a few tough calls and this is what leads to an unfortunate interval point followed by a pacy second half that takes the film to its expected culmination.
Though the core of the film is the love story, it’s the drama element featuring Sidharth and Riteish that turns out to be the best part of the two hour long affair. Whenever the two come face to face with each other, there are fireworks galore. In fact the good vs evil conflict is further accentuated when Nasser and Ravi Kishen, who plays an honest cop, have a face off as well. This is what makes the film interesting and when battle lines are drawn between Sidharth and Riteish, there is no looking back.
This is why the film could have been even more high impact had the love story element too been stronger. Yes, that’s what brings the core dramatic turn in the film but had there been more endearing tender moments between Sidharth and Tara, Marjaavaan would have become even better. Also, the first half has some disjointed moments across characters and it is only when Sidharth and Riteish come face to face does the drama gets heightened.
Music of the film plays an important role in enhancing the storytelling and so are the dialogues. As for the background score, it is quite good and especially so whenever Sidharth gets ready for action. Even otherwise, Sidharth delivers quite well with the film. He has been doing consistently well over the years and though it’s a different story that his films may have underperformed, he has delivered well. He does so again with Marjaavaan in a filmy avtar and is quite impressive. As for Riteish Deshmukh, he has done quite well in comedies like Housefull and Dhamaal over the years and now in Marjaavaan, you get to see him in a convincing menacing avtar.
As for the film, it may not be convincing as whole because a storytelling like this requires suspension of disbelief. However when you realise that Marjaavaan was always meant to be designed as an over the top affair, you go with the flow and watch the movie in a kind of mindset that was required for a stage and set up like this.