Offers nothing really new
the start, with that tale familiar to most urban Indians — an honest, upright policeman named Ibrahim Kaskar; a wife; their 12 kids; a home in Dongri.
Then a son who picks a different path, making a name for himself in a world of contract killings and extortion. The serial blasts of 1993, and a son who is now a don and suddenly also India’s most wanted criminal.
The man, Dawood, flees the country, and his sister Haseena takes the reigns in Mumbai. She loses family to gang wars, but she won’t quit.
In Lakhia’s retelling, Dawood (Siddhant Kapoor) and Haseena (Shraddha Kapoor) are both master brand-builders; staunch loyalists who will protect their own at any cost.
Lakhia designs the film primarily as a courtroom drama, the story unfolding as two advocates cross-examine Haseena and other witnesses. But the flashbacks of innocence lost and a city both loved and reviled are narrated by the ‘heroine’, so neutrality is never on the cards.
Creative licence notwithstanding, it is odd to watch this true-life story told at such a slant. It is almost as odd to see Shraddha Kapoor struggling to talk through the padding in her mouth.
There’s a sudden transition from Haseena the homely woman terrified of marriage (really, the expressions on her face get quite alarming here) to a gritty gangster who chews and spits out all her lines.
One thing that works amid the jumble is the relationship between brother and sister, played by real-life siblings. The performances, sadly, are average at best.
All in all, it’s hard to enjoy 124 minutes of nothing new.