Actively involved in the city’s underworld and politics, its strange that no one thought of making a bio-pic on the life of Arun Gawli, a prominent figure of Mumbai (then Bombay in those past decades). Probably the present (blind) trend of bio-pics inspired director Ashim Ahluwalia and the team to make a film on him. And thus was made DADDY with an unusual choice of Arjun Rampal playing the lead resembling the real life person.
Unfortunately the project comes too late in the year 2017, when we have already seen many versions of the same story and sequences in numerous other films made on the nexus of politics, police and gangsters. Taking you back in time in the late 70s when Bombay Mills were closed resulting in lakhs of unemployed men willing to do anything for their daily living, DADDY once again presents the same old premise and that too without anything novel in execution apart from Arjun Rampal’s individual lead performance coming as a pleasant surprise.
While watching the film, at times the camerawork catches your attention along with the background score and a couple of times a sequence makes you notice the direction like the one where they make a desperate kill in a moving lift. But other than that DADDY simply offers nothing for which it can be recommended to the lovers of this particular genre. It begins well focusing on the transformation of the youth entering the world of crime, but then becomes another ‘seen before’ kind of a gangster-turned-politician clichéd saga without any powerful, noticeable dialogues missing the required drama.
Though all the actors in the supporting cast led by Nishikant Kamat (as Inspector) try their best to raise the standard of this repetitive, unnecessary bio-pic, but the screenplay never gives them the much required elevation particularly in the second half. Farhan Akhtar looks like a clear miscast playing Maqsood (modeled on Dawood), the costumes remain tacky with all those fake wigs and the music fails to rise above the level of strictly routine. That said, I did like the catchy version of ‘Zindagi Meri Dance Dance’ reminding you of the bygone era.
On the whole, DADDY doesn’t work as it simply fails to connect with the audience giving them anything fresh or unseen as a Mumbai gangster’s bio-pic. In other words the film only works for Arjun Rampal alone giving his career best performance, but also seriously makes you wonder that who actually sponsors such films that do nothing but glorify the life and works of such controversial social figures?
Rating : 1.5 / 5
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Shared below are views - Beyond the initial writeup with more interesting insights.
Coming too late in 2017, its really strange that nobody thought of making a bio-pic on Arun Gawli, who is a prominent figure of Mumbai's politics and underworld since the late 70s. No doubt instances from his life have inspired many films till date made on the subject of ‘a gangster turned politician’, but a dedicated film was never made and that is the reason it now looks highly dated with everything seen before and nothing fresh or worth recommending to the lovers of this particular genere.
So you can go for it if you are only interested in the appreciable or rather career best performance of its lead actor Arjun Rampal.
Moreover there remains one point which doesn’t really feature in the film depicting the past decades in Bombay. And it’s about a strong division and biased support given to these Dons as per their religion by birth. In other words, here too we had the divisions (and allegations) as a Hindu Don and a Muslim Don following their own preferences.
Rating : 1.5 / 5
