Special 26 - Taut, Witty and Enduring

The director who made the taut and snappy thriller “A Wednesday”, Neeraj Pandey, comes back after 4 years with a heist drama set in 1987. The movie has a fictional narrative set around true incidents that occurred in the 80s when a group of people posing as Government officials, conducted fake raids and stole huge sums. For this perilous venture, he ropes in his ‘A Wednesday’ cast members Anupam Kher and Jimmy Shergill along with Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee and Kajal Agarwal with a host of other popular supporting actors like Divya Dutta and Tiku Talsania. This venture can be termed perilous because there is high scope for goof ups in the writing and the presence of Akshay Kumar makes one ponder if Neeraj Pandey is also being sucked into the Bollywood masala black hole. One view of the movie and all these apprehensions are shattered. Special 26 has got all the brain that Neeraj Pandey invested in his first outing with sharp technical values.

PLOT:

The movie begins with a daring heist on a minister’s house by a group of people. A policeman who is misled by these con men into aiding them in the heist is determined to catch them red handed and takes the help of a real CBI officer. What follows is a game of wits and outwits that lead to quite an interesting conclusion.

PERFORMANCES:

Akshay Kumar has exercised an act of restraint and has given a very respectable performance as the lead con man, which acts as . But the real stars are Anupam Kher who gets into the skin of his character with the ease of a veteran, Manoj Bajpai who delivers a whiplash performance and Jimmy Shergill who plays a pivotal role with ease. Divya Dutta gets zilch scope and Kajal Agarwal is in a role that has been jammed into the screenplay just for the sake of a few unnecessary song sequences. The rest of the ensemble is perfectly cast and fit hand in glove with the characters given to them. Apart from the so called leading lady role given to Kajal Agarwal, the rest of the cast is impeccable and is among the many strong points of the movie.

SCREENPLAY AND DIRECTION:

Neeraj Pandey displays the same writing prowess as he did in his previous outing. The story is a simple one and warranted a narrative structure that could tread the thin tightrope between the viewer and his intelligence. The screenplay is so seamless that most of the sequences require the actors to give physical performances and the viewer is still gripped by the proceedings. He also does not throw flashy action sequences at the viewer and lets the tone and pace of the narrative to grip the viewer instead. The chain of events unfold at a decent pace marred only by the mundane romance track and songs that act more like potholes on a neat road. The direction is also quite slick. The attention to the details of 80s India are recreated with commendable accuracy by the director. The occasional acidic humour adds to the sheer fun of the film. Overall, a taut and tight screenplay which unfolds in a real crafty manner on the viewer, gripping him/her instantly from the start and sticks on like a limpet till the end.

TECHNICALITIES:

The film has outstanding technical values. The Art Direction is tasteful and accurate as required by the era. One gets the real feel of the 80s watching the screen. The visual effects, though quite obvious are quite effective.The background score by Surinder Sodhi gels well with the on screen proceedings and helps the film capture the viewers’ attention. Late Bobby Singh, the cinematographer of the film, leaves one of his best works behind him. The light sepia toned filters give the viewer a consistent sense of the 80s era. The camera angles and movements utilised by him act as narrative supports in sequences where the actors on screen have no more than physical performances (and these scenes are in abundance). The editing is as watertight as was needed for a character driven thriller like this one. What is the most commendable technical aspect of this film is the costume designing, which is very naturalistic and sealed to the roots of the real 80s. The costume designer goes kurtas and cotton pants at us instead of going the stereotypical bell bottoms and flower prints. The make up and hair styling is also very sober and easy on the eyes (thank god for no thick frame glass, buffs and huge sideburns). The abundance of naturalism is the mainstay of this film and it is helped to a large extent by the excellent technicalities.

Special 26 is a crafty, intelligent and sharply scripted heist thriller that grips you from L'Ouverture to exeunt. Had it not been for the flow marring romance track that slackens the consistent fast pace of the film, this would have equaled the likes of Kahaani. Yet, this is but a mere commercial indulgence in an abundance of fodder for the intelligent moviegoer. For the average Bollywood audience, this will prove to be the most wholesome entertainment fare of the last 5 years. A must watch for every one, this film will not leave anyone disappointed. Taut, witty, enduring and intelligent stuff from Neeraj Pandey.

4.5 on 5 (As a critic only 3.5 on 5 but as a viewer, who can expect such intelligent stuff in an Akshay Kumar movie???)