Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami Review {3/5} & Review Rating
A little over three decades, there was one film made by the name of JAANE BHI DO YAARON, which went onto not just attain a 'cult status in Bollywood, but also give rise to a new 'genre' of filmmaking, about the hardships in the lives of common people but with a funny twist. Films like KHOSLA KA GHOSLA, OMG - OH MY GOD!, PEEPLI LIVE etc are a testimony to it.
This week's release EKKEES TOPPON KI SALAAMI is a satirical attempt at today's commercial world that is interspersed with politics, power, greed and lust. This is one film which will make you laugh... laugh at the system and then laugh at yourself. The on-screen characters seem absolutely straight out of everyday life for they are the ones who do not need any make up to 'highlight' their roles. These are the characters that are very much a part of everyone's day to day life.
The film starts off with the extremely sincere BMC employee Purushotam Narayan Joshi (Anupam Kher), who works as a fog machine operator. While his eldest son Shekhar Joshi (Manu Rishi Chadha) works as a small time employee in the BMC, his younger son Subhash Joshi (Divyendu Sharma) works for a leading politician, much against the wishes of his father. The sons don't share the best relationship with their father, as he is a very honest man, while the boys are practical and money minded. While others prepare for their usual day at work, Joshi gets all prepared for his Retirement Day. Just a day prior to his retirement, like his daily routine, Joshi goes to the fog supervisor in order to surrender his fog machine. Since the supervisor is 'busy' watching an adult video on the internet, he casually tells Joshi to leave the machine behind and that he will do the necessary formalities. Even though Joshi is a bit reluctant to do so, he ultimately gives in to the supervisor's instructions and leaves the fog machine with him, without making an entry for that day. The next day Joshi, with a cheerful and content face, enters his office anticipating a big send off party for him. However, the department head accuses him of stealing the foc machine and labels him a theif, rejecting his character certificate and instead putting a case on him. Joshi goes into depression and his health collapses. Just a few minutes before khis death, he has a heated argument with his two sons. In that moment, his youngest son Subhash promises his dying father, that he will be treated to a '21 gun (cannon) salute' at his funeral.
Will Subhash actually manage to keep his promise to his dying father and get a '21 gun (cannon) salute' and what difficulties he will face in doing so is what forms the rest of the story.
Director Ravindra Gautam really needs to be applauded from the bottom of the heart for having come up with such a unique film. The way he has treated the subject and extracted performances from his actors, makes him a director to look forward to in the future.
As far as the performances are concerned, it is really difficult to simply handpick one name over the others as each and everyone in the film have done their bit and that too very religiously. It is their combined efforts which make the film a watchable one. After years and years of solid experience, Anupam Kher makes his performance in the film look absolute effortless. Remarkable scenes include his confrontation with his sons before his death. On the other hand, it is the likes of Divyendu Sharma and Manu Rishi Chadha who deliver one of their best performances. Divyendu excels in the role of the younger son; his transformation from a carefree man into someone so very responsible and full of humanity is highly remarkable. The seasoned actor Manu Rishi Chadha supports Divyendu very well throughout the film. The surprise package of the film is indeed Aditi Sharma, who very effortlessly delivers a towering performance in the role of Taanya Srivastav. The other actors in the film include some of the seasoned names and also newcomers, who help in taking the story forward.
Just when one thought that everything was going right for this film, the biggest (and possibly the only) drawback comes in the form of the film's music by Ram Sampath. Some of the songs are far away from being hummable and interrupt the flow of the story. Even though the film has some minute flaws, they can be overlooked thanks to the film's tight script. The film's editing (Amitabh Shukla) could have been been smoother. The film's cinematography (Sanjay Mamane) is average.
On the whole, EKKEES TOPPON KI SALAAMI has a unique storyline and good performances while makes it an entertaining watch.
