It’s always challenging to remake films which have attained cult status in the past. And, in most of the cases, the remake dilutes the essence of the original to an extent. Further, when the remake is dubbed into another language, there are high chances of losing the essence much more. On the other hand, there is a strong proven script. Now, it relies majorly on the shoulders of the writer and director whether they can revive the success story of the old Zanjeer.
‘Thoofan’ is the story of ACP Vijay Khanna (Ram Charan Teja), a cop, with a record number of transfers, for being honest and fearless wherever he worked. Vijay gets transferred to Mumbai. The turbulences he faces there to put an end to the Oil Mafia, run by Teja(Prakash Raj) forms the crux.
‘Thoofan’ turns out to be a mixed bag. On one side, we have a movie which falls flat for majority of the portions. On the other side, we have Ram Charan trying to balance it by an impactful performance, as the new angry young man. The movie takes off well, but fails to evoke any thrill. Every time the momentum is gained, it is spoilt by the songs disturbing the flow. (The Telugu versions of the already mediocre songs make them more annoying). However, post-interval, the movie takes a big leap, with good number of some interesting episodes. The scenes whenever Vijay confronts Teja are interesting.
ACP Vijay Khanna is an iconic character in the history of Hindi cinema. Despite, this being a debut in Hindi, Ram Charan does a commendable job as Vijay. A promising debut for sure. Prakash Raj as the antagonist is simply in an extended role of ‘Ali bhai’ he played in Pokiri and similar roles in many other movies. He has become repetitive and offered nothing new. It was sad to see a talent like Mahie Gill playing the role of ‘Mona’. Sri Hari, though cast in a crucial, fails to create any impact, except delivering a few punch lines with élan. Priyanka, makes her screen presence, by delivering the best whenever she appears.
The three major strengths of a script like Zanjeer are:
1. Angry young man portrayal
2. Revenge
3. Vijay-Sher Khan friendship
‘Thoofan’ gets the first one right, but fails terribly at 2 and 3. Overall, ‘Thoofan’ is neither too exciting nor too boring, but a promising debut for Charan. If you have a choice, prefer the Hindi version, as the Telugu version might seem like a Hindi dubbed serial telecasted in the Telugu channels these days.
