‘Tevar’ review: Superman Arjun Kapoor, baahubali Manoj Bajpayee at their best!

We have seen a lot of northern India and heard the dialect which strikes a hit note with the audiences, recently. Still, when you open your eyes to the world of Arjun Kapoor aka Pintoo in ‘Tevar’, there is something you feel for Agra and Mathura.Tevar’ is a remake of 2003 Telugu Blockbuster ‘Okkadu’ by Gunasekhar, who has also written the story for Hindi version.

In this Amit Sharma film, Pintoo is a kabbadi champ. He is macho, fit and can swing goons like a ball. In short, he is our desi ‘masala’ version of Superman (what better than that?). The moment he is introduced on screen, you know your ‘paisa’ will be vasool. In fact, even the sidekicks in the film, have been utilized well, and not just as props.The screenplay by Amit Sharma and Shantanu Srivastava is tight and gripping (at least, no yawning in this one). The plot moves ahead with a lot of drama and Bollywood action. The audience couldn’t help but clap when ace actor Manoj Bajpayee entered in a unique style.

His perfection in acting is something to die for. Right from his get-up to the local dialect—everything has been taken care of. Manoj aka Gajendar Singh plays brother to home minister of the state, Mahendar. He is more popular as ‘baahubali’ Gajendar in the town—a goon who kills if something goes against his will.

Enter ‘heroine’ Sonakshi Sinha, here Radhika. She dances merrily in her introductory shot, with little knowledge that this time not a hero but a goon has fallen for her. The twist in the tale lies in the fact that how these three characters—Pintoo, Gajendar and Radhika meet.

The whole ‘Run Lola Run’ thing is intricately woven in the script. Also, special mention has to be made of the heavy dose dialogues written by the screenplay writer Shantanu Srivastava. It gives a feeling of complete deja vu, like watching a typical Salman Khan film, loaded with full masala one liners.

There are many fight sequences in the movie, which might be liked by Arjun fans. Sham Kaushal has done a good job in making our ‘hero’ actually look like a ‘superhero’ on the big screen. The interesting chase from Mathura to Agra to Delhi—and back to Mathura, keep your eyes and brain rolling at the same time. Music by Sajid-Wajid is great and foot tapping. ‘Joganiya’ is worth remembering and special mention for ‘Main Nae Jaana Pardes”, originally by Shafqat Amanat Ali.

Pintoo tries his best to save Radhika from baahubali’s eyes takes the plot further. In their journey, they fall for each other and in a desi style get together in the climax but after killing a few dozen local gundas, and assuring that the rest have landed safely in hospital wards (mind it—all done single-handedly by Pintoo).

The role of Arjun’s father played by Raj Babbar is not much, but the actor does have some impressive scenes and dialogues making use of his acting prowess. Veteran actress Deepti Naval plays his wife and is a pleasant performer. In fact, the girl who plays Arjun’s younger sister is a familiar face in television commercials, and acts well too.

Cinematography by Laxman Utekar has captured the essence of braj bhoomi perfectly. The festival of Holi and the significance of colours is used vividly and it is the brilliance of the filmmaker and the cinematographer to execute it this way.

Go watch it as Pintoo is a ‘Superman and Salman Ka Fan’!