Mukkabaaz : Knock Out Punch

#Mukkabaaz : Andrei Tarkovsky, the great Russian filmmaker , in his celebrated book “Sculpting In Time” states  “No other art can compare with cinema in the force, precision, and starkness with which it conveys awareness of facts and aesthetic structures existing and changing within time.” And Anurag Kashyap is a master in depicting contemporary society, its political underbelly and its fault lines.  Often criticized for not catering to the mainstream masala ogling audience, Kashyap delivers a solid punch with Mukkabaaz , making strong statement about the times we live in , in the guise of a sports film , while ensuring his film gets enough whistles from the front benchers as well.

Kashyap’s film opens with Cow traders being lynched and filmed and ends with “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and in between he exposes the umpteen deep rooted malice that we conveniently shove under the rug, sometimes in the name of development, sometime in the name of culture and often in the name of our new found nationalism. Kashyap, thankfully, doesn’t hold back his punches this time around. It seems he is out to express himself and he does that with élan’, exposing   caste system to cow mob, patriarchy to the dirty politics in sports federations. Mukkabaaz is not your regular chest thumping, jingoistic sports film. It’s a film where a passionate boxer , pays a price , for being born in a lower caste , for being in love with someone from upper caste , for daring to tread the path less travelled or may be for being born in times like these . But in the end he emerges as a winner, not by being triumphant in the ring, but by letting go. And in that sense Mukkabaaz is deeply philosophical too.  Kashyap has even wittily named his characters. The main protagonist , who tells his parents “ jab aap shunyo ho to apke ghar se kya Aryabhaat Niklega” is named Shravan Kumar . The film’s villain is names as Bhagwan Misra .

Besides Kashyap’s terrific direction, Mukkabaaz benefits from the phenomenal acting of its ensemble cast. Vineet Singh may just have had his Zanjeer moment. The man seems possessed in the entire film expressing myriad emotions with aplomb. It’s not just his physicality but the way he even portrays his emotional vulnerability is astounding.  Zoya Hussain , playing a dumb girl is a power house of talent . She couldn’t speak but her eyes spoke enough to keep the audience and Shravan hooked. Ravi Kishan playing an uncharacteristic role comes across as a revelation.

Mukkabazz’s background score and lyrics are incredible. It beautifully captures everything the film wants to tell. The dialogues are razor sharp and the film uses generous amount of sarcasm and humor to take the story forward. It is only the length of the film that makes it look like a drag towards the climax.

With Mukkabazz , Kashyap makes a statement , a  no holds barred one . In the context of the times we live in, it is an extremely important film. It may not be Kashyap’s best, but it is one of the finest that you will watch this year.  And mind it, it’s not just about boxing or sports! And to me that is a knockout punch.