[neirty]

Story:




Lanka sheds light on the complexities of relationships with unconditional love winning over lust. Bhai Saheb (Manoj Bajpai) is the most powerful man in the Bijnor city. His cruelty knows no bounds and the biggest victim of it is Anju (Tia Bajpai), a doctor by profession. Despite having a strong educational family background with father Doctor Saheb (Yatin Karyekar) a doctor as well, she becomes the mistress of Bhai Saheb. She has lost hopes, until Arjan Bajwa (with surprisingly no name in the film) enters her life as the so-called brother of Bhai Saheb. Arjan is soon torn between his loyalties to mentor Bhai Saheb and soft corner towards Anju. Now, will Arjan stick to Bhai Saheb or come to the rescue of Anju with whom he eventually falls in love, is the rest of the story.




Story Treatment: Lanka as the poster of the film suggests, is primarily, a story of a woman, who is sexually exploited by a cruel powerful man. So, the poster with Bajpai's eyes full of lust, along with Tia wrapped in a bed sheet is misguiding in terms of the fact that Lanka is the most clean film ever made, despite tackling the topic of lust. The film begins on a good note with the writer coming to the point within half an hour of the movie, but what follows further is a boring dragged screenplay with a good last few minutes that leave an impact. The lack of sub-plots and half-baked situations add to the misery.

Star Cast: Manoj Bajpai as usual delivers an ‘A’ class performance with no room for criticism. He is the pillar of the film. Arjan Bajwa being a relatively new actor complements Manoj’s performance with an amazing dialogue delivery skill. His brilliance can be gauged from the fact his eyes too, speak efficiently when in silence. Tia Bajpai yet again shows mastery at being a helpless woman like she did in Haunted. Yashpal Sharma and Yatin Karyekar play their part very well. Manish Choudary is good, but is wasted in a tiny role.



Direction: Maqbool Khan as a director can be given a benefit of doubt since it is his debut film, which makes him quite promising. But, the subject which he has chosen based on the vulnerable relationship of Raavan and Vibhishan isn’t impactful. Nevertheless, Lanka is full of moments which keep the story under wraps which when unfold looks impressive. The brothel and the CBI investigation sequences are well-placed in the storyline with an amazing element of suspense in the film.

Music/ Cinematography/ Dialogues/Editing: Music doesn’t strike a chord though lyrics are superb. Cinematography is the weakest point of the film, where the knowledge of director or cinematographer seems to be confined to ultra-close shots which are dominating. Camera goes shaky as far as long shots are concerned. Dialogues are non-lustrous in the first half, but sudden improvement in writing shows post interval. Editing is apt but doesn’t help screenplay.



3 Ups and 3 Downs: Power-packed performances, a good storyline and direction are the strong points. Cinematography, screenplay and music are the drawbacks.



On the whole, Lanka is like an old wine in new bottle, which is tolerable because of its ‘A’ class performances.