Rating
(3/5) Release Date : 26 November 2010
There could not be a more telling picture than this which was seen at the box office when two directors made their debuts. There was Danish Aslam's 'Break Ke Baad', a light hearted contemporary romcom and then there was Faruk Kabir 's 'Allah Ke Bandey', a gritty reflection of our violent times. The most commendable thing about 'Allah Ke Bandey' is the sincere and honest attempt to tell a realistic tale.
Kabir may have been influenced/inspired by the Oscar winner, 'Children of God'. However, his take on children being exploited is on an absolutely different level altogether. The world that the children of 'Allah Ke Bandey' find themelves in, is one shorn of any kind of humanistic feelings or ideals. It is a cut throat dangerous world wrought with crime and violence.
The story of 'Allah Ke Bandey' is basically about two 12 year old kids, Vijay and Yakub, who grow up on the mean streets of Mumbai, acting as drug peddlers for the mafia. They are wrongly convicted of murder and find themselves sent to a juvenile home. Meant to be a reformation centre, it is perhaps a bigger hell than the one they inhabited on the streets.
At the home, they are subjected to even greater torture by the senior inmates of the home with the express permission of the evil warden, played brilliantly by Naseeruddin Shah. Not ones to cave in, Vijay and Yakub survive the 11 years that they spend inside, emerging even more hardened than ever Vijay and Yakub are now full blown criminals, who now run their own army of teenagers who rule the slums. And so the vicious cycle of juvenile crime continues with no end in sight.
The film definitely makes an impact which is further enhanced by its authentic locations and lingo. Of course, there have been other films like Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Traffic Signal', for instance, which have captured the gritty life on the streets but not as powerfully as Kabir has done in his movie.
But the movie does a have a slight inconsistent feel to it as it kind of flounders in the middle. Also the first half is much more gripping because of a taut screenplay, while the second half tends to drag. Vijay's love track with Anjana Sukhani's character doesn't gell very well with the tone of the movie.
The film's highlight is its strong performances, beginning with the two child actors who play Vijay and Yakub in the first half. The good work is carried forth by Sharman and Kabir, both of who turn in rivetting performances. Joining them is Naseer who plays an evil Fagin like character, who later falls into bad days. Naseer manages to stand out even in the small cameo that he portrays.
One of the highlights of the film is the scene where Vijay encounters him so many years later. The other two actors whose performances could be called worthy are Atul Kulkarni as the teacher, and Zakir Hussain. Of the female actors, Suhasini Mulay stands out but Anjana and Rukhsaar have very little to do and are hardly effective.
The film not only sees Kabir succeeding as an actor but also as a deft storyteller. He makes a confident debut with a subject which is hardly easy to handle. He makes his point about the derelict state of our society where the future seems doomed, as the youth, our future, are themselves doomed.
Of course, we can continue to delude ourselves with fairy tales about childhood innocence and ignore the underlying darkness which is preying on our children. But Kabir decides instead to make a realistic and tough film on what happens on the mean streets of our city and makes his mark, both as an actor and a director.
Kabir may have been influenced/inspired by the Oscar winner, 'Children of God'. However, his take on children being exploited is on an absolutely different level altogether. The world that the children of 'Allah Ke Bandey' find themelves in, is one shorn of any kind of humanistic feelings or ideals. It is a cut throat dangerous world wrought with crime and violence.
The story of 'Allah Ke Bandey' is basically about two 12 year old kids, Vijay and Yakub, who grow up on the mean streets of Mumbai, acting as drug peddlers for the mafia. They are wrongly convicted of murder and find themselves sent to a juvenile home. Meant to be a reformation centre, it is perhaps a bigger hell than the one they inhabited on the streets.
At the home, they are subjected to even greater torture by the senior inmates of the home with the express permission of the evil warden, played brilliantly by Naseeruddin Shah. Not ones to cave in, Vijay and Yakub survive the 11 years that they spend inside, emerging even more hardened than ever Vijay and Yakub are now full blown criminals, who now run their own army of teenagers who rule the slums. And so the vicious cycle of juvenile crime continues with no end in sight.
The film definitely makes an impact which is further enhanced by its authentic locations and lingo. Of course, there have been other films like Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Traffic Signal', for instance, which have captured the gritty life on the streets but not as powerfully as Kabir has done in his movie.
But the movie does a have a slight inconsistent feel to it as it kind of flounders in the middle. Also the first half is much more gripping because of a taut screenplay, while the second half tends to drag. Vijay's love track with Anjana Sukhani's character doesn't gell very well with the tone of the movie.
The film's highlight is its strong performances, beginning with the two child actors who play Vijay and Yakub in the first half. The good work is carried forth by Sharman and Kabir, both of who turn in rivetting performances. Joining them is Naseer who plays an evil Fagin like character, who later falls into bad days. Naseer manages to stand out even in the small cameo that he portrays.
One of the highlights of the film is the scene where Vijay encounters him so many years later. The other two actors whose performances could be called worthy are Atul Kulkarni as the teacher, and Zakir Hussain. Of the female actors, Suhasini Mulay stands out but Anjana and Rukhsaar have very little to do and are hardly effective.
The film not only sees Kabir succeeding as an actor but also as a deft storyteller. He makes a confident debut with a subject which is hardly easy to handle. He makes his point about the derelict state of our society where the future seems doomed, as the youth, our future, are themselves doomed.
Of course, we can continue to delude ourselves with fairy tales about childhood innocence and ignore the underlying darkness which is preying on our children. But Kabir decides instead to make a realistic and tough film on what happens on the mean streets of our city and makes his mark, both as an actor and a director.
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