The foremost hurdle in a film like SAHEB BIWI AUR GANGSTER is its title itself which reveals the actual plot of the film right away and you very well know what they are precisely going to show as far as story-plot is concerned. So, it all comes down to the treatment, presentation and performances in such a venture, which fortunately is also the forte of its director Tigmanshu Dhulia, who has earlier given us films such as HAASIL, CHARAS and also PAAN SINGH TOMAR, which is soon going to release in the coming months.
Right from his first film (and before that in the T.V. Serials too), the characterizations in Tigmanshu's script have always been well written, brilliantly executed and superbly performed by the cast without any exceptions. And same is the case with his latest SAHEB BIWI AUR GANGSTER too, which also has fabulous performances from almost everyone featuring in the film, which remains the biggest reason why it deserves to be seen at least once by everyone appreciating such innovative kind of cinema.
No doubt the story and its key characters have been taken from the cult Guru Dutt classic SAHIB BIWI AUR GHULAM. But Tigmanshu molds this basic theme into a more bitter, mean and bloody format, full of love, greed and betrayals. As the story moves further revealing the dark side of it's every key person in the script, the actors start growing on you with their impressive acts and keep you engaged. Here apart from its lead performers, a special mention needs to be made for the attention given by the director to his supporting cast such as Vipin Sharma who is superb in his portrayal of the rival don and I seriously wished he had a longer role written in the script with more of his entertaining one liners. Also Deepraj Rana as Jimmy's trustworthy, Deepal Shaw (as Deepraj's daughter), Rajeev Gupta (as minister) and Shreya Narayan (as the mistress) leave their own mark in the overall impact of the film.
In the lead acts, Mahie Gill scores the maximum in the complex role of a unsatisfied, neglected married woman, who is also a psychic patient. She is simply excellent as the BIWI and once again shows the powerhouse of talent hidden in her as an actress. Randeep Hooda as the GANGSTER surprises you with a very cool and underplayed kind of performance as required by its script. But I found Jimmy Gill, though effective but also repeating himself in that tough mood, playing the SAHEB.
In short, SBAG is a film to be applauded only for its performance and impactful dialogues delivered effectively by its entire cast ensemble. But unfortunately, after his last SHAGIRD, it again cannot be included in the list of best efforts put in by its director, TIGMANSHU DHULIA. The man surely is capable of coming up with a much better product in terms of entertainment and value for money as seen in his most famous product till date, HAASIL.
In his present offering SBAG, indisputably the performances are great, the dialogues are sharp and the cinematography is perfect, but still I felt the entertainment factor missing in the film somehow. Though in the first half its all enjoyable as you witness the new relationship forming within the characters, with a bit of skin show and the sudden twists and turns unfolding on the screen. But later on, the pace starts dipping, the sequences start repeating and certain questions are left unanswered which eventually go against the movie in the end. Moreover, the climax also leaves you confused with more deaths happening than survivals in the storyline.
However, a worth mentioning merit of the film has to be its soundtrack with few great numbers including the peppy "Jugni" and the sad "Akhiyan Ton Bhul Hoyi" sung by Arif Lohar in his own incomparable style. And I really loved watching the short version of the song on screen with the gorgeous looking Mahie.
Conclusively, whereas a certain section of viewers would surely enjoy the film due to its above mentioned merits, majority of them may complain the lack of entertainment factor in it. Still I would recommend it to the viewers who are familiar with the earlier works of the director and can appreciate innovative scripts (taking forward the characters taken from a cult classic). Perhaps I was expecting a lot more from one of my favorite directors.
