New Delhi: Mythology has always inspired screen writers to model their actors on the lines of historical characters. The character of 'Raavan' and imagination of his 'Lanka' have given ample insights to set designers who in turn provide the directors a nice and familiar environment to work with.
Maqbool Khan's 'Lanka' is the latest Bollywood film which has drawn motivation from the Ramayana.
The Hindi film industry is no more afraid of leaving the metropolitans and going deep into the semi urban and rural areas. Success of films such as 'Tanu Weds Manu', 'Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster', 'Mausam', and 'Peepli Live' has given the filmmakers courage to shoot on the realistic locations.
Uttar Pradesh's Bijnaur works as the mise-en-scene where Bhai Sahab (Manoj Bajpayee) rules the roost. Ill fated Anju (Tia Bajpai) catches Manoj's eyes and her simple life becomes the saga of plights in a flash.
Anju couldn't do anything other than waiting for the proverbial 'real' man who can set her free from the clutches of the ultimate devil of the area.
Arjan Bajwa arrives in Bijnaur only to find himself trapped in a complex situation.
Manoj Bajpayee may not be termed as a successful mainstream film star but nobody can deny the fact that Manoj is one of the finest actors of Bollywood at this time.
Further it was Manoj's own choice to leave senseless films; otherwise he could have featured in more than 100 films by now, similar to some of his contemporaries. It does not look like a very difficult job for someone who had films as 'Satya' and 'Shool' in the very beginning of his career.
Bajpayee may not qualify as the typical Bollywood hero but he was no lesser than any other hero in multi starrers like 'Rajneeti', 'Aarakshan', and 'Bewafaa'. In fact he is capable of stealing the show in a cameo too. 'Veer –Zaara' is a perfect example of this.
The female lead of the film Tia Bajpai is producer Vikram Bhatt's find. Bhatt has given commands to Tia in 'Haunted' earlier. She will be donning the difficult character of a helpless small town girl.
Arjan Bajwa is also new but he is more experienced than Tia Bajpai. His last release 'Tell Me O Kkhuda' was a box office disaster but he had caught attention in 'Fashion'.
Bajwa has good physique but his acting skills are still not tested.
The director Maqbool Khan would not like to repeat the same mistakes that he had done in 'Kabootar'. It's a challenge to come up with a commercially successful film with relatively smaller star cast but everything will depend on the way he handles the megaphone.
A little more promotion could have helped the film but Manoj Bajpayee's presence can still fetch some initial eyeballs.
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