Media Magick

Mahesh Manjrekar is a volcano of talent and his body of work is remarkable. It’s sad that he couldn’t get what he deserved. With films like Vaastav, Astitva, Pitaah and Virudh, Manjrekar proved his mettle in handling complicated and masala oriented films with gusto. The Power is Manjrekar’s latest offering and it features Vidyut Jammwal, Jisshu Sengupta, Prateik Babbar and Shruti Haasan. The film is a drama set in the backdrop of the lives of gangsters.
The story of The Power is nothing unusual. Those who have a taste for Bollywood films and have watched 90s and 2000s cinema will not find nothing new in the film. The story is predictable and the execution is slow. The Power is a film that reminds you of films like Sarkar, Khudgharz and a few other underworld dramas. The film offers no freshness, unfortunately.

The Power – Trailer

There are a few decent performances by a few actors. Mahesh Manjrekar plays his part very well and underplays it decently. Jisshu Sengupta impresses in a character that he might have not performed earlier in Bollywood. He is such a talented actor and gets in to the character with utmost ease. Zakir Hussain is effective and has his fair share of scenes where he excels.

Prateik Babbar, besides being a supremely talented actor, is somewhat restrained. His character could have been written and performed better because of the various shades that his role demanded. Vidyut Jammwal is the same, great stunts and actions scenes but zero expressions. Shruti Haasan, again, gives a weak and disinterested performance after Yaara.

The dialogues in The Power are the weakest. The film is so predictable and hurriedly edited that it fails to create an impact. If the dialogues and execution would have been better and better leads would have been casted, this film might have been an engaging and interesting watch. The action sequences are hard to believe, they keep questioning the basic rules of physics.

The Power was a good opportunity for Mahesh Manjrekar, but it’s wasted. The film can easily be skipped, as it offers nothing much than a few good performances that comes here and there in the film.