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By Joginder Tuteja, September 2, 2009 - 12:21 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Anupam Kher, Rimi Sen, Chunky Pandey, Dilip Prabhawalkar, Rahul Dev, Yashpal Sharma, Hemant Pandey, Virendra Saxena, Srivallabh Vyas, Manoj Pahwa, Sanjay Mishra, Jehangir Khan
Director: Pankaj Advani
Producer: Moser Baer Entertainment Ltd.
Music: Ranjit Barot
Lyrics: Panchhi Jalonvi, Mehboob
THE FILM
Sankat City is one of those rare movies that have a dozen odd characters, all of whom are not just connected to each other but even contribute to the film's main plot. This is the reason why none of them can be called as a supporting actor since they are all the principal protagonists in the film.
Let's begin with the least known names first. If one leaves out Hemant Pandey (Philip Fattu) then the brain child of the climax of Sankat City would go missing. If one ignores Jehangir Khan (Lovely) then the muscle power would loose its meaning. If Manoj Pahwa (Gogi Kukreja) is removed from the plot line then the story won't even move forward. And if Yashpal Sharma's (Pachisia) importance in the plot is forgotten then the entire 'con' angle will get diluted.
Confused? Well that may be the case for those who haven't seen the film. But credit to debutante writer and director Pankaj Advani who brings them all together along with a more experienced star cast/known names and spin a tale which is as original as it gets. Yes, Advani has carefully studied Guy Ritchie [Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels] way of film making, something which clearly reflects in the way he has spun the tale of Sankat City.
What mars the film to a good extent though are the production values which, politely speaking, can easily be termed as below average. Lack of funds is clearly visible in all departments whether it is art direction, song choreography, camera movements, sets, locations and majority of other technical departments.
Two years back we had seen Johnny Gaddaar which was again a thriller and made a much better impression since it boasted of neat visuals. In case of Sankat City, lack of visual appeal proves to be a major hindrance since never once do you think that the drama justifies a theatre watch.
However, this is compensated by a good storyline that keeps you involved for most part of the film. While the initial portions of the film are a cracker, what with a dozen odd characters being introduced, what keeps the wheels moving is the entire 'money' angle. The way different people are connected to the same amount of money with the entire exchange taking place is brilliantly executed and deserves appreciation.
Around the interval point the grip becomes a little loose while in the second half there is a see-saw in narrative. The climax is well spun though and comes with good twists and turns. However, one saw a better climax in 99, a movie belonging to the same genre, just a few months back. Moreover, the ending of Sankat City is also a little too sudden. An epilogue would have perhaps made Sankat City an even more entertaining watch.
Still, it's the collective prowess of Anupam Kher (repeating his 'Giridhar' act from Hum), Kay Kay Menon (showing a good comic flair) and Rimi Sen (confident as ever) which makes Sankat City a comfortable one time watch at the least.
PACKAGING
DVD of Sankat City comes in a regular plastic case along with a free DVD of Maan Gaye Mughal E Azam (hardly an enticing offer though!)
DURATION
The film's duration is 108 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
None
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 149/=
CONCLUSION
What you get to see in Sankat City is a series of events that are all related to each other with practically every scene beginning from where the previous one left. There are no 'jump movements' in the narrative which could easily have been a possibility had an amateur being at the helm of affairs. However, Pankaj Advani keeps things under check for most part of the film's narrative and ensures that Sankat City turns out to be a cool caper thriller.
 
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