‘Agni’ review: Rahul Dholakia’s film struggles to catch fire
‘Agni’ is most involving when it captures the warm camaraderie between the officers in the fire station
We have seen Indian films and shows that focus on the perilous lives of first responders such as law enforcement and medical personnel and hospital staff, but rarely have firefighters taken the spotlight. Writer-director Rahul Dholakia makes them the heroes of his feature film. As Vitthal, the heroic chief of Parel fire station, Pratik Gandhi leads this lukewarm drama. Fire means different things in different contexts. One moment the firemen are taking blessings from a religious flame, in another moment they are suiting up to propel themselves into a burning building.
He may be respected at work, but at home Vitthal’s young son is more in awe of his haughty and much decorated super-cop uncle Samit (Divyenndu). Vitthal’s wife Rukmini (Sai Tamhankar) tries to keep the peace at home, especially between Vitthal and their son and between Vitthal and her less principled brother, Samit.
When a pattern is detected in recent cases, fire officer Avni (Saiyami Kher) confirms Vitthal’s suspicions of a possible arsonist being at work. But the police, with Samit at the fore, supported by the deputy chief minister, dismiss Vitthal’s theory. The rivalry between Samit and Vitthal is juvenile and a convenient device for pushing the screenplay along to a neat conclusion where a son finally respects and admires his father.
A mid-movie twist re-anchors the drifting narrative, giving it a much-needed shot of adrenaline. The identity of the arsonist and his motivation are skimmed over. Downing quarters after duty ends, Vitthal and his colleague Mahadev (Jitendra Joshi) whine about how firefighters who jump into blazing infernos to rescue the entrapped are unsung heroes who do not get adequate credit for a job in which they risk their own health and lives. The dialogues often sound bombastic and unnatural, such as when a woman fearing for her life as flames engulf the building says, ‘Main yahan phasee hoon’ (I am stuck here). In such a fiery scenario, surely one would be screaming short, useful phrases punctuated with ‘help’ rather than framing a grammatically correct sentence.
Given the nature of the job, these firefighters run into the smoky, flaming structures without oxygen masks or even masks. Nor do they appear to undergo regular psych and health evaluations thereby allowing troubled and sickly officers to continue to serve and be in charge.
Cinematically, the sets and fire special effects also fall short. Barring a couple of moments, the heat, discomfort, urgency and fear do not translate. Even though the film moves at a crisp clip, the focus does not stay on the most affecting scenarios. Dholakia’s film is most moving when it captures the warm camaraderie between the officers in the fire station, and their bond when they mourn the loss of a colleague. There is a comment too on the systemic violations and municipal irregularities that further impede the effective functioning of emergency services.
Sai Tamhankar brings emotional gravitas as the understanding wife, Saiyami Kher and Divyenndu do not get a wide berth to perform but make an impact with their scant scenes. Jitendra Joshi takes on an interesting character whose backstory is, unfortunately, sketchy. Pratik Gandhi’s Vitthal might be a whiner, but he seems all the more real for it. And therein lies Dholakia’s greatest achievement—to show that not only do all heroes not wear capes, but many of them have insecurities and respiratory issues too.
‘Agni’ is on Amazon Prime.
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First Published:8 Dec 2024, 05:29 PM IST
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