Garv (2004)
Cast: Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Arbaaz Khan, Amrish Puri Akansha.
Director: Puneet Isaar
Synopsis: Hackneyed, predictable, mind-dulling fodder aimed at the "interiors"
Reviewed by: Faiz Khan

 

Garv is yet another run-of-the-mill film about cops, corruption and everything that goes with them. It is a formula that has been beaten to death over the years, yet Bollywood continues to return to it with astonishing regularity.

The film opens with maverick cop Arjun Ranawat (Salman Khan) being escorted to court while crowds gather outside baying for his blood, demanding the death penalty for this supposedly bloodthirsty police officer. We soon learn that Arjun has gunned down eighteen people in a murderous rampage. Of course, we all know there has to be a reason behind such "rash" behaviour.

Cue the inevitable flashback.

There we find the customary hara bhara sansar: a saintly white-sari-clad mother (Farida Jalal), a thoroughly gormless younger sister (Akanksha) who immediately gives the impression that she exists either for Raksha Bandhan duties or to become the object of Bollywood's favourite pastime from the 60s and 70s...rape. Garv never once strays from the beaten track and unpredictability is certainly not among its strengths.

Arjun's closest ally is his sincere, incorruptible Muslim colleague Hyder Ali (Arbaaz Khan), another officer determined to fight injustice both within and outside the system. Arjun, however, has little patience for legal niceties. Pimps, drug dealers, petty criminals and assorted hoodlums all receive his preferred form of instant justice...bang, bang, bang. Thoroughly disgusted with the failures of the judicial system, he simply dispenses justice himself.

The only man capable of exercising any influence over this loose cannon is the Police Commissioner (Amrish Puri), who somehow manages to keep Arjun's violent tendencies under control.

Naturally, corrupt politicians and underworld elements conspire to drive a wedge between the Hindu-Muslim partnership. Ironically, Hyder is accused of collaborating with Pakistan's ISI, prompting him to rip open his shirt and proudly display the scars left by bullets fired by Pakistani terrorists. The symbolism could hardly be more obvious if it tried.

Predictably, Hyder is betrayed and murdered, leaving Arjun consumed by revenge and determined to hunt down everyone responsible.

The narrative then returns to the present. Why won't Arjun defend himself in court? Why does he remain silent despite facing the gravest accusations? The now-retired Police Commissioner steps forward to defend his former officer and gradually uncovers the truth behind the massacre.

Puneet Issar offers absolutely nothing new with Garv. To be fair, he directs it as slickly as possible given the hopelessly hackneyed material at his disposal, but there is only so much polish you can apply to such a tired and predictable screenplay. In reality, this is a B-grade action film dressed up with A-grade production values. It remains marginally watchable, but only just.

Salman Khan spends most of the film looking as glassy-eyed as ever. Shilpa Shetty has two songs and roughly one scene of consequence and could have been removed from the film entirely without anyone noticing the difference. Producer's daughter Akanksha is given a handful of weepy scenes, but I somehow doubt she is destined to live up to her family's cinematic pedigree. Amrish Puri, meanwhile, delivers the assured, professional performance one expects from him.

By and large, this is a film made for the interiors. Quite how I managed to sit through the entire thing remains something of a mystery.