Flashback Friday: Revisiting Ajay Devgn And Tabu Starrer Vijaypath, A Classic Bollywood-y Revenge Drama

Ajay and Tabu, co-stars in 'Bholaa', have come a long way since their first film together, 'Vijaypath'.

The 1994 release, which was well-received, ranked as the tenth-highest grossing Bollywood movie of the year.

Source : IMDb

New Delhi: The enduring popularity of action thrillers in Bollywood has not waned over the years. And why would it when a recent movie in the same genre, 'Pathaan', made it break its long slump? Considering how much we dig the genre as well, we are not going to complain. However, only a deeply committed fan of Hindi cinema can withstand the old action movies, so as a sign of our loyalty, we did just that and watched the 1994 film 'Vijaypath', starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu.

The action thriller 'Bholaa', starring the same star cast, has already piqued the interest of the audience enough to draw major footfalls on opening day. Ajay and Tabu, co-stars on-screen and buddies off-screen, have come a long way, and 'Vijaypath' offered a window into their early years as actors.

The 1994 release, which was well-received, ranked as the tenth-highest grossing Bollywood movie of the year. The film also earned its antagonist Danny Denzongpa the Best Villain award, and Tabu took home the award for Best Debut. However, Divya Bharti would have played the lead role of Mohini, Ajay's love interest in the movie, had it not been for the tragic passing of the popular actor. Later, though, Tabu took the part and the two actors first appeared together on screen.

If you are having trouble recalling the revenge drama-themed film that released almost three decades ago, this hint might help you refresh your memory. It features the notable song 'Raah Mein Unse Mulakat', sung by the famed duo Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. A song that most of the kids of the '90s cannot possibly forget because we have heard it almost endlessly at every Indian wedding. 

Like most movies from that period, 'Vijaypath' kicks off with a happy family that is unaware of the dangers that are about to confront them. A parallel subplot introduces local criminal Bhawani Singh and his oppression of people. To establish the character's evilness, a lengthy montage of him killing people over 'hafta' and merely speaking against him is presented. Justice Saxena sentences Bhawani Singh to be hanged, incurring the fury of his elder brother Dilawar Singh (Danny Denzongpa) on his family. One by one, Dilawar Singh murders the family members, leaving only Shanker's son Karan, played by Ajay Devgn, and Rajesh, who is on crutches. Before passing away, Babloo gives his eyes to Karan, and the young boy makes a promise that he won't take off his glasses until he faces his family's murderer.

The badle ki aag keeps burning within him, and he grows into a pensive young man who will fling fists at anyone who touches his glasses, which serve as a symbol of his oath. And a springy tennis ball, his weapon of choice. Meanwhile, Dilawar, who is now running for mayor, has transformed into a 'respectable citizen' of the city. We are also shown that he keeps a tiger in his basement and serves it anyone and everyone who wrongs him. You know, classic Hindi film villain. This is only to remind the viewers that he is still a despicable criminal and has not left the dungeons of evil. 

As we all know, certain things do not truly mellow with time, and sexism and stereotypes in our cinema fall into this category. It was painful to witness the song in which Tabu dances to allure Ajay Devgn's character back when even a fine actor of the present era like Tabu was merely a love interest in a movie. Your only thought is how much talent is being wasted. The main protagonists' meet-cute is still the part that people would find the most distasteful. In a scene, Karan shows up like a knight in shining armour to save Mohini from goons, only to lecture her on staying at home at night if she can't defend herself. Moreover, he goes on to make an obvious comment about her 'indecent' clothes and says 'waise koi bhi inn kapdo mein jhankne ki koshish karega'. That's the moment she falls for him. Bollywood, fortunately, has stopped creating such 'heroic' characters and has actually protected female characters from them.

Understandably, a movie from that period of time is no longer relevant now, yet some things remain unchanged. At least we can say that when Devgn is the lead in a movie, there's going to be some head-turning action. For the new-gen who thinks Rohit Shetty made him jump out of moving cars, you need to see him do so on bikes to know he has been the OG for way too long. While tackling his opponents, we can see fascinating scenes of him standing on a moving bike, blasting fuel-filled bottles, and what not.

As the story unfolds, Karan squares off against Dilawar, his longtime nemesis, and what might have been the shortest possible combat (obviously because the latter has guns and the former, as you know, a tennis ball), lasts for more than an hour. Danny's character uses all of his wicked tricks to torture Karan rather than simply killing him. As he confronts Dilawar in a particular scene, his armed men in uniform wait to get an introduction before shooting him. Pretty damn patient?

The two characters frequently face off against one another, yet there is no closure other than a war of words (almost like the ones you see on Twitter nowadays). The interactions are absurd to the point that it becomes comical, as you hear Karan, at one point, say, ‘Hello baad mein, pehla hilo aur zara TV on karo, Dilawar.’

The sequence, which was supposed to be an engaging game of snake and ladder, becomes an absurd face-off. And the conclusion is the icing on the cake, leaving you to wonder: for what, exactly, have you gone through all of this?

But there are two more perilous antagonists in the movie besides Danny, and they are Gulshan Grover's insufferable "comedic" character and the overly flowery but cringe dialogues. 

In a scene, while Danny is intimidating Ajay, he goes on to say,‘Aaj ke baad to Diwan ki dushmani nahi, Dilawar ka kehar dekhega’ and gets a response, ‘Tera kehar to zehar banke meri ragon mein daud raha hai’. And this is one of many such exchanges that you have to sit through to witness the climax of 'Vijaypath', an adaptation of the Mahbharata in ‘Kalyug’.