The saga of revenge explodes when the world of a notorious, powerful don, and that of a young chef’s family suddenly collide, and what began purely circumstantially becomes the sole business of the two families and, of course, the film.
Family is that of a young chef, Shekhar Bhatia (Akshay Kumar in an excellent portrayal) who believes a Family should live together and stand up for and support one another. A son who loves his parents, and indulges his irresponsible but good-hearted younger brother Aryan (an OK debut by Aryeman, but marred by a slight lisp) to the extent of lying to cover up for his misadventures. Shekhar’s biggest agenda in life? To stall his parents’ desperate attempts to get him hitched. And soon enough, to win the heart of the only girl he’s ever liked but she’s a doctor, Dr Kavita (Bhoomika Chawla, likeable and believable), and he is sure she won’t settle for the ‘cook’ that he is! Well, a song and dance later, Shekhar and Dr Kavita are married, and life settles down in real earnest. The irresponsible Aryan continues with his errant ways, and one day, he storms out of the house, never to return! Of course, big brother Shekhar sets out to find him, and then, Fate steps in.
Family is that of the powerful crime lord, Viren Sahai (Amitabh Bachchan), a top international don based in Bangkok, whose hood of a wayward son Abir (Sushant Singh) is on the run after a violent and bloody fracas at a pub. Abir’s life is swagger of confidence that emanates from the fact that his powerful father Viren, who dotes on him, will move heaven and earth and mow down scores of hoods who may stand in the way -- to protect his son, his Family. You see, Don Viren believes in the sanctity of family ties as firmly as he chews upon his cigar. Well, the son lands up in Bangkok, with a contract on his head thanks to another vindictive father in the picture, the same gent whose son he had beaten up before fleeing India. The killers sent by the don in Mumbai (Kader Khan’s wasted effort) try to kill Don Viren and succeed in putting a bullet into Abir, but the don explodes into action and mows down all of the attackers but one, who reveals the identity of the contract killer. And what does the don, who could have easily orchestrated a revenge shootout from Bangkok, do? He actually decides to land up in Mumbai, guns in hand, and walks right into a movie hall and fires upon Kader Khan and his nephew, chases them through the crowded cinema and ends up shooting the nephew.
And here, the two families that wouldn’t even have breathed the same air, are thrown together. As Fate would have it, a bullet from Don Sahai’s gun finds Akshay Kumar, who has turned up at the very spot, looking for his brother Aryan! Shekar dies, and ignites a bomb of searing hatred in Aryan, who blames himself for his brother’s death, and is now consumed with the desire for revenge.
In the story that unfolds hereafter, we see two layers as each Family’s story unfolds. Shekhar’s family is consumed by grief, while Aryan is driven by revenge, and the Don’s past keeps coming back to haunt him as he thinks about each member of his family that’s been kidnapped by Aryan and his gang. The intense personal undercurrents of his life with his estranged wife Sharda (Shernaz Patel in a refined, restrained performance) and the other members of his family, with the shocking twist in the end that shakes him to the core, shattering everything he ever believed in, give the story a personal drama hook that is as strong as the thriller element which has the audience willing the young Aryan to win the tense stalk and chase that’s bringing the Don’s hoods closer to him and his gang.
Aryeman’s debut especially the introduction is interesting, and he looks the part of a pampered, vulnerable younger brother. And it is this vulnerability that has you wondering how he and a motley gang of inherently kind, non-violent youngsters will take on the might of Don Viren Sahai. That uphill task is an interesting hook, and the screenplay takes the story further in an intriguing manner the planning, the research, and the kidnaps by Aryan and his gang.
But a basically good storyline again falters at places where there are chinks of logic in some of the links. For instance, when Aryan and gang with the hostages are being chased by a horde of the Don’s goons and their van gets stuck in a narrow road, how does the entire gang with hostages in tow escape and reach a new hideout? That too on foot, with a middle aged woman and a five-year-old in tow? Far too convenient. Why does the don come into India on a vendetta mission when he could have sent an army of hitmen? And the most jarring of all why, in God’s name, is the word Family bandied about so liberally and unnecessarily. Justifying the title, yes, but the dialogue writer shouldn’t have hit em on the head with it!
Akshay Kumar is polishing his act more and more with every passing film. In both, Garam Masala and Dosti he did a good job with essentially different kinds of roles within the limitations of those screenplays, and in Family he shines in the oh-too-brief role of Shekhar, ranging from the immensely likeable (as the cheerful so-in-love chef eager to woo the love of his life Bhoomika Chawla), to the startling violent protective older brother who explodes in defense of his kid brother Aryeman. A wonderful performance from Akshay, but, as mentioned earlier, far too short a role. But then, this was co-producer Keshu’s son’s launch film, and if big brother didn’t die, how would little brother blossom?
 Sushant Singh is average, but Anjaan Srivastav as the griefstricken father, competently treads a road he’s traveled often in the past. Bhoomika Chawla’s is a restrained performance, and she especially holds her own against Amitabh Bachchan when she confronts him in the hospital corridor supported ably enough by the dialogue, of course. Ram Sampath’s music is eminently forgettable, and except for introducing Aryeman, none of the songs actually takes the story forward. The background score, though, is particularly good.
Raj Kumar Santoshi has spared no effort or cost to produce the film and make it a slick affair. The cinematography and editing work well together to take the film further, and the action scenes are particularly well choreographed but far far too bloody. And if you could overlook the shortcomings of convenience in the screenplay, the film grips you. But Aryeman isn’t strong enough to hold half of the film against Amitabh Bachchan, and there it falters a bit on the credibility side, because vulnerable is all that he can look, even with eyes smoldering. It takes more than that to eyeball the Big B. Sure, Aryan’s motivation is strong enough, but he doesn’t look the sort who could chew the huge hunk he bites.
The Big reason to watch Family is Amitabh Bachchan’s brilliant performance. Cold and menacing in the scene where he is introduced, and broken and vulnerable in the police station towards the end, with every shade of bristling to sutble emotion in between, it is his performance that makes Family a B word. B as in Bachchan. And B as in bloody. For Family is not just about Ties of Blood, but buckets of blood in every shootout scene. It’s a tough life. |
