Toofan Review: Same Old, Same Old

Watch Mary Kom instead! Yes, you read that right. If you think Toofan is a sports film, I would say that is partially true. It is partially a love story. Since no justice has been done to any of these plots, Toofan fails to impress. Till the end, you keep wondering whether you should call it a sports film or just another interfaith love story. 

As it is directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, my hopes were quite high. It starts on a good note. It keeps you hooked. The credit of which also goes to Farhan Akhtar’s performance. But as the film progresses, the grip on the plot loosens, making you feel that the writer wanted to convey something else in the beginning but changed his mind in the middle of the story. 

The interfaith marriage, the couple’s struggle, and Hindu-Muslim track, frankly, look a little forced in the plot. It doesn’t flow with the story. It feels like separate chunks have been picked up from different stories and are woven together to make one film. I said this in my Skater Girl review as well, that for a sports movie, the adrenaline rush is important. And even if the adrenaline rush is missing, the film should at least inspire or motivate the audience in some way for it to stay with them for a long time. In Toofan, none of these elements were present. 

These days, whenever a web series or a film plugs in a religious angle, it annoys me. There is a lot happening around, in the country and the world. Let entertainment be entertaining. If it cannot change the reality for good or awaken the society to bring the change in an individual or on a larger scale, the industry shouldn’t touch such sensitive topics. Now again, some people might argue that cinema is a reflection of society. In that case, I would like to put forth Raju Hirani’s example. Even his films were a reflection of society, yet he managed to touch hearts and change the way people think and behave. 

Creative people have been given the power to change the world, one person at a time. Instead of simply complaining about what we cannot change, if we sit back and think about how we can change what needs to be changed, society will heal faster than we can imagine. My only message to filmmakers is – 

You have the power, use it to bring a positive change in society. Shed light on the problems but also offer your audience a solution. Being a part of the industry, I am sure you know what impact films have on people, especially on the younger audience. Instead of saying that as people smoke in reality, our heroes smoke in the film; make a film where even the hero dies of smoking. Let’s change the way we show reality and the reality will eventually change. 

Ok now enough of gyaan, let’s come back to Toofan. So yes, the film is interesting in the beginning but soon after, it loses its luster. Its length is also one of its drawbacks. It’s almost a 3-hour film. Yes, it’s never-ending. Unfortunately, since I was excited for the release, I decided to watch it early in the morning. I regret my decision. I wasted the most productive time of the day doing absolutely nothing. What did I do after Toofan ended? I slept. Not my fault, the movie didn’t entertain me enough for me to stay awake. If not for this review, I would have slept right during the interval. 

What’s the verdict? There is nothing extraordinary about Amazon Prime Video’s Toofan. I won’t directly put it in the ‘skip it’ category, you can watch it on the weekend. But still, there is better content on the internet for the weekends. Just saying..

Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video