The one film that dared to take on Salman Khan’s might and release theatrically on the same day as Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan is Chengiz, and just as KKBKKJ is a Salman film, Chengiz is a Jeet film through and through. It follows all the tropes of a gangster film with Jeet as its larger-than-life, invincible hero.
Directed by Rajesh Ganguly and co-written by A Wednesday maker Neeraj Pandey, Chengiz is set in Kolkata of 1970s-’90s, where a boy-next-door, Jaidev, is transformed into a dreaded underworld don, Chengiz, played with flamboyance by Jeet.
As a 10-year-old, Jaidev saw his parents being murdered, which scarred him to the extent that avenging their deaths became his life’s mission. Omar (Shataf Figar), a ganglord who rules the Kolkata underworld, takes Jaidev under his wing. The rest of the first half follows Jaidev’s meteoric rise through the ranks by fixing football matches, and with his rising clout in the underworld Jaidev earns the moniker — Chengiz.
The story leapfrogs from the 1970s to the mid-1990s after Chengiz takes Omar’s throne by finishing off his mentor in a brutal showdown. His activities soon come under the radar of the police — his uncle Samir (Rohit Roy) is a cop and is part of the task force created to catch Chengiz — which sparks off a cat-and-mouse chase between the cops and the crime gang, taking care of the second half of the film.
Jeet, who is used to playing a superhuman hero in film after film, lives up to expectations. Be it the action, one-liners or an intense look, he knows how to get it right. Jaidev’s transformation from a submissive young man to a dreaded gangster is convincing, and Jeet manages to work his charm till the end.
Rohit Roy delivers a nuanced performance, especially his act of betrayal just before the climax. Shataf Figar, as Jaidev’s mentor, also makes an impact. The weak link is Jaidev’s love interest, Nandini (Susmita Chatterjee), who is reduced to a trophy wife. The surprise element is Jeet’s double role — as Jaidev’s doppelganger Daniel D’Souza, who brings on some laughs and plays a crucial role in the climax.
Manas Ganguly’s cinematography evokes the old world charm of Kolkata; even the drone shots of the football matches have been done well. Anbu Selvan’s background score adds a hint of drama and thrill. Among the songs, Ebhabe Ke Daake, composed by Kaushik-Guddu and sung by Arijit Singh, is a melodious romantic track. Ragada and Widda, composed by Aneek Dhar, are high-octane peppy numbers that try to establish Chengiz as a ‘hero’.
What doesn’t work is the long runtime covering several subplots around minor characters that makes the story too convoluted. Chengiz ends on a cliffhanger as Jaidev tells his uncle, ‘Khela ekhono baki ache; khela hobe (There are more games to play. We’ll play alright)”.
Is that cue for a sequel? We wouldn’t mind waiting for this one.
