Dr. Pranjal Medhi
At a time when Hollywood appears of putting an end to James Bond, Bollywood finds its own version of Die-Hard, by replacing Bruce Willis with muscleman Vidyut Jammwal. Well, there is no harm in making an unacknowledged adaptation of a foreign film, which could also be termed as heavily inspired. But what hinders the plot here is the shoddy writing anda saggy script. Sanak which literally means ‘eccentricity’, was hard to find in the narrative structure, despite of some sincere action-packed scenes.
What is killing the adrenaline rush here is the shoddy script, which is devoid of any robust moment in the timeline. It totally failed to create any suspense, drama and the moments of surprises, which is expected of a hostage-rescue drama. Although packed with some energetic glass-shattering action by Vidyut Jammwal and co-actors, the action could not compensate for a bad script. The narrative lacks punch, which should have been the backbone of the film with strong characters, well-defined roles and solid plot points. But due to the sloppy and saggy writing, the film fails to create any remarkable moment of drama, making it too predictable. The script did not explore the emotional and psychological aspect of the narrative, without reconnoitering the inner-world of the characters, which eventually turned the plot too superficial.
Action is the point of attraction in Sanak, which is successful in impressing the audience to an extent. The well-choreographed action scenes by Action director Andy Long Nyugen are innovative in using the hospital surrounding and equipment, such as the Physiotherapy Room and the MRI machine. VidyutJammwal exhibits his ripped muscles and martial art skills well, while slaying the terrorists.
Jammwal in the lead performs well as expected of him being an expert in multiple martial art forms. The audience expected much more from actor Chandan Roy Sanyal as the baddy, considering his previous performances in Kaminey, When Harry Met Sejal and the web-series Ashram and Ray. Nevertheless, it seems that he could not deliver his best, which could have otherwise been a life-changing role for him being the lead antagonist in Sanak. As a life-time opportunity of being casted as the lead villain, he delivered a performance with ease and comfort, still failed to impress. Debut performance of Rukmini Maitra as the wife of Jammwal, is nothing extraordinary, but adequate enough. Neha Dhupia’s cameo as a police officer could have been extended with some sensible writing, which could have added to this otherwise no-brainer hostage drama.
In fine, we can say that with the advent of technology and graphics, Hindi films are enabled now to produce action-packed hostage dramas with conviction. However, Sanak is devoid of any emotional connect while it emphasized predominantly on well-choreographed fight sequences.With stark resemblance to Die-Hard, Jammwal single-handedly rescues his wife and others as a one-man army, but failed miserably in striking an emotional chord with the audience.
