Thursday, 3 October 2013

Prithviraj's dangerous experiment, as homosexual cop



Someone had massively misled Prithviraj or maybe he was not quite aware of the probable consequences of signing up for a film like ‘Mumbai Police’. The film was released in May this year and since it has been nearly 5 months now, I wouldn’t be destroying the film’s box office potential by talking about its ‘WTF-was-that!’ climax.

The film is well-narrated. Rosshan Andrews is the director. 

ACP Antony Moses aka Rascal Moses (Prithviraj) gets into an accident and loses his memory just when he is about to conclude the investigations into the murder of his buddy, Assistant Commissioner Aaryan John Jacob (Jayasurya), who was shot dead by a sniper during a gallantry awards ceremony at police/parade grounds. Antony’s senior officer, Farhan Ashraf (Rahman), Commissioner of police, also happens to be his brother-in-law. It was while talking to him over the phone that Antony gets into the accident. Farhan tells him not to reveal his temporary memory loss to others and continue reinvestigating the case without raising suspicion.

Antony’s colleagues and subordinates notice a dramatic change in his attitude- gone are his arrogance and alcoholism.

The stunning revelation that he is gay comes when his male partner, an effeminate pilot (or was he a flight purser – not sure), tries to seduce him. It turns out that Aaryan John Jacob had stumbled upon this truth and threatens to divulge it to seniors and end their friendship. A panicked Antony makes an elaborate plan and gets Jacob killed with a pre-programed sniper rifle.   

Prithviraj is one actor, who, in spite of all the years that he had spent in Malayalam films, has equal number of friends and detractors. While friends might not be of much help in the film industries, detractors baying for blood would pounce at the slightest opportunity. Playing, pretty convincingly, the role of an arrogant, homosexual police officer will get him lot of fans in a particular segment, but it is not clear how this is going to help him with his mainstream career. The film borders upon 'heterophobia' - there are actresses in the movie, but no heroine as such. 

Mallu film industry and fans alike are very good at remembering such ‘creative endeavors'.


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