'Thugs of Hindostan' is like Koffee with Karan, albeit without the gossip

It's time we retire the films that put the stardom of actors above content and form

Movies appeal to us for a variety of reasons. Some stand out for their ‘what’ (content), some for their ‘how’ (form), some for their both ‘what’ and ‘how’. Then there’s the fourth kind: the one about ‘who’. This is the cinema of the privileged – the moneyed producers who make the ‘who’ possible, the factor transcending ‘what’ and ‘how’. The main curiosity here revolves around the stars. That gets multiplied if the makers manage a casting coup: convincing two big names, not known for their collaboration, to share screen time. That in itself is enough – to the extent that the craft of filmmaking becomes irrelevant. The audience gets its doze of voyeurism: watching stars react to each other. It’s a bit like Koffee with Karan, albeit without gossip and with some pretense of storytelling.

Such films will always be in demand because we don’t just love our stars, we revere them. Which is why it’s not surprising that the cinema of ‘who’ hits the theatres during festivals. This Diwali, we have Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Thugs of Hindostan, produced by Yash Raj Films, featuring stars that have never acted in a film together: Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan. A period drama, Thugs of Hindostan is set in 1795 when the East India Company has begun its rapid colonisation of the country. Resistance comes through a band of thugs, led by Khudabaksh Azaad (Bachchan), who aspires to free the Indian subcontinent – Hindostan – from the foreign rule. Then there’s another thug, the small-time conman Firangi Mallah (Khan), thoroughly devoid of conscience and purpose, hired by the British to capture Azaad and dismantle his group.

Read More On → Thugs of Hindostan Movie Review