Agni Movie Review: Pratik Gandhi Shines in a Fiery Tribute to Unsung Firefighter Heroes

A firefighter underlines that this word is important to recall: “Pagal”. Not to explain what ‘mad” means, but as an acronym for ‘Pa for Paani which is water in Gujurati, Ga for Gas, …… ,and L for light. These are the three-point checks everyone must do before leaving their premises so that if all the three are closed, danger of any fire is negligible.
Agni (Fire) certainly must have been a challenge to script and script because, like any feature film, a story has to be built towards the fact that like our armed forces, police and security levels, a firefighter, no matter how secondary in the picture is a soldier in defending us from the destructive forces. He also fights to the death but receives almost no attention, no benefits and certainly no glory. His family also loses if he dies on the job, which is not only the risk of burn injuries but also suffocation and other hazards that he endangers himself with willingly at the job.

Agni Movie Review: Script Analysis
The story is set in the backdrop of a devoted Firefighter Vithal Surve (Pratik Gandhi) The hero wedded to Rukmini (Sai Tamhankar) father of Amar (Kabir Shah) resides fulfilling albeit a frugal life in a quarter. Rukmini and Amar always have looked at the comparatively luxurious life her brother, Samit Sawant (Divyenndu), and his wife, are leading.
A very confident police officer; Azmi describes his as ‘an ace cop, but very cocky’; Samit’s other means of making money, as outlined by Vithal, are questionable. ’These are some relevant factors: Sankar considers his father a ‘zero’, while two people Vithal adore are mama Samit and all these aspects provoke animosity and outright hostility in the relation between Vithal and Samit.
It exists as a parallel to a series of for firefighting missions Vithal and his team continuously get involved in in what seems to be on daily basis. At any given moment, as seen where the engagement party was being held, these soldiers have to run to put out an ‘angaar’ and life and health of the perennially suffering soldiers also remain unpredictable.
Still, a movie with such an idea and purpose requires a plot – a better one at that. And so we get a story wherein two tracks run parallel: Bisexuality of sorts between firefighters and cops and also an almost procedural style narrative of a man who, after a fire which killed his family, becomes an arsonist while seemingly being a normal person and looking out for his best friend. This serves as the plot’s thrill and the deduction factor as Samit strongly believes that all the recent fires are ‘Natural’ that is Due to normal careless…! On the same note, there are no concrete reasons for the audience to disapprove Vithal’s suspicion and his colleague Avni played by Saiyami Kher has her forced reasons to be suspicious.

What the story offers is a very neat narrative where all the elements include an angle of the love interest of the only woman firefighter, Anvi, Jass (Udit Arora), and how things go between Vithal and his son and brother in law. It is also remarkable and rather exotic to note how ordinary and happy the lives of firefighters are and how friendly they are even with their supervisors. They are also tested on their fitness regime.

But the staunch political angle also comes in, however, this time the neta (Anant Jog) is not a wicked man who will go to any end of the world to achieve his goal. It’s very engaging for the viewer not to deviate in some mundane grey zone such as political interferences in films its script (written by Rahul Dholakia with dialogues by Vijay Maurya). It operates in a climax that appears a touch forced but seems right for the anecdote and brings the yarn to a trim, rational, and satisfactory conclusion.
Agni Movie Review: Star Performance
Perversely, in this viscerally macho story, the acting – distiinct from the characters played – is headed in terms of quality by Sai Tamhankar as the devoted, perpetually patient wife of Vitthal, & Saiyami Kher as the messianic, tough as nails, unambiguously lustful firefighter who has her own way of looking at existence & sex. Sai once more displays her high competency and versatility after fine performances in different genres in formats, recently in the Marathi web series Manvat Murders. Not only does she appear to be exactly what she is play- ing—a lower middle-class simple hausfrau and loving mother- but her faces are perfect at all the right moments as the turn of events warrant. Regarding Saiyami, such marvellous picture of the lady as an unwavering and committed soldier who undergoes harsh astringent training sees her at her best when she is depicted as losing her half-sister in combat yet remaining steadfast in her devotion to the creed. But her eyes hold the words, or rather, do not hold the words as the old cliche goes some times.

Pratik Gandhi plays yet another well-rounded character as Vithal who endures his disability, allows his anger at his brother-in-law to combust once in a while, and adores his wife, co-workers—and work. It was great watching Divyenndu step into Samit’s shoes, a stereotyped egoistic brother-in-law who fails to respect his fireman brother-in-law and then, change for good.

The film boarders on the usual with thest scenes and superb acting of Jitendra Joshi expectrating Mahadev, the fireman. Jazz is worked by talented and fervent actor Udit Arora. The supporting cast is also very good and the talented little boy Kabir Shah who played Amar is here a child artiste par excellence. Sayali Sawant as Samit’s appeasing wife, also equally used in her brief assignment.

Agni Movie Review: Direction, Music
Having followed the rather off beat Parzania (2005), the rather mundane Lamhaa and the brazenly commercial Raees (2017), Rahul Dholakia bites into probably his most engaging slice of courage, love, sacrifice, and honor, with this shinning new coin. The movie makes the right points and isn’t one with monotonous despite a seemingly dry base.

The following sequences have been identified: • the two firemen being depicted dead • Vithal’s sequences implying health complications • House warming sequence • Firemen’s funny responses over lunch time • Funny threaten mixed with wit of Samit. There are several scenes with Vitthal and his son who worships maternal uncle Samit for he believes that his father is not so big a man; it is as part of these sequences that one sometimes forms a kind of pithy message to convey the general opinion about the Fire fighters – those people who must not be seen or heard of or even considered worthy of respect or admiration or regard.

The music is quite good but so inconsequential for the makers that it is not even credited and, worst, there is no information on the Internet about who provided the admirably understated background score!

Agni Movie Review: The Last Word
On every level the film is important. An OTT release perhaps could be the best thing for this simple pleasure. While Excel Entertainment always presents us with variety it does not hit the higher note all the times. This time, it certainly does!