Toofaan – A Much Needed Throwback To The 70s

Toofaan reminded me of 70s Bollywood. An angry young man transformed cos of love. The only difference here is that the angry young man is the not so young boxing coach Nana Prabhu, played stupendously by Paresh Rawal, & the love not romantic, but paternal along with a sincere bond with one’s passion.

Nana is a “bigot” if labelled simplistically. He won’t eat from a Muslim eatery, will freely abuse them but at the same time will also train a talented Muslim man. As his friend Bala points out – when it comes to boxing, Nana forgets all religious diffs. In my opinion its because for Nana, boxing is not just his job or a hobby, its his calling, his chosen religion wherein nothing else matters. On the mat, he is able to forget everything but its outside the ring that his studied biases come to the fore.

Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Toofaan is replete with such insightful moments. When Nana asks Aziz to trim his beard because its “not allowed” in boxing, Aziz doesn’t think much of it but Ananya, Nana’s daughter, realizes the hidden meaning behind it. She also doesn’t say a word, just a slight expression change and her annoyance has been conveyed – one felt by many youngsters where they cant say anything but try to break these biases in their individual capacity.

I know there will be some who will find the characterizations problematic as Aziz is an indifferent Muslim, with even his birth identity being ambiguous for he is an orphan taken care of by a local Muslim don. However this is also something that hails back to 70s films where the idea of an individual, community or nation was greater than identity markers. This rings true for both Nana & Aziz. While to Aziz it comes naturally, Nana’s character has to undergo the learning.

Written by Anjum Rajabali, Toofaan attempts to reignite a dialogue between the stringently divided society of today, at least so on social media where anyone can be labeled anything without any reflection. It tries to reintroduce the finer subtleties that outline real life & once again propagate the idea that religious differences cant come before the greater good.

Watch it not as a sports film but a sensitive drama.

👩🏾‍💻 – Amazon Prime India

Direction: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Paresh Rawal, Mrunal Thakur, Vijay Raaz, Dharmesh Kumar, Hussain Dalal, Supriya Pathak