Antim – The Final Truth

Antim – The Final Truth, is the remake of much acclaimed and successful Marathi film Mulshi Pattern. With Aaysuh Sharma in the lead this Mahesh Manjrekar directorial has Salman Khan in an important extended role.

Plot –

The plot of Antim is not something that we haven’t seen before. The story is based on the situation of farmers where a farmer (Sachin Khedekar) is forced to sell his land to a rich man and as fate plays ends up as a watchman at his house. He is roughed while taking some vegetables which irks his son Rahul.

Rahul (Aayush Sharma) moves to Pune, and gets sucked into the world of crime. Under the watch of Nanyabhai (Upendra Limaye) Rahul keeps on making his name as a gangster. This upsets other gangsters Pitya and Daya (Jishu Sengupta and Nikitin Dheer) as Rahul becomes a very big name in the field.

Enter Rajveer Singh, played by none other than Salman Khan is the honest Sikh policeman who is posted to weed out the gangsters in Pune. Rahul with one of the top names in his hit list and on the hit list of other gangsters as well keeps on this journey.

Rajveer on one hand is bogged down by the system and his superiors, on the other hand he is a mastermind who is always in control of what is happening (Just like Shri Krishna in Mahabharata as he himself mentions).

In a side track Rahul falls in love with Manda (Mahima Makwana), who hates gangsters. Rahul’s father also wants him to leave crime but to no avail.

What happens to the love story of Rahul, Is Rajveer able to eliminate Rahul or his father convinces him out of this mess is what the movie deals with.

Hits –

Right in Manjrekar’s forte, Antim even with its predictable premise holds promise. The screenplay is interesting with twists and turns and keeps the proceedings interesting. The film has good performances, including an unexpected restrained performance from Salman.

Even though the proceedings get predictable after a point, still it tightens the grip every time there is a dip. Action sequences are good and compliment the mood of the film. Special mention to background score, especially whenever Salman is on screen.

The character of Salman and Rahul both have some grey shades along with positive and that is something which works totally in favour of Antim – The Final Truth.

Misses –

The plot is not novel and for a movie buff that can be off-putting as the proceedings do get very predictable.  The movie has a very regional feel and its appeal will be mostly to the area of Maharashtra.

Also, Salman’s role is more of an extended cameo which might be a disappointment for Salman fans.

Performances –

As the lead of Antim, Aayush Sharma performs way better than what he did in his first movie (though he still leaves a lot to be desired). Mahima Makwana has a decent debut but doesn’t get much to do. Same goes with Mahesh Manjrekar as her father who is ok.

Salman Khan as a Sardar is impressive and delivers a rare restrained performance. This time he is “more brains, less brawn” and is good to see that side of him. But his screen presence is as usual excellent and has his moments.

Special mention to Upendra Limaye who is excellent as Rahul’s godfather and gives are memorable performance. Also, Sayaji Shinde is good, Jishu Sengupta and Nikitin Dheer and others are average.

FFC Verdict –

Overall, Antim – The Final Truth is not a typical Salman movie and works that way. Movie picks up a topic of issues farmers are facing which is relevant given the country’s current situation.

Despite a decades old plot, and not so new storyline, Antim is still a decent watch, more so for a different Salman.

 As mentioned, though the feel of the film is very Maharashtrian but for the diehard Salman fans that doesn’t matter, as he himself says – Tu Sirf Pune ka Bhai hai, Main Poore Hindustan ka Bhai Hoon.