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Krantiveer is a quintessential 90s film in every respect. It begins with a sorrowful widow and an old, righteous grandfather who suffers a heart attack upon discovering his teenage grandson’s smoking and gambling habits. Dialogues like “Agar tune apni maa ka dudh piya hai toh iss ghar mein vapas maat aana “If you have drunk my milk, then don’t come back to this house),” are delivered right at the start. Perhaps someone should have considered counselling the kid. But who are we kidding, it’s the 90s, and it’s easier to cast out the misfit.
There’s the mandatory rape scene, a staple in many 90s films. Dialogues are over-enunciated, leaving nothing to the imagination, especially from the rebellious journalist Megha Dixit, played by Dimple Kapadia. Of course, there’s the rich girl ditching her corrupt father for her humble, jobless lover. Toss in some random dance numbers, and you’ve nailed the classic 90s film formula.
Despite its archaic structure, Krantiveer feels timely, relevant, and even refreshing, thanks to Nana Patekar‘s character Pratap Narayan Tilak. Pratap is thrown out of his house at a young age due to his misdemeanours and ends up at the home of chawl owner Laxmidas Dhayal (Paresh Rawal), becoming his debt collector. Having lived on the margins from a young age, Pratap is all too familiar with the corruption, unfair treatment, and criminality that the poor endure from politicians and the rich. Rather than fighting these superpowers, he laughs at the fate of the poor, as if it’s a twisted joke on himself. Or perhaps, being exposed to brutality from the beginning, it’s a defence mechanism that he has developed over the years.
Dimple Kapadia in a still from Krantiveer.
Though Megha repeatedly prompts Pratap to join the revolution against corrupt politicians, his simple reply is, “Go save yourself.” He never succumbs to the ‘messiah syndrome’ that many lead heroes of that era, and even today, exhibit. This is his modus operandi throughout most of the film. In a hilarious scene, when he grows bored with Megha’s lecture about revolution, he chases her out, begging her to let him eat in peace.
But this in no way means our protagonist is ignorant or aloof. He is simply empowering the downtrodden to find their voice and equipping them with tools to counter injustice without resorting to a lecture. For instance, when a corrupt nexus of politicians and builders incites religious hatred to pit communities against each other, Nana Patekar delivers one of Hindi cinema’s most iconic scenes. He confronts the frenzied crowd with pure logic, stating, “Yeh Musalman ka khoon, yeh Hindu ka khoon… bataa is mein Musalman ka kaunsa, Hindu ka kaunsa (This is the blood of a Muslim, and this is the blood of a Hindu… can you differentiate between the two)?”
Danny Denzongpa played the negative role in Krantiveer.
By the end of Krantiveer, Pratap evolves into a vigilante, but not before Nana Patekar’s signature sarcasm leaves its mark. Rather than rallying the masses with grand speeches, Pratap chastises them for their apathy, blaming them for their own misfortunes and their tendency to ignore injustice. That’s a punch packed with raw truth!
Released in 1994 against the backdrop of the 1993 Mumbai riots, Krantiveer was timely then, but Patekar’s portrayal of Pratap resonates even more today. In an era where cinema often glorifies lone heroes saving the nation, Pratap’s gritty realism is the antidote both the audience and Bollywood desperately need.
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