Psycho (1960)This was a very subtle reference and I'm not sure if it was deliberate. If you pay attention to the scene in the prison, after 15 years, where Laik is sitting next in line in the queue at the barber's. The prison bully is getting himself some massage from one of his minions, all the while taunting Laik for all his innumerable attempts at escaping from the jail.Laik suddenly gets up and in a swift motion, snatches away the cut-throat razor from the stunned barber and runs after the minion. With the cut throat razor in his hand, and a head full of crazy flowy hair, Laik sprints along with a background music of (drumrolls and slow claps, again) a high-pitched and shrill "Eeee.. Eeee.. Eeee.. Eeee.." - if you remember the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock classic.Much subtle.Sholay (1975)This was, by far, the most obvious reference that the director repeatedly made throughout the prison scenes in the movie. In a Shawshank Redemtion-esque scene, where all the prisoners in the jail are watching the movie and especially the scene where dacoit Gabbar Singh declares that there's no place in the world that can keep him in for long. The very next scene featuring Laik against the sun has been shot from such an angle that reminds us of the scene in Sholay where Thakur sa'ab comes out of the jail office and gets the news that Gabbar has indeed escaped! Goosebumps.The dialogues have been followed up by at least two near attempts of Laik in his chances of escaping prison. And they were always supported by brilliantly mischievous music in the background. Attention to detail was the key in all those scenes and the dark humor was quite laid-back - which is good!No Country for Old Men (2007)This is a personal reference I feel, as not everyone would perhaps get this. Nor is it exclusive to the Coen Brothers movie. It is the scene by the end of the movie where Laik attempts to strangulate Raghu - Hitman style - from behind him in his house.
...I feel there are also other countless hidden references that I'm missing. The scene where Raghu rapes the prostitute Chimli / Shabhnam as an act of vengeance on Laik. Although that scene wasn't the best shot (or acted) scene in the movie, it didn't dent the other scenes in the rest of the movie. It reminded me of Rush (2013) where Lauda meets the pretty receptionist at Ferrari and upon hearing that her ex-boyfriend was Hunt (and his being an 'immortal fuck' as Regazzoni puts it), he allegedly proceeds to live up to the competition just for the sake of a duel with Hunt. The scene where Raghu goes to the Herman Residency and tortures the couple psychologically, refers to the countless home invasion movies in Hollywood and European.Remember the iconic Singin' in the Rain scene from A Clockwork Orange (1971) anyone?I was totally expecting the turn of fortunes and the insightful reflection, which was more like an elephant in the room in the second half of the movie. Remember another Korean classic, I Saw The Devil (2010)? But only because, of all the people, the brilliant Nawazuddin Siddiqui was made to say those lines, "I killed your innocent wife and child when I was not thinking straight. When I was being hot headed. But you killed them - innocent people - in cold blood. With a hammer.. what's the difference?" I accepted the deliverance without a chuckle.Also, the first few minutes were perhaps the best opening scenes ever shot in a Bollywood movie. A regular day at MG Road in Pune becomes the epicenter for the plot, as multiple characters from the scene get involved. Some run, some are abducted, some give a chase, some collide head-on and some die by the end of it. The death scene of the kid was perhaps the only and certainly the best, if not the only scene in Hindi movie history where a child is murdered so gruesomely and unceremoniously!Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vinay Pathak stood out. Radhika Apte was a surprise. The rest were good, maybe just a few notches lesser than the Pathak/Siddiqui duo. I'm sure Varun Dhawan did his best too, and I don't complain. In some scenes he showed unparalleled talent. But there were also some that needed work. But you know what? I ain't complaining! Brilliant direction and crisp editing did the rest.Go watch it!
