How often does a story of courage and heroism get overshadowed by theatrics and melodrama? The clear answer is, disturbingly often. Mission Raniganj is one such film, where the theatrics are hammed up the maximum; a film that is so loud that its own story frequently gets lost in the noise.
In November 1989, a coal mine at the Mahabir Colliery in Raniganj, West Bengal was flooded and 71 miners couldn’t make it out in time (others evacuated following the distress calls). What followed was a rescue mission of unprecedented valour and wit, led by Freedom Sale Senior engineer Jaswant Gill.
The movie focuses solely on Gill’s ingenious idea to use a capsule to rescue the miners from the mine when all other efforts failed. In this effort, several roadblocks arise, not limited to the “villain” of the film, a mining engineer D. Sen (Dibyendu Bhattacharya). Most of the Bengali characters in the film are stereotypes and often unnecessarily animated.
At one point, a man is literally tied to a pole and beaten; perhaps the film’s idea of “justice” but this entire time, the film’s actual plot is occurring elsewhere.
Akshay Kumar plays Gill with impressive restraint – he is equally humble and self-assured. Kumar’s skill becomes evident in scenes where he seems to be fighting an invisible force; the need to “do something” – he stands by waiting for the order to come from the man-in-charge Ujjwal (Kumud Mishra) but the entire time, he seems tightly wound, ready to spring into action.
Gill was definitely the hero of the rescue mission but there are other heroes in the film – from the people who tirelessly work behind-the-scenes to make the mission possible to the miners trying to stay alive in disastrous conditions. We see most of these people in action, including a disgruntled former employee Tapan (Veerendra Saxena) and the jugaadu Bindal (Pavan Malhotra).
The actual mechanics of the rescue mission are riveting to watch. When things go wrong, it is difficult to not share a collective gasp with those around you or to not grip the edge of your seat in dejection.
There is so much story left in Mission Raniganj - one that would’ve only made Gill’s story richer. As survival and hope become tougher to grasp, divisions arise between the surviving miners; tempers flare, blame is passed.
There are flickers of the film trying to delve into the way human nature develops in the face of suffering and strife but that aspect doesn’t completely materialise.
There are dialogues that seem written to be yelled out, punches are thrown – all believable under the circumstances but where are the emotions that lie underneath the noise?
Other than a typical Bollywood “there’s fear under his anger” trope, nothing else is seen. One thing the film does well is portray Bashu (Jameel Khan), one of the miners, who tries to rally his comrades together and attempts to be the voice of calm and reason.
Mission Raniganj doesn’t shy away from questioning authority, albeit in the first half– administrative negligence becomes evident and we see how personal gain often trumps the desire to work towards a collective good. Kumud Mishra aces one of the film’s most effective scenes where he almost begs his colleague to not hold his need for petty vengeance above the possibility of saving lives. It makes you wonder.
There is inherent drama to the base story – it’s a story that will elicit emotion even in the most stone-hearted and if director Tinu Suresh Desai had trusted the merit in that story, Mission Raniganj would’ve become an unforgettable film. One of the film’s most glaring flaws is in its technical execution – the camerawork and the editing both seem rushed; it feels like we’re being forced to feel the tension in a scene.
One can't help but think of Kaala Patthar, the 1979 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer based on the Chasnala mining disaster. The maturity of the text in Kaala Patthar and how honest and earnest it comes off is missing in Mission Raniganj.
The camera swivels in 360 degrees, way too fast to let you focus, creating a confusing haze of colours and voices. The VFX, an important aspect of the story considering how much of it is set in a flooding mine, is often shoddy. It adds an artificial quality to the film that is saved only by the fact we’re watching a story inspired by real life.
I’ll leave you with this: I often complain about pacing but not this time. Despite all its flaws, Mission Raniganj remains engaging to a fault – it’s taut, gripping, and intense; it always feels like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)