By Neeraj Nanda
CLASS OF ’83, Hindi, 98 minutes,2020; Director Atul Sabharwal; Starring Bobby Deol; Produced by Red Chillie Entertainment; English subtitles.
The movie is based on the book ‘The Class of 83’ by Hussain Zaidi and is focussed on Dean Vijay Singh (Bobby Deol), who is on a punishment posting. He recruits five cops (his students) to take on the criminals and their nexus, which wronged him and plague society. That law has to be abandoned sometimes to enforce it, is the motto of the operation. Directed by Atul Sabharwal, Bobby Deol’s streaming debut has shades of the style in many of the drug-mafia tales Spanish serials tell on Netflix. The Cheif Minister, in fact, looks like the drug lord Felix in ‘Narcos Mexico’.
The movie kicks off around after 20/30 minutes and gathers pace as Dean Vijay Singh pushes ahead his select cadets with his violent revenge plan in a vigilante role. Assassinations take place amidst the law and order chaos of Bombay (now Mumbai). Or, is it reflective of recent happenings in different settings making headlines. Should cops work within the legal framework or not? The theme has been dealt with in many Indian and Hollywood movies. In times of social media, the narrative can be blurry. Has crime been eliminated or it has taken different forms?
Anyway, Bobby Doel’s comeback movie looks promising in some parts but remains sketchy as it lingers with his brooding character and predictable outcomes. There is so much classy crime/action stuff on streaming services that ‘Class of ’83’ easily stumbles. On a streaming service, any movie is in a global tsunami of content. Those who watch Hindi movies, also see stuff from many countries. I give this movie 2 out of 5 stars.
