Straight up – Toofan follows the same thread what most of the sports films of bollywood boast of. Purpose redefinition, a meteoric rise , a glorious fall, redemption and reclaim to glory. Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra, the man who gave us the memorable Rang De Basanti ( his best till date) and a solid biopic on Milkha Singh starring Farhan Akhtar way back in 2013 , returns with a cliched – bollywood sports spectrum with Toofan, a tale of redemption of a local gangster who rises as a star in boxing arena . This reunion obviously has a hype, and a hope of a passionate film . But Toofan is fraught with cliches, and to be honest, there is no novelty in the story.

We have seen it all, multiple times , with most recent being Mukkabaaz , and prior to that, in Sultan and Brothers. Aziz ( Farhan), the gangster from Dongri who relies on brawn to extort money under the reigns of Jafar Bhai (Vijay Raaz) decides to transform himself to a boxer, encouraged by his love Ananya ( Mrinal) who straightens him up to do a job of respect. Aziz reaches out to Nana Prabhu ( Paresh Rawal) , the best boxing coach in Mumbai to train him. The veteran is wary of Aziz notorious background, but still decides to take him under his wing . Under Prabhu’s tutelage , Aziz becomes Toofan, and rises to win the state championship. But when the interfaith love story is revealed , an irate Nana Prabhu denounces both his student and daughter Ananya, as he is dead against muslims.

Toofan relies too much on cliches, so much so that you know whats going to happen next. The narrative is fresh in the initial reels, when Aziz is a ruffian who bullies people around and an endearing chemistry develops between him and doctor Ananya. The relationship between Farhan and Mrinal is terrific, punctuated with dollops of innocence and sincerity . Mrinal especially is in sparkling form, playing the support spine of Aziz whenever he flounders or becomes directionless. The track between coach Nana and Aziz too is shaped up brilliantly, with both Farhan and Paresh Rawal mining their artistic excellence . Couple of training scenes are deftly handled , with one scene in particular standing out where coach Prabhu advises to Aziz ” Yeh boxing ring nahin, tumhara ghar hain “.

But its the post intermission parts of Toofan which drag , and loses steam. Too many subplots crop up, pace slackens and you start getting impatient. The entire part where Aziz loses his glory is simply contrived, and the climactic portions where he is ousted from a match due to malpractices and personal vendetta reeks of familiarity and lack of innovation. What begins as a story of finding a purpose and dealing with inner conflict , treads to a completely different zone of communal disharmony and intense societal scrutiny of a Hindu Muslim relationship . Atmospherics are authentic, and certain portions exhibiting the religious harmony discussion and the tutor-protege relationship are solid. Toofan also neatly packs a punch when its inside the ring, but they are unfortunately cut short with bloated subplots. Veterans like Mohan Agashe and Supriya Pathak are given limited scope , and Sonali Kulkarni is in just one scene.

Thankfully, Toofan doesnt get off the hook completely because of the committed performances from the principal cast. Farhan gives it all to Aziz, right from physical transformation , getting under the grind and his complete arc from a ruffian to a boxer. Certain scenes related to his gritty training is bound to remind you of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, but his sincerity is evident. He is especially in great form when he is delivering punches and knocking off inside the boxing ring, as they have been shot brilliantly. One might feel he is too polished to play a extortionist, but he doesnt dissapoint. The ever reliable Paresh rawal plays to his character seamlessly, as he always does. He is particularly impressive in the dramatic portions of the film and his confrontation with Aziz Ali. And Mrinal thakur is earnest , and delivers a compelling performance which is fresh and real. Cameos by Vijay Raaz and Darshan Kumar are good, but in overall scheme of things, doesnt add any value to their star power. Another downer is definitely the soundtrack ( Shankar – Ehsaan- Loy), with none of the songs deserving a mention!

Running over a butt numbing 2 hours 40 mins, Toofan is overlong and overstretched. It has its moments , but they are in smattering. It gives a kind of strong deja vu since it offers nothing new. But Farhan’s dedication is all over, and it deserves a watch just because of the performances from the trio of Paresh, Farhan and Mrunal. I am going with 2.5 out of 5 for Toofan, currently streaming on Amazon prime. Unfortunately, its an uninspiring cocktail of several plots and recycled cliches . Sir Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra, Rang De Basanti still remains your best work till date!