Rogue movie review: Every bit of this Puri Jagannadh film is an assault on our senses

Puri Jagannadh’s Rogue isn’t a testimony of the director’s eccentricities and beliefs, especially when it comes to themes like love and the relationships, but it reiterates the notion that the Puri Jagannadh, we once knew, has gone on a long vacation. The one who has directed Rogue is probably a ghost figure who has the same name. At least, that’s what it feels like after enduring 128 minutes of pain while watching the film.

Rogue isn’t the first bad film to have been written and directed by Puri Jagannadh, or whoever claims to have directed this film, but with Rogue, he has reached a whole new level where he seems to be mocking the audience for even trying to reconnect with his style of cinema. It’s one thing to find yourself clueless about how to keep the proceedings engaging after hitting a dead-end in the story, but it takes a special lack of interest to be able to do a film like Rogue. It’s a bad bad bad film and you don’t have to be a writer or a filmmaker or even a critic to just say it out aloud.

Rogue introduces us to newcomer Ishan, who looks like he has just auditioned for the role of Jesus Christ in a Hollywood film. There are two ways of looking at the film, which is at best a demo reel to showcase Ishan - a) Ishan can throw in some punches b) He is an actor who has complete faith in his director. How else would you describe the seriousness with which Ishan takes his role in the film? His dialogues might very well have been come with notes like this one - “Ishan, keep a poker face. Don’t show any expressions. And scream till your lungs hurt. Leave the rest to us. Don’t ask any questions.”

In the film, Ishan plays an youngster who gets dumped by a girl named Anjali (Angela Krislinzki). He begins to hate all women, especially those who are named Anjali. And then, one fine day, he meets another Anjali (Mannara Chopra). The rest of the story - Wait for it - there isn’t one. All you get to see in Rogue are glimpses of Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, bylanes that are wide enough to squeeze in four goons, and one stunning location somewhere deep in the forests in Thailand.

There’s a scene in the film, where the hero and the heroine jump into a pool of water, next to a waterfall. The hero, who at this point is quite horny, asks the girl, “Ee roju intha anthanga unnav ente? (How come you’re looking so hot today?).” And the girl says, “Thadisthe Pandhi Kooda Andhangane untundhi. (Even a pig will look hot when it is wet).” That my dear folks is the most romantic scene of Rogue. Enough said.

Mannara Chopra is left clueless in the film, where her role is restricted to playing Ishan’s sidekick, and Angela Krislinzki has barely any role. Then, there’s the ‘Amigo’ Thakur Anoop Singh, who takes his role as a psychopath a tad too seriously. Perhaps, he’s the only actor in the film who manages to make you empathise with him. His characterisation is over-the-top and gets under your nerves, but surprisingly, he’s the only one who actually evokes a “feeling”.

And what can we say about Puri Jagannadh after watching a film like this. Maybe he wasn’t in his elements or wanted to do something ‘unique’ when he started out. We can only guess.

Quite frankly, I’m still dazed and confused that a film like Rogue got made in first place. It isn’t bizarre in its intent - you still have a basic story, which has a beginning, middle and an ending, but it’s packed with so much mierda that I’ll pretend that I didn’t watch the film. And you didn’t read this review either. For that matter, what are you even doing here? Ok. Thanks. Bye.