Tales of the Mumbai underworld have forever been brought onto the silver screen. Some have left an impact such as the splendid Sarkar whereas some on the same topic have disappointed. My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves falls somewhere between those that leave an impact, and those that greatly disappoint. The movie had vast potential with its’ script however suffered due to its’ dodgy screenplay.
As you may have guessed alredy, the movie is about Anthony (Nikhil Dwidedi), a young innocent boy in Mumbai city dreaming to become the biggest name in tinsel town one day. As an orphan, Anthony was taken under the protective wings of Sikandar (Pawan Malhotra) who is an important member in one of the reigning gangs of Mumbai Underworld. Even though Sikandar was a man belonging to the crime world, he did not ever wish for Anthony to follow his footsteps or know anything about it. And that is exactly why Anthony was schooled under the watchful eye of a local priest (Mithun Chakraborty) who taught him right and wrong along with many other valuable lessons of life.
The story unfolds once Anthony stumbles upon Sikandar and his gang doing their dirty deeds. Soon, the innocent Anthony that forever lives in a world of dreams is dragged down to a world of brutal murder, betrayal and violence. How Anthony manages to keep his innocent persona and triumph in world of crime and violence is what makes up the rest of the story.
Five minutes into the film many may ask themselves “why on earth am I sitting here?” but the trick to get to the good parts of My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves is to sit with patience. The poor screenplay can be blamed for this. The movie is immensely dragged out. In fact, it takes a good thirty minutes for the movie to get to its point and even then it takes a further twenty or so minutes for the main issue to arise. However things pick up after the interval. The movie unfolds much more smoothly and efficiently there on.
One may think why did Red Chillies Entertainment decide to invest in a movie that not only has a non-commercial cast but also non-commercial packaging? The answer is iffy and yes, the movie may not seem all that exciting bur it isn’t all that bad either. If you have enjoyed recent releases like Johnny Gaddaar then perhaps you’ll find something of interest in My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves. It’s not as brilliant as JG but tackles the same sort of genre.
In the performances arena, newcomer Nikhil doesn’t start off confidently but towards the more intense scenes post-interval, does manage to leave a small impact. A big enough impact for audiences to perhaps say, “okay I might not mind seeing him back on screen.” The actor needs to be commended on his natural use of the Mumbaiya language however the problem lies in his voice modulation which needs some improvements. Nonetheless, he did fit the part of the character and gave a pretty decent debut overall.
Both Amrita Rao and Mithun Chakraborty do not receive much scope. A shame since one is a fine actress and the other a pioneer. Amrita looked simply stunning and we can officially say that the “Poonam” tag may not last much longer.
Pawan Malhotra delivers a top notch performance. Other supporting cast consisting of Mukesh Tiwari, Anupam Kher and Dayashankar Panday also enact their roles flawlessly. Unfortunately a fine actress such as Lillette Dubay was not properly casted. Such a small role doesn’t suit a lady of her calibre.
On the whole My Name is Anthony Gonsalves has the right ingredients however is simply overcooked, in the sense that it was not showcased well. The screenplay is full of flaws as it doesn’t manage to get anyone excited in the whole first hour and it isn’t until post interval that the audiences get a bit interested to see how it will all go down. And to top it all off the climax was rather rushed.
Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t seem to have too much of a bright future however if you’re up for something different its something that is a decent watch. Not a total hopeless movie however nothing too special either.
