Prakash Mehra’s 1973 classic ‘Zanjeer’ had Amitabh Bachchan playing the ‘angry young man’. His screen-name ‘Vijay’ became so synonymous with him that it remained his identity for most of his later films. 

Almost four decades later Apoorva Lakhia, remakes the cult film with south star Ram Charan essaying the role of the angry young man and Priyanka Chopra playing his lady love. Pran saab’s role is being enacted by Sanjay Dutt while Prakash Raj takes over from the iconic Ajit.

The first visuals of the film show a scandalous expose of the oil-racket in the city of Mumbai and we have a tough, beefed up Ram Charan walking his way stylishly to sweep the system clean.

“ACP Vijay Khanna’, he says. The word is enough to set the tone of the trailer. From then it’s a cat-mouse chase between Teja (Prakash Raj) and Vijay. Sanjay Dutt as the rustic Pathan sadly isn’t as powerful as Pran saab himself. And for the masala – we have the ladies, Priyanka Chopra and Mahie Gill.

With, the regular good cop-bad guy, run of the mill stories in recent times in the likes of ‘Dabangg’, ‘Singham’ and ‘Policegiri’, this is nothing short of an extension itself. The only best part is it is less larger than life and a tad more realistic. The sleek edit makes it up for the clichés.

And Ram Charan: well as Prakash Raj says in the film, “Saala naam Vijay kya rakha, apne naam ko seriously lene laga!”  There is no match to the original angry young man – Amitabh Bachchan. Period.

Sadly the old wine in a new bottle does not taste good. While this was just the trailer, we wonder if the final outcome will change our minds.

‘Zanjeer’ directed by Apoorva Lakhia releases on ‘6 September’. Reliance Entertainment, Flying Turtle and Prakash Mehra Productions are producing the film jointly.