Ajay Devgan debuted with superhit Phool Aur Kaante(1991) and continued his success with hit action film Jigar(1992). However, this two hit streak lost as all of Ajay Devgan's releases from 1993 were flops. From these list of flops, the only decent one had to be Divya Shakti(1993) in which Ajay delivered a powerful performance as the "aam aadmi".
Platform(1993) was Ajay's second release after the flop Divya Shakti(which deserved to be a hit). The film was promoted as the next big thing as it had Ajay perform several hardcore stunts and the song Duniya Di Tha Ta was a big hit. Platform was pinned with expectations but sadly, it was a below average film which flopped. What caused such a grand film with a good first impressions to tank at the box office? Well there are several problems with the film.
First and foremost, such typical films need to be well handled in order to stand out. However, Platform only manages that properly in parts. Another major problem is the age old cliché of a brother vs. brother which is overdone in this film. When Raju is angry on his brother and continues to be bitter towards him, why doesn't Vikram tell him the truth right away? When Vikram tells him the truth, why do the makers extend the film by showing a devastated Raju who gets more angry? Why does Paresh Rawal make a fool of himself as the South Indian astrologer? It just wasn't funny, those silly comedy scenes just failed to stand out, all they did was extend the film. Another problem is the character of Hariya. He is shown as a drug addict but when Raju grows up, he is shown as a normal guy? The characterization is completely wrong. Even as a drug addict, they make Hariya look like some kind of psychopath. Another major problem is the climax, Raju gets shot several times but he still manages to jump and kick using his wounded feet? At the very end, Raju is brutally stabbed and as soon as Hariya starts teasing the locket his mother gave him, he becomes strong and beats the living daylights out of Hariya? These elements are extremely hard to digest. As a result, the film is extremely flawed.
Ajay Devgan does an decent job as Hariya's right hand man, Raju. He excels in stunts and does pull the serious scenes off well. However, his acting is weak in the emotional department. He fails to emote and like Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar, his emotional acting is weak. However, he does a good job in the drunken scenes making it look natural. Prithvi does a good job as Vikram but his role lacks the meat when compared to Ajay Devgan's role. However, his characterization of the honest and innocent Vikram is good. Mohnish Behl does a good job but his character isn't characterized properly. However, his acting is terrific for a drug addict. As the cunning villain, he repeats his act. However, the drug addict scenes were brilliant acted by him. Paresh Rawal is wasted as the stupid astrologer(used to provide comic relief) and he repeats his typical act as the villain(he did it much better in Anth). The heroines Priya and Nandini Singh are nothing great, any other heroine like Raveena Tandon or Shilpa Shetty can do better as these heroines compared to them. Arun Bakshi is unintentionally hilarious as the Russian henchman and it's so stupid how he only speaks Hindi after Ajay Devgan beats him during the pre-climax. Anjana Mumtaz repeats her typical mother act but she has a very short role in this movie. Mushtaq Khan is nothing great as one of the sidekicks of the villain. The rest provide decent support.
On the whole, Platform is a below average action movie and it is one of Ajay's 8 films which flopped from the year 1993. If such badly handled films were made today, they would be completely rejected. Even for it's time, the movie fails.
The Final Word: Platform has Ajay Devgan and his stunts and the superhit song Duniya Di Tha Ta as a pulling factor. However, too many flaws and the typically overdone plot makes the film unwatchable. Watch this film only if you are an Ajay Devgan fan and you want to complete his filmography.
5 out of 7 found this helpful