The most appealing thing about the latest Hindi-language movie “Class of ’83” (released on Netflix on August 21), apart from Bobby Deol’s promise of a comeback, is its length. At 1h 38mins, this movie is one example of how Indian filmmakers have been trying to cut down runtime to suit the preference of new audience. A 90-something-minute movie is the new undefined feature length and totally worth one’s time. Even if turns out bad, you wouldn’t regret, not having spent two (or more) grueling hours getting past it.

As a ‘resurrection’ for Deol, who never did have a career high since his debut in “Barsaat” (1995), Class of ’83 was moderately anticipated, and the trailer showed it as an out and out action thriller. Produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and adapted for screen from Indian journalist/author Hussain Zaidi’s 2019 book with the same name, the film claims to be inspired by real life stories of the officers of the law and yet also gives a disclaimer that it is mostly fictional.

So there seems to be a general confusion on the portrayal of fact vs fiction, and this shows throughout. The film doesn’t stick to a line; it rather zigzags, confusing the audience. If the phrase ‘all over the place’ had a face, it would definitely be Atul Sabharwal’s direction. Because even with his years of experience in writing films, Sabharwal loses the plot here. So many times the film feels like a labyrinth of ideas that just go round and round and never amount to anything. Sabharwal can’t seem to decide on the important conflicts in the film, and what scenes should be given time.

Class of ’83 is about a batch of students at a police academy in Maharashtra, India and their new dean Vijay Singh (Deol), an honest, resolute cop who has been transferred to a ‘punishment posting’ after falling out with a powerful politician. Feeling he has been failed by the system, and that system needs an overhaul to maintain law and order, Singh decides to recruit a bunch of wayward students in the academy and nurture them so that he can inject them as ‘anti-bodies on the corrupt system’.

Vishnu Varde (Hitesh Bhojraj), Aslam Khan (Sameer Paranjape), Laxman Jadhav (Ninad Mahajani), Janardan Surve (Prithvik Pratap), and Pramod Shukla (Bhupendra Jadawat) are the five misfits dean Singh selects and trains with his unorthodox methods, also making sure they pass academy exams. Now the premise that since the selected team is from the bottom list of eligibility in the academy they must be honest, is flawed in itself. But that’s just one of the over-exaggerated, glorified accounts of police training the film portrays.

Then come twists and turns and the saga of failed expectations, corruption, betrayal, and retribution that we are made to watch as dispassionately as possible.

We know for fact, after watching Deol onscreen for more than 25 years, that the actor does not have serious acting chops. But still, Class of ’83 fails to bring out even the little acting skills he may have. It provides him with the perfect premise to create a memorable character, but deprives him of the opportunity because of a badly written role. Singh, struggling with family issues as well as professional problems, could have been someone with more intensity, depth and character, but lack of screenwriting and direction skills fail him more than the ‘system’ he is fighting against. As for the rest of the characters, there is not a single name that stands out.

Who should watch it?

Class of ’83 might not exactly be a “Shootout at Lokhandwala” (2007), but it does have moments that may be enjoyable for audiences interested in cop movies. This genre, where good cops are glorified to some extreme, sits well with some. And its brevity is also an advantage. For the rest, don’t bother.

Rating: 2 stars

Genre: Crime/Drama

Actors: Bobby Deol, Bhupendra Jadawat, Sameer Paranjape

Director: Atul Sabharwal

Run time: 1h 38mins