Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Corporate' carries a tremendous sense of deja vu. Apart from the fact that it looks too similar to 'Page 3' and 'Satta' in style, treatment and even content to an extent, there's nothing here about the murky side of the corporate world that one hasn't already read in the newspapers or worse, watched in Hindi cinema. In fact, the kind of business rivalry 'Corporate' depicts is no different from what we saw in 'Trishul' almost 30 years ago, albeit in a different context. Bhandarkar merely follows in the footsteps of his former boss Ramgopal Varma and comfortably settles down into a formula of his own, instead of moving on and exploring different themes and experimenting with his form (which Varma at least tried).'Corporate' is a two-and-a-half hour-long film filled with all the banal ingredients of a Bhandarkar potboiler. There are two rival groups – Marwah (headed by Raj Babbar) and Saigal (Rajat Kapoor) – trying to outsmart each other in buying a defunct PSU. There is a smart woman executive, Nishigandha (Bipasha Basu in a role of a lifetime), in the Saigal group who thinks two steps ahead of her rivals and gives her company a head start on the deal. There's her love interest Ritesh (Kay Kay Menon) who also happens to be Saigal's infamous brother-in-law fresh from a failed project in London and out to prove something to someone. There are sleazy politicians, Bollywood actresses doubling up as call girls, tacky item numbers, journalists who wield incredible power with the big bosses, back-stabbing, exploitation and yes, a soft-drink with pesticides (Coke anyone?).
Not that Mr. Bhandarkar would have noticed, but there are real sociological problems in urban India, which are a by-product of the changing face of the corporate world. There are single men and women, leading stressful and terribly lonely lives in big cities; institutions like marriage and family are struggling to cope with the pressure of this new-age materialistic lifestyle. Luckily for filmmakers, they can choose where to place their characters and so the director creates a heroine who is a divorcee from Kolkata and has a live-in relationship with her boyfriend. There is no mention of any family for her and his sister and brother-in-law are painted as dark as creatures from hell – so there is no question of any conflict at all. But what are the complications that arise out of such relationships, especially when the couple is working together in the same office on the same project and there are thousands of crores of rupees at stake? Don't they have professional differences that take a toll on their personal lives – or do they stay glued together on every issue like Siamese twins?
It is simplistic and very convenient to create black and white characters. But someone who claims to document reality through his film should know that life lies in the grey areas. None of the characters in 'Corporate' have any shades at all, barring the heroine, whose motivations the director doesn't delve into for reasons best known to him. If Nishigandha is uncomfortable about her boss' underhand tactics, there's nothing to suggest that she discusses the situation with her boyfriend. When she herself uses unethical means to get information from her rival, she and her boyfriend gloat over it. Why does the heroine find one unethical act justifiable and the other repulsive? Nobody knows.
Then, this protagonist, who seems to have a mind of her own (like most other Bhandarkar heroines) turns strangely submissive towards the end and loses her spunk as she sacrifices herself for her love. Unfortunately, because the screenplay never makes the Nishi-Ritesh romance intense enough, her actions seem incongruous and the end is most dissatisfying, particularly because one expected some redemption for at least one of the lead characters at the end of such a long and tedious story (which happened both in ‘Page 3’ and ‘Satta’ as the two heroines learn some lessons through the hard knocks they take). Ritesh's character is so shallow that one cannot relate to him at any level, despite Kay Kay’s sporting attempt at making an insipid man somewhat likeable.
Perhaps the only real revelation in ‘Corporate’ is Bipasha Basu in a performance several notches above her previous roles. Which isn't saying much, but if there is something one must take away from this spiritless and visually stale film, it will have to be this one notable act.
Deepa Gumaste
