Cast – Irrfan Khan, Vishesh Bansal, Jimmy Sheirgill, Tushar Dalvi, Uday Tikekar, Nitesh Pandey
Director – Nishikant Kamat
Writer – Ritesh Shah
It’s supposed to be a thriller with a game of chase between a kidnapper and the cops, with corruption issue being the reason behind kidnapper turning against the system. Much of this was evident from the trailers and publicity.
There was no surprise or suspense in the movie beyond this. Nor did it have a nail biting element.
But the emotional tug that the film has and the way it dwells on the relationship between the kidnapper and the child was beautiful.
Add to this the fact that you have an actor par excellence playing the protagonist. Irfan acts so well that its actually impossible to call it acting. It’s as natural and underplayed as it can be. Even a simple dialogue by him would have his own mannerism, delivery and tone making us marvel at it.
He’s aptly supported by the child actor Vishesh Bansal.
Jimmy Shergill plays the no nonsense and mature cop perfectly.
One can’t help but see the format of the story very similar to ‘A Wednesday’ by Neeraj Pandey and comparisons are bound to arise.
So let’s face the fact , it’s not even half as edgy and crisp.
But then, that’s not the only criteria to deem a movie good. Here the script and the treatment is more tilted towards emotions than the thrills.
A background song in Sukhwinder’s voice playing during the emotionally weak moments could trigger a bout of tears for sure. I think it was meant to be manipulative and did a good job at that.
The movie sure has its share of “common man being exploited and abused by politicians” kind of dialogues blaming the common man for his own sorry state.
As they say ” people get the government they deserve”.
I personally find it unfair to tag a movie in a preconceived template, make comparisons and then find faults instead of seeing it from the film maker’s perspective and treatment.
In spite of the intense subject, the movie might not be able to rev up the kind of adrenaline pumping response from the audience as in Rang de Basanti, might not be as taut as A Wednesday, might not be able to show you anything new… but is surely engrossing, honest in its efforts , emotionally heart tugging and with an ace performance by Irrfan.
I found it beautiful and worth recommending.
Score 7 on 10.