NH10

NH10 is one of those gritty films that is a rarity in Bollywood. Possibly inspired by the 2008 thriller EDEN LAKE the film is riveting owing to a stunning performance by Anushka Sharma. This is not for the faint-hearted though.

The film exposes the lawlessness and the nexus that exist among local goons, cops and panchayats in the badlands of the National Capital region. In the wake of several recent incidents (like the Mumbai youth Keenan (24) and Reuben (29) who were stabbed following a scuffle near a paan shop in suburban Andheri on October 20, 2011 while trying to protect their female friends from a group of eve-teasers) the film acquires significance for highlighting our duties as citizens when we are confronted with crimes happening before us. It also touches upon the issue of Honor killing something that is prevalent in our society and hit headlines now and then.

The supporting cast include Neel Boopalan, Deepti Naval and others.

 

Rating: 3.8 out of 5

Main Zinda Hoon

The film seems like an amalgamation of several films we’ve seen, Mrinal Sen’s Ek Din Pratidin, Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar & Sai Paranjype’s Katha among others, but the film as a whole manages to succeed in making it a progressive commentary & leave a lasting impression upon the viewers.

A woman (Deepti Naval) gets married to Alok (Alok Nath) and comes to Mumbai.  It is revealed that Alok was forced into the marriage by his out-of-work father ( Rajendra Gupta). The younger brother of Alok is also a wastrel and a drunkard, who frequently gets embroiled in all sorts of skirmishes and hooliganism which is commonplace in the neighborhood where they lived.

Alok forsakes the family and disappears; Deepti Naval goes out of the house to work and develops affection for a colleague (Pankaj Kapoor).  Watch the film to know what happens…the supporting cast includes Kulbushan Kharbanda, Susmita Mukherjee & others. In particular, Kulbushan Kharbanda is a treat to watch in this film.

The technique of the dead father (Kulbushan Kharbanda) making an appearance and encouraging his daughter Deepti during her state of depression and in moments of decision making is quite novel and effective.  The film is directed by Sudhir Mishra.

I particularly found the breaking away of the protagonist from the shackles of conformity at the end a reflection of progressive ideas emanating from serious filmmakers of the 80s for the first time. Remember even in Ray’s CHARULATA (1964), or Yash Chopra’s SILSILA the protagonist goes back to her marriage.

Rating: 4 out of 5

MIRCH MASALA

This is a memorable work from director Ketan Mehta, embellished with fine performances by the cast which includes Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Suresh Oberoi, Deepti Naval, Om Puri, Mohan Gokhale, Benjamin Gilani, Dina Pathak, Supriya Pathak and others.

Oberoi won the best supporting actor at the National Awards for this role of a Mukhia. The exploitative tale of a tyrannical subedar (Naseeruddin Shah) who unleashes terror in a village defiling its woman, and when slapped by a courageous woman Sonbai (Smita Patil), vows to avenge the insult leading to disastrous consequences for everyone forms the core storyline. Unfolding at a languid pace, the narrative weaves authentic aspect of rural life adding to the charm of the film. The subedar playing his phonogram inviting disbelief from the simplistic folks, the village woman in the spice factory playing with spices adding a lyrical touch against the backdrop of the subedar’s men chasing Sonbai, the horse chase sequences amidst mounds of spice stacked along the route, an upright Muslim factory security guard (Om Puri) taking on the might of the subedar and his men makes for engaging viewing. At the end, one can’t help but feel sorry for a director like Ketan Mehta, who showed such promise through his initial work, but couldn’t live up to expectations in subsequent works like Hero Hiralal, Maya Memsaheb & Mangal Pandey.

RATING: 4 out of 5