A love story,it is set in the weird
residue of caste politics that still seems to afflict our country in some
parts. We have seen it before when two lovers from different castes fall in
love and have to face the harsh rebuttal from some sections of society but Nagraj
Manjule of Fandry fame seizes you and takes you on a breathless ride into a
harsh world of politics, casteism and love where they cannot co-exist. The story
slaps you into reality to believe that the 21st century India still
has its share of problems and yet there is hope when a girl with gusto grabs
the reins and propels her future with her lover herself in a wild manner. In a ‘sairat’
manner so to say.
It is best to just circle around
the summary of the story and not spoil it for those who are yet to see it
because it is an experience in itself. A wild girl who defies the norms of her
society and rebels against everything that is wrong with it as it refuses to let love bloom without boundaries.
Each and every character is a
find in this movie and it would be wrong to single out any particular actor. But yet
you can barely take your eyes of Rinku Rajguru a girl so much an antithesis of
what a heroine should be. She has absorbed the role of the Archana the daughter
of the local legislator (Suresh Vishwakarma) so strongly that it is difficult
to tell the two apart. She graduates from a girl to a mother seamlessly. A flick of her eyebrow, smiling with her eyes, swinging her braided hair around strengthening the image of a beautiful girl but with a mind all of her own, as it should be in society today.
Akash as Prashant a boy belonging to a different caste who falls in
love with her has a more subdued role but very important role as it has to complement
the aggressiveness of Archana without ever deflating his own importance. He
treads the line beautifully.
Tanaji and Arbaz as the friends
are so believable. Chaya Kadam as the lady in Hyderabad who comes across the
couple tends to go overboard a bit but has an applause worthy entry which reminded
me of Sunny Deol in Damini
There are just four songs by Ajay
Atul but very good on the ears. The songs reminded me of the grand orchestration
style used by some other music directors like Rahman and Illayaraja.
The photography by Sudhakar Reddy
especially in songs ‘ Yad lagla’ is simply outstanding. “Attach Baya” and Sairat Jhala Ji by Shreya
Ghoshal are bound to be big hits . The crowd pleaser is of course an ecstatic
Zingaat .
This is one of those movies that
will affect you positively and negatively long after you have watched it. Watch out for simple and effective scenes where the directors expertise in making ordinary scenes compelling, like the granny who chases her ward out right in the middle of a match, Archana cooly riding various vehicles without too many slow mos to underline the achievement, simple sidekicks who never overplay their roles and even the director himself who appears as a weak willed teacher. Clever writing and witty dialogues envelop the entire script
This will shake the foundations
of Hindi film industry as they will wake up to the reality that movies with
simple and effective stories can be money spinners without senseless item
numbers and loud sets and garish scenes. This belongs to the Anurag Kashyap
brand of film making and many more are welcome.
Look forward to what Nagraj does
next and how each of the actors fare out in their future ventures. Absolutely
unmissable venture as an entertaining piece as well as something making a very
important statement on society today
