Tag Archives: Rani Mukherjee

Mardaani 2

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With the cinemas closed here in Australia, it seems a good time to catch up on some films I missed last year. Mardaani 2 only had a short, limited run in Melbourne, which is a shame because this is a good solid crime thriller that plays to its strengths. Once again Rani Mukerji is excellent as the tough cop who won’t let prejudice stand in her way but Vishal Jethwa is just as good as her adversary. With only a few missteps, and a face-paced and relentless storyline, Mardaani 2 steps up to the mark as a satisfying sequel to the first film.

Mardaani 2 pits SP Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukerji) against a serial rapist who’s also an assassin for hire and a complete psychopath to boot. At the start of the story, Sunny (Vishal Jethwa) has been hired by local politician Panditji (Prasanna Ketkar) to eliminate rivals to his preferred candidate for upcoming elections. But as well as being an efficient hitman, Sunny is a particularly nasty rapist who tortures and murders his victims before staging their bodies to be found by the police. The character seems an extreme amalgam of misogyny, violence and psychosis, but his reasons for targeting his victims are chillingly realistic. 

Sunny has a problem with strong confident women whom he sees as a threat, which basically says all we need to know about his own mental health issues. Vishal Jethwa swings between terrifying normal and completely insane in the same way that you imagine most rapists are able to present a normal face to society and hide the monster within. The only disappointing feature is that Sunny frequently breaks the fourth wall to speak to the audience. It feels off and doesn’t provide any further insights into his character by using this method to reveal his thoughts. Writer/director Gopi Puthran could just as easily have made the character talk to himself, or confide in his victims which would have made more a more reaslitic scenario. Too, some of the ways in which Sunny is able to evade the police and snatch his victims seem unlikely. Sunny involves himself closely in the investigation too, some of which is well done, but there are other elements, such as his attack on a young witness, that seem rather far-fetched and filmi. Still, for the most part, the character is written to capture the terrifying reality of some men’s attitudes towards women and does get across the message that this is in no way acceptable in to-days society.

As in Mardaani, Rani Mukerji’s police officer is cool, calm and frighteningly competent. There are none of the ego-stroking flights of fancy that tend to accompany male actors in these roles and Shivani isn’t portrayed as a superwoman. She has issues and problems, mostly created by the misogyny around her, but she works through these by being competent in her job. There is friction with one of her senior officers, Shekhawat (Sumit Nijhawan) which is realistic and adds another layer of tension to the action. The media also play a part, and one of the most memorable scenes occurs when Sivani appears on a talk show to refute suggestions that her gender makes her less suitable for her job. It’s a powerful performance that is a little undermined by the host’s silent acceptance of her speech (I’ve seen Indian talk shows, and everyone seems to yell over each other with no respect for anything other than their own opinion!), but the emotion generated is sincere and inspiring. What also works well are the small touches of humanity that Shivani displays. She treats her team like real people, and has a moment of quiet contemplation in the bathroom, while a quick conversation with her niece online reminds us that she has a life and a family outside of the investigation. Through it all Rani puts in a powerful performance that fills the screen with her presence, and ensures that the drama is completely captivating throughout.

The subject matter is one that occurs frequently in India cinema, but here there is no sensationalism and Gopi Puthran treats the victims reasonably sensitively. I don’t think it’s necessary to show images of victims, but at least here the focus is on the violence that the women had to endure and serves to accentuate the brutality of the murders. John Stewart Eduri’s background music also fits well into the film and serves to enhance the suspense and action. I also liked the location of the film, and really appreciated being able to see somewhere other than Delhi, Mumbai or a generic regional area. The film is set in Kota, Rajasthan, and I enjoyed the glimpses of the city and colourful Rajasthani costumes that serve as a backdrop to the action. It’s peripheral to the story, but did make the film feel fresh and interesting to be in a more novel location. 

Mardaani 2 has more focus on male privilege and the plight of women compared to the first film, but it’s perhaps even more relevant to-day. The misogyny is also simply part of the story, part of what Shivani has to face and deal with every day, which ensures that the film doesn’t ever feel preachy or antagonistic towards men. It’s just the day to day reality of Shivani’s job, and part of society. The inclusion of rape statistics at the end is horrifying, but perhaps, like the film itself, will raise more awareness of the massive problem India, and indeed the world, has with such crimes. But despite all of this, Mardaani 2 isn’t just a film trying to educate the audience about crimes against women. At heart it’s a thriller, and there are all the usual elements; car chases, dramatic escapes, police raids on silent darkened buildings and thrashing of suspects. It’s well-paced with plenty of suspense and surprisingly violent for a Hindi film. I really enjoyed Mardaani 2 and I hope this becomes a franchise with a few more outings for SP Shivani Shivaji Roy, although I would like to see her tackle a different type of crime if we do get another sequel. Worth watching for Rani, Vishal Jethwa and the exciting storyline. 4 stars.

Hichki

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Siddharth P Malhotra directed and co-wrote this adaptation of an autobiography by Brad Cohen. While there are absolutely no surprises in this classic underdog story, the film made some changes to the book including making the lead a woman.

Rani Mukherjee delivers a rock solid performance as Naina Mathur, a part time animator who wants to be a teacher. She also has Tourette’s Syndrome. I have reservations about casting non-disabled actors in roles where the character has a disability, and I am all for real representation. But in the Hindi film industry where being visibly different (old, fat, dark, pale, disabled etc) is often the trigger for some very unfunny shenanigans, this film does a pretty good job of portraying Naina as a woman with a neurological condition and a rich and satisfying life, not as a sideshow. I read the director and Rani did quite a bit of work on getting her portrayal of the symptoms right. So is this at least some kind of progress? I tend to think so in this context but of course it is far from the end goal of inclusion and real diversity. It seems so long since Marlee Matlin won her Oscar and yet. Here we are.

Naina wants to be a teacher because she once had a teacher who inspired her, made school a place of acceptance, and helped her accept herself. She wants to be that teacher for other kids and to show that she was herself worthy. St Notker’s needs a teacher for their terrible 9F class, the slum kids nobody wants at the fancy private school. They are desperate and Naina is determined.

Naina lives at home with her brother and mother, in a happy middle class household. Her father left the family, partly because of his own issues at having a disabled child. I love her mum and brother. They seem so affectionate and relaxed. They get her, even though they know she is doing it tough and they can’t fully understand her, they make sure they are there for her.

Naina meets each stupid comment or startled reaction head on and with practiced charm. She has both vocal and motor tics, and Rani modulates the timing and severity to show the effect of stress or high emotion. Her anxiety before interviews, the techniques she uses to minimise or delay her tics, her habitual façade of good humour are all tied to Naina’s life and challenges, not just an acting improv challenge. Rani’s expressions were subtle but conveyed the stress she felt when a tic was imminent and the toll people’s judgements took. When she was in full flight with her class, her tics flowed into the back and forth of their chatter and subsided or became part of her own jokey delivery. Naina’s relationship with her dad (Sachin) is strained as he is ableist and patronising where she just wants to be treated the same as her brother. Their conversations have a grinding banality with none of her customary humour or energy.

The kids were painted much more broadly. There are boys who refuse to trust outsiders, bright girls who could do so much with their lives, the quiet one, the hip hop dude, the nerd who is great at maths thanks to his gambling sideline. All the usual pranks and hijinks ensued. I did appreciate that when middle class Naina took a picturesque stroll through the slum where the kids lived, she saw supportive parents and families who wanted their kids to do well. They may not have turned up at Parent Teacher meetings but it was not for lack of interest. Sure it’s cheesy but I am quite tired of the misery porn genre and I liked that Malhotra didn’t make all of his kids have terrible lives full of dramatic suffering. Class and group dynamics can do as much to hold kids back as outright abuse can. There’s a bit of magical thinking around how disadvantaged children can overcome setbacks by working hard and being positive, but generally the logic was pretty sound if the delivery is a little sugar coated.

Every hero needs a villain, and the honours go to Neeraj Kabi as Mr Wadia. He is a protector of the status quo, a gatekeeper against the influx of undeserving poor. He hates everything Naina stands for, but despite this is one of the few teachers at the school who will actually speak to her. He constantly tries to get her kids expelled and his students, the golden children of 9A, follow his lead. I’d like to make his final speech compulsory viewing for all actors who have to deliver a big emotional capitulation. He nails the emotion but doesn’t get stuck in the cheese.

Although the story was super predictable, the film played with my expectations in a few ways. I had a giggle at Naina’s mum being played by Supriya Pilgaonkar who is maybe 10 years older than Rani, which surely reinforces Rani as a genuine box office Hero. And although Naina’s dad and her student Aatish did have some character development and growth, they weren’t given the red carpet treatment just for catching up to the rest of the world. Instead when it came time for a tangible recognition of excellence, it was the girls who were rewarded for their capability and persistence. I was particularly fond of fiery little Oru (Sparsh Khanchandani) and shy unless he was rapping Ashwin (Benjamin Yangal). The soundtrack by Jasleen Royal is integrated into the drama with just a few montages to hammer the message home. Songs that involve the students tend to have a more improvised and frenetic beat where other songs suit Naina’s introspection and exploration. It’s a shame to have Rani and no big dance number but it just wouldn’t have worked within the film. So it’s just as well they did a promo track to add some colour and movement and hit you over the head with that message again!

I am always keen to see films with great female characters who have agency. I wasn’t blown away by the tried and true story but I was delighted by Rani. It’s also nice to see a film that is gently subversive in a mild and family friendly way. 3 ½ stars!

Mardaani

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Mardaani

Mardaani is a crime drama from director Pradeep Sarkar and writer Gopi Puthran based around the investigation of a drug smuggling business and child trafficking ring in India. What makes it rather more unusual is that the cop chasing after the bad guys isn’t the usual rough, tough and unbeatable hero, but instead is the equally rough and tough but rather more pragmatically sensible Rani Mukerjee. As Senior Inspector Shivani Shivaji Roy, Rani takes on a crime boss and his gang when a young street vendor she has previously rescued goes missing. It’s a straight police procedural drama for most of the film but does veer off into overly melodramatic action for the last 15 minutes or so, presumably to add more commercial appeal. However Rani is superb, Tahir Raj Bhasin is excellent as the villain of the piece and overall the film works as an action thriller that is more realistic than most.

The film opens with the apprehension of a criminal by Mumbai’s Crime Branch, and the raid and subsequent capture nicely illustrate the rapport Inspector Shivani has with her team and the respect they have for her. They all joke together on the way to the raid but police officers Jafar and Morey still obey every order without question once the action begins. Dressed in a sari and noticeably understated make-up, Shivani is a cop who follows the rules when necessary, but also knows just how far rules can be bent without causing any visible stretch marks. She’s equally capable whether she’s on duty as a police officer, or at home looking after her family and is smart enough to reason her way through a case rather than bludgeoning her way to a result. The end product is a more realistic police officer and a more probable investigative team, at least as far as the world of cinema is concerned.

Shivani is married to Dr Bikram Roy (Jisshu Sengupta) and the couple look after her orphaned niece Meera (Avneet Kaur), giving Shivani a realistic and stable home life as well as illustrating that she is more than just a kick-arse cop with excellent multi-tasking skills. The person Shivani seems to care about most though is Pyaari (Priyanka Sharma), a girl Shivani rescued and placed in an orphanage and school after Pyaari’s uncle tried to sell her on the streets. When Pyaari disappears, Shivani accepts Meera’s assertion than Pyaari has been kidnapped, and given the truly frightening statistics given at the end of the film it does seem the most likely scenario. Shivani quickly establishes that one of the men associated with the orphanage is implicated in Pyaari’s disappearance and her subsequent investigations lead her to a drug dealer who is also part of the gang. From here it’s a short step to Vakil (Anil George), and the realisation that she has stumbled upon a large and well organised drug smuggling and human trafficking ring. Vakil is the face of the organisation and the man the drug dealers think is in charge, but standing in the shadows behind Vakil is the real boss, Karan (Tahir Raj Bhasin).

One of the reasons why the film works so well is the developing relationship between Shivani and Karan and the careful steps they take to outwit each other. Karan calls Shivani when her investigation begins to impinge on his organisation, and their subsequent phone conversations become an integral part of the story. At one point Karan introduces himself as Walter White, a nod to the Breaking Bad character, and a clear indication that he considers himself a criminal mastermind. Generally Bhasin plays Karan with an aura of cool authority mixed with genuine menace as he orders his various lackeys around and keeps track of his business empire. In scenes where the kidnapped girls are stripped, showered and basically dehumanised, it’s obvious Karan sees them purely as merchandise to be sold, a tactic that moves the film away from tacky voyeurism into a sinister and shockingly more realistic place. However when he calls Shivani, she refers to him as ‘the kid’ and remains cool and calm, refusing to rise to his threats or attempts at intimidation and it’s Karan who struggles to keep his composure. Shivani remains professional when dealing with Karan despite her fears for Pyaari, and it’s only towards the end that her self-control slides and she embarks on a more vigilante style of action.

While the film didn’t need quite so much focus on the plight of the girls, their abuse and degradation is effective in building outrage that is later used as a justification for Shivani’s unconventional method to bring Karan to justice. The film also loses some credibility when Rani morphs into a more typical filmi-hero and channels her inner Salman Khan for the last few scenes, taking the law into her own hands. It dulls the effect of the rest of the film, although there is some satisfaction is seeing the abused get their own back on their abusers. There is also a tendency for the film to become rather preachy towards the end with Shivani lecturing the police chief in Delhi when he is reluctant to pursue the human traffickers, but the statistics that play over the end credits are likely an indication of the point Pradeep Sarkar was trying to make. The details about the massive numbers of children who go missing and the extent of the child sex-trade are chilling and anything that raises awareness, and hopefully subsequent prosecutions and a downward change in these figures is welcome. It’s not all about ‘the message’ though, and for the most part the film is an action thriller with an engaging storyline.

Mardaani keeps to a standard storyline, but the plot is well structured with realistic characters and feasible action that keeps the film believable. Rani and Bhasin are the standouts but the support cast are all good, although the young actresses playing the girls do become overly dramatic at times. It suits the situation though and at least none of the scenes with the girls are remotely suggestive but rather reflect the brutality of the kidnappers instead. The film is a different approach to a police drama and while it’s not an overtly feminist film it is good to have a strong female character as the lead, particularly when she takes on a more traditionally masculine role so successfully. Worth watching for Rani, a more realistic storyline (at least until near the end) and Tahir Raj Bhasin, who will hopefully live up to the promise he shows here. 3 ½ stars.