I really wanted to like Mardaani a lot. For an audience that has been bombarded with silly, over the top action films, Mardaani, on paper, had a lot going for it. A realistically directed woman centric film with a simple plot, albeit on a topic we would rather want to brush under the carpet, with a title that evokes passion, and a capable lead actress who does not shy away from deglamorized roles. The final product though is good, not great.
Rani Mukherjee is Shivani Shivaji Roy, an expletive spewing, no nonsense Mumbai cop who gets embroiled in a case concerning a disappearing girl. She stumbles upon a global human trafficking racket managed sublimely by young, educated Karan (Tahir Bhasin) from Delhi. A cat and mouse game is soon on. She calls him Under 19 team ka 12th man, he calls her "Maám"- respectfully. Rani channelizes Liam Neeson (I do not know where you are but in 30 days I will find you and kill you) from Taken, while Bhasin's role model seems to be Walter White from Breaking Bad- someone who finds crime intoxicating, and liberating.
We might not want to believe, but there is a flourishing ecosystem in place that supports human trafficking, and the people involved in it look as normal as your next door neighbor. Director Pradeep Sarkar has been known to tackle social issues in his movies, but all very superficially. Mardaani is no different. The gritty quotient is relegated to a few curses, some down to earth fight sequences, and natural performances from the lead and supporting actors. Soon though, every known cliché begins to feature- all Nigerians are drug dealers, politicians have to be involved. The movie is reasonably tight in the first half as the hunter and the hunted trade blows. However, it so tried to be matter of fact, fails to be so in the end, as the climax becomes kind of what a Singham or Dabangg would evangelize- that in India the law does not work, and so you need to take it in your own hands.
Rani is in top form though, evocative as ever. That she is tough is a point made throughout the movie. Her eyes speak a thousand words when her family starts getting targeted by her nemesis. However she is not naturally athletic, and does not shine in the action sequences. But like his idol, the breakout character is Karan. Shrewd, creepy, calculating and yet absolutely the guy next door, this guy is scarily normal.
Mardaani has got a A certificate, but it is not really hard hitting. However, it is a refreshing change from the explosion a minute action capers we have been seeing lately, but clearly, no Sarfarosh!
Rani Mukherjee is Shivani Shivaji Roy, an expletive spewing, no nonsense Mumbai cop who gets embroiled in a case concerning a disappearing girl. She stumbles upon a global human trafficking racket managed sublimely by young, educated Karan (Tahir Bhasin) from Delhi. A cat and mouse game is soon on. She calls him Under 19 team ka 12th man, he calls her "Maám"- respectfully. Rani channelizes Liam Neeson (I do not know where you are but in 30 days I will find you and kill you) from Taken, while Bhasin's role model seems to be Walter White from Breaking Bad- someone who finds crime intoxicating, and liberating.
We might not want to believe, but there is a flourishing ecosystem in place that supports human trafficking, and the people involved in it look as normal as your next door neighbor. Director Pradeep Sarkar has been known to tackle social issues in his movies, but all very superficially. Mardaani is no different. The gritty quotient is relegated to a few curses, some down to earth fight sequences, and natural performances from the lead and supporting actors. Soon though, every known cliché begins to feature- all Nigerians are drug dealers, politicians have to be involved. The movie is reasonably tight in the first half as the hunter and the hunted trade blows. However, it so tried to be matter of fact, fails to be so in the end, as the climax becomes kind of what a Singham or Dabangg would evangelize- that in India the law does not work, and so you need to take it in your own hands.
Rani is in top form though, evocative as ever. That she is tough is a point made throughout the movie. Her eyes speak a thousand words when her family starts getting targeted by her nemesis. However she is not naturally athletic, and does not shine in the action sequences. But like his idol, the breakout character is Karan. Shrewd, creepy, calculating and yet absolutely the guy next door, this guy is scarily normal.
Mardaani has got a A certificate, but it is not really hard hitting. However, it is a refreshing change from the explosion a minute action capers we have been seeing lately, but clearly, no Sarfarosh!