Vishal Bhardwaj churns out a comic desi narrative political
satire with his trademark structured Shakespearean elements of drama and epic,but
sans the tragedy this time, accentuating the fact why he still remains one of
the best in the business,though with his fair share of flaws!
At one point a friend tells Matru 'You are a corny
bastard',to which Matru replies quite mockingly 'And you a bourgeois bitch!'
which actually sums up the basic premise of the film in a nutshell..the nexus
between those in power with those in deep needs,wherein the innocent oppressed
rural villagers are often stuck in between.Even with its hitches,the film
shines through,thanks to its layered script, rustic,quirky characters (a
brilliant ensemble of theater actors) and few symbolic colors (the pink
buffalo,desi daru called gulabo sold in pink bottles,red rag in which the
rebellious Mao write his edicts) merged within the real and the surreal.
Pankaj Kapur as the split personality Mandola is the pivot
of the film,Bhardwaj yet again brings out the best from him post Maqbool and
Blue Umbrella,high point being the drunken camaraderie between him and Matru
(Imran Khan) and the twice repetition of the slang 'B@#$%D' in a slurred
tone.Though the film suffers from few unconvincing facts,like Imran &
Anushka, playing villagers who have been educated in the west,consistently in
sync with the Haryanvi patois and accent and Shabana Azmi playing the corrupt
minister too evil to be true!Though its a delight to watch Azmi walkaway with
panache even with a half baked 'walk-on' character while Arya Babbar excels as
her buffoon like son.
Its not in the same league as Omkara, Maqbool, or Makdee but
definitely better than 7 Khoon maaf or Kaminey and definitely worth a watch!
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