Mardaani Movie Review - Feisty and Powerful

PUBLISHED DATE : 22/Aug/2014

Mardaani Movie Review - Feisty and Powerful

Mardaani Movie Review – Feisty and Powerful

Ameet Bhuvan


That one of the most glossy production houses in the country today comes out with a gritty two hour long film with a female “hero” sans any song and dance is a sign that Hindi commercial cinema is changing.

 

With Mardaani both Pradeep Sarkar and YRF get it right (Laaga chunari mein daag is still raw) delivering a movie that is topical and reigns in excesses. Yet, Mardaani doesn’t entirely pack the punch it should have because of a story line that completely unravels towards the end. 

 
Shivani Rao is a tough cop with a loving husband and a niece she takes care of. When one of her friends goes missing, Shivani stumbles upon a girl trafficking racket that has managed to escape the police all these years. Run by a seemingly young innocent criminal mastermind, the racket faces its toughest challenge when Shivani Rao decides to decimate them. How this comes about is the crux of Mardaani. 
 

 

For those who dabble in regional commercial cinema, the story line and treatment of Mardaani immediately brings to mind Tamil films like Vetiyadu Vilayadu with similar cops and psychotic criminals out to harm the innocent. 
 

 

While Mardaani retains the strong sincere no nonsense police protagonist, it is the antagonist which is underwritten. This completely lets down the impact that Rani Mukherjee’s Shivani has on us throughout the movie. 
 

Rani sinks her teeth into a role that is right up her alley. Carefully balancing a tough guy act without making it seem like she is playing a man. She brings out a steely determination in Shivani that makes you believe in her warnings and threats. Steering away from caricatures of a police aka Salman and Ajay, Rani’s Shivani is real believable and palpable. 

 

Director Pradeep chooses to tell a story sans the clichés of YRF films. So dance routines, no romantic back stories to digress from the actual plot. No excuses for why Shivani is the way she is. Aided with some superb cinematography, he meticulously recreates chases, torture scenes and gives us a very realistic picture. Sadly, after a point, there is only this much to see on screen-the story becomes a predictable cat and mouse game and you lose interest. 


Unlike the other such Hindi woman centric thriller Kahaani, the end is not a revelation. Instead we have a monologue that though well meaning, is a drag. Perhaps some better writing towards the end would have really added some explosion to the proceedings? As of now, Mardaani is a decent watch but never once great cinema. 


Watch it for Rani, watch it since we need to support all any forms of sensible cinema that comes out of Bollywood. Just do not go in hoping to see another Kahaani.

 

Rating: 2.5 / 5

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