New Delhi:
Madaari is directed by Nishikant Kamat and stars Irrfan Khan as its lead character - a reason enough to keep hopes high for the movie. Expectations of watching a top-notch drama go straight in vain as the film struggles hard to remain bona fide during its stretched run of over two hours.
It begins with Irrfan Khan's voice saying - "Baaz chooje pe jhapta, utha le gaya. Kahaani sacchi lagti hai lekin acchi nahi lagti. Baaz pe palatwaar hua, kahaani sacchi nahi lagti lekin Khuda Kasam, bahot acchi lagti hai." The dialogue comes with a perfect kick that is required to promise a gripping and interesting drama.
It almost looks like Nishikant Kamat, who is famed for his last movie Drishyam, is back with a bang and Irrfan Khan. But, he tries to move out of the box, and adds 'social' twist to tang up the perfect thriller recipe. However, he ends up in serving a dish that tastes average and gives a lesson on how experiments should be done with extra care.
Madaari is a story of common man Nirmal Kumar (Irrfan Khan) who kidnaps son of Home Minister (Tushar Dalvi) to avenge the death of his 7-year-old son due to politically corrupt system. Jimmy Shergil plays the character of cop who tries to trace him down heading a massive search operation.
Does Nirmal find his answers? Does Home Minister find his son alive? What will Jimmy do to trace him down? These are some questions which film answer with added flavours of social media influence prevailing in our society.
Watch trailer here:
Despite of gripping story line, critically acclaimed cast and a brilliant director; the actual problem remains with the pace of the movie. The reason why movie seems to be running for ages is because of desire to touch upon several issues - corrupt politicians, common man troubles, farmer suicides, social media perceptions, father-son bond and many more. What viewers will actually get of it is an unfocused narrative with least or no impact.
What makes movie bearable in its long-course is Irrfan Khan and Jimmy Shergil's decent acts. But, the script and narration seems to be the biggest burden on them as the film leaves no impact on audiences.
But, the film is still not a complete disappointment. It's not a five star drama, but considering standards of Bollywood industry, this is definitely a decent one.
Madaari is bright in bits and pieces. For instance, song Masoom Sa, sung by Sukhwinder Singh and composed by Sunny Inder-Bawra, is perfect blend of emotions and love. It just compliments the visuals while staying in the background.
Sensitive issues have also been handled well to stay away from the league of controversy driven acts. The makers have beautifully conveyed a reality influenced fiction on how society these days is being driven by social media, also focusing on the way Indians function as a public, how politicians fool people to top-up their pockets.
Overall, the film goofs up within its own ideals and ambitions. Even virtuoso like Irrfan Khan could only manage to lift the drama to the average mark. Watch it only if you can manage to stay awake in slow pace movies.
