MARDAANI: In all those hopeless commercial biggies, a small promise of change! [2.5/5]

Pradeep Sarkar’s MARDAANI is a small small film. Small neither because of its crispy, edgy & cross 114 minutes of total duration nor because it lacks a male superstar must for the most. Could be a disappointment because of the fact that it comes from one of the biggest film production houses in Bollywood! Well, it is small by and large because it did have the opportunity of going miles with an uncompromising burning issue in hand but sadly doesn’t take the required flight and succumb to being a hardcore commercial film. Still, better! Much much better than those nonsensical comedies, meaningless action entertainers and male-dominant plots. Credit goes to the earnest performance by Rani Mukerji and the issue based plot craving for immediate attention from allover.

Child sex trafficking is one of the fastest growing illegal, inhuman & heartless criminal practice on every corners of the globe. And India is apparently the biggest hub for abducting and pushing victims of 12 years & more into the darkest pit of crime known as sex slavery. MARDAANI is all about one fearless cop trying to bust one such syndicate all alone with best of efforts, toughest of anger and strongest of determination. Shivani Shivaji Roy [played by Rani Mukerji] is a street smart tough cop who can mouth foul words without having any agitation or discomfort especially when on duty and also doesn’t mind cooking for her family even if in uniform. She is the new hero in Bollywood who is ready all the time to fight back the bad & the ugly, even in her sleep.

Problem with MARDAANI is that it never takes itself rightly. Where it could actually take the leap, it decides to lie back and get easy with the comforts of a commercial cinema. For instance, how could a missing girl’s information not alarm our sincere cop about the possibility of her being a victim of human trafficking? And where is the gravity of the issue if it requires a personal angle to charge up our main protagonist? Thankfully, the film doesn’t bother to feed you pointless added details like the back-story of main lead, dramatic outbursts in her professional life, emotional quotients responsible to shape up her stature the way she is today and so many others. Even cinematically, you will not find anything too multifaceted. It’s simple, straightforward and very much existent. So, do not expect a cat & mouse chase with high octane action sequences. Though the climax is quite unimaginative and a little dramatic!

Performances are subtle and restrained enough to give you a realistic feel. Rani as Shivani is in form. From her first in RAJA KI AAYEGI BAARAAT to this, her acts of resentment, resistance & revolt have always been appreciated. She can be fragile at one time and ferocious at the very next. Here too, she sets the screen on fire. Her character definitely deserves another chance with better hand at script and plot. Shivani Shivaji Rao could be a serious contest to all the SINGHAMs & DABANGGs! Tahir Raj Bhasin as the cool, calm & composed mastermind of the trafficking syndicate impresses with his ease with acting for camera. Veteran actress Mona Ambegaonkar surprises or rather shocks you in her excitingly vivacious yet vindictive shade of character. Why on earth we don’t see her more often on big screen?

Overall, it is a film that deserved better and more evolved hand at direction; the plot & the writing sure had it in glances & glimpses. Watch it for an unexpected change it promises to bring to Hindi commercial cinema but don’t anticipate whatever you have been praising till the very last entry in the 100 Cr club. It’s better; in content and in intend both! [2.5/5]