In one of the cinema-friendly sequences where the corrupt oil-mafia Golu
Goel [Played by convincing Yashpal Sharma] starts seeing and questioning his
victim Manjunath’s inner conscience about why wouldn’t he compromised with the
on-going corrupted till neck system and if he really believes that his death
could bring any iota of the change he has foreseen for country’s future, Manjunath’s blank and worried face brings many questions on the table. For that
matter and many more, Sandeep A. Varma’s MANJUNATH is socially very very relevant
and an honest effort to underline a 27-year old whistleblower’s sacrifice on
the line of duty.
Based on the real life incident of Marketing Manager at Indian Oil Corporation Manjunath’s cold-blooded murder
by local oil-mafia, MANJUNATH successfully attempts the documentation of what
happened when, why and how. The scattered narrative that goes back and forth to
create the enigma that could meet its decided climax with all the pieces of the
puzzle put together is very interesting and engaging. Though the film moves at
a snail’s pace and seems a bit too stretched at time, it is the raw and real
nature of the film that doesn’t bring it down. Film is extensively shot on the
real locations in eastern Uttar Pradesh where the actual events happened.
It is also one of those rare dramas where the protagonist is never a
typical hero material but a common looking man who can be too nervous, anxious
and restless against the powerful and corrupts to be any possible ground for
the rise of a successful confrontation. So, when at first you see Manjunath in
his panicky state of mind in shock of what might happen to him, you would never
believe your guts that this man could ever stand strong against people of such
criminal stature.
MANJUNATH’s biggest strength is the casting of the lead. With his geeky
common looks and shaky mannerism, the first-timer Sasho
Satiiysh Sarathy takes his own time to make a strong connect with the
viewers but once you get comfortable with him, he cuts himself loose with quite
a relatable performance. Seema Biswas and Kishore Kadam playing his parents
deliver a complete knockout show, especially Seema Biswas. Her chemistry with her
son Manjunath in the film has a sheer share of warmth and affection one could
expect from any mother-son bonding.
Music score by Indian rock band Parikrama has an experimental touch but
sadly doesn’t leave any identifiable mark. Camerawork by Prakash Kutty is
excellently atmospheric and earthy. Film if falters on any ground, it is the
dead pace in the first half and the too stretched second half in showing the
after-effects of Manjunath’s murders including the crowd-funding at IIM by his batch
mates to smoothen the fight for justice. A tighter and crispier version at edit
table would have been a lot better for the film as whole.
At the end, it is a film that demands one time watch because of its
social relevance and a real heroic tale we don’t see, hear or read much nowadays.
Corruption has degraded our values in real life to much extent; hopefully this
film doesn’t get affected much with cinematic corruption and stays true to its intention,
execution and effect at most. A good watch! [3/5]
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