Shagird Hindi

Hussain Shaikh

Director:

Tigmanshu Dhulia

Writers:

Tigmanshu Dhulia,Kamal Pandey

Cast:

Nana Patekar,Rimi Sen,Mohit Ahlawat,Zakir Hussain,Anurag Kashyap,Vishwajit Pradhan,Khan Jahangir Khan,Virendra Saxena,Kishore Shahane Vij Sp.app.: Hrishitaa Bhatt

Hanumant Singh Nana Patekar is as corrupt as can be. The Crime Branch officer is collecting cash by the sackfuls and is planning a voluntary retirement in New Zealand. Midway through the film,he dispatches his wife Kishore Shahane Vij and son there and submits his resignation. His wife is more concerned with their safety than the way he earns beyond his means.

So far,so gray. Things takes a turn when rookie officer Mohit Mohit Ahlawat joins the team and Hanumant has to teach him the rules of earning dirty money. Mohit is a fast learner and an intrepid disciple shagird. When his girl,a television journalist Rimi Sen,is kidnapped by terrorists,he wants to locate and kill them with his bare hands.

Hanumant suggests restraint. But then the game becomes deep. An involved plot with Bunty Bhaiya Anurag Kashyap as a goon,minister Rajmani Zakir Hussain and other gangsters and politicians becomes the background for Mohit learning the tricks of the dirty trade fast,and though not to Hanumants delight,proves a disciple who outclasses his master.

Shagird falls in the genres of twists-and-turns thrillers like Johnny Gaddaar and Sankat City wherein most characters are gray or blacknote how Rimi Sen is a common factor in all three: this underrated and under-utilised actor is predictably excellent and intense in this male-centric film. The climax is underplayed,but a whopper for all that in justifying the films title and plot.

Tigmanshu Dhulia,who made his brilliant beginning with Haasil and followed it with the decent Charas-A Joint Effort,however makes a film this time that does not make any social statement. His earthy understanding of Northern hinterland politics is as marked as his determination to steer clear of the Ram Gopal Varma-Anurag Kashyap kind of violence and gore. The dialogues are laced with subtle humour because his characters are such they may be corrupt and Mammon-driven,but though they can be ruthless,they are not dark or edgy.

Nana Patekar does it again,this time in a negative role with a difference he is brilliant even as he is paradoxically repetitious. Mohit Ahlawat could do with some mobility of facial expressions and body language he is stiff to the core. Zakir is outstanding as always and Anurag Kashyap effective,especially in the sequences where he is petrified.

Everything else in the film is functional,from technical values to background music,and all these aspects are above-average.

Shagird is a delayed product,but co-writers Dhulia himself and Pandey ensure that the film looks fresh and has its own unique qualities. Worth a watch,it however may not stand much of a chance at the box-office because this genre has almost never worked in Hindi cinema.

Rating:

One star for Nana Patekar,one for Dhulia and one for the rest of the casts and crews contributions.

rajiv.vijayakarexpressindia.com