Have you ever missed the first 10 minutes of the movie and you’re like ”Damn why couldn’t I have come a little early?” And then there are times when you reach the theatre on time and you say “Damn why did I come so early?” Well, this movie Shaurya, falls into the latter category. In fact, you can walk in to the movie right after the intermission (and thank God for that) you still wouldn’t have missed much!
If you thought the movie is about two best friends violently battling out in the court, you’re wrong. If you thought the movie is about two shrewd lawyers and a nosy investigative journalist you’re wrong again. The promos were very deceitful and if you hoped a fantastic version of Few Good Men, then you my friend will be sorely disappointed.
OK enough of the crap (although most of the movie is), the story is based on fun-loving, carefree and adventure seeking army lawyer, Major Siddhant Chowdary (Rahul Bose). He’s got what you call I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude. All he wants to do is drink and be merry, what he doesn’t know is life is not that easy, at least not in the place which is 6,000 ft above sea-level - Srinagar. He gets posted here along with his best friend Akash Kapoor (Javed Jaffery) to look into the case of Javed Khan who’s facing court-martial for the murder of his commanding officer Vijay Rathore. Siddhant is assigned as Javed’s defense lawyer and Akash is the prosecutor. The chaddi-pals are happy because Siddhant gets to play squash not bothering about the case and Akash is happy because not only he gets to play squash but he also gets to win the case! It’s an open-and-shut case as the defendant Javed has already pleaded guilty to the crime.
Enter Kavya Shastri (Minissha Lamba), small-town investigative journalist who’s only aim is to crack a front page story. Because if she gets the front page news she gets a byline and if she gets a byline her folks back at home will finally believe that she indeed is a journalist! Amazing uh! Anyways it’s because of her aim that she meets Siddhant and gets him to look into the case in a whole different light. This light takes him into the dark world of power and prejudice, rape and racism.
Enter Brigadier Pratap Singh(Kay Kay Menon). If you think men like Hitler are long dead, you’re a dead wrong. He doesn’t believe in democracy so he makes his own rules. A man who thinks himself as God, a God you can see, and if you don’t follow his rules he will send you to God, a God whom you cannot see! Yes, he’s the modern day Hitler, a true patriot who will take you the world of racial genocide. Ironical uh?
The movie is lethargically slow, it has no action, no drama, no romance, no thrill, nothing it’s got. It has one item number which is as hot as having a sizzling brownie one hour after it’s served. Moving on to the performances of the actors. Rahul Bose is brilliantly funny as ever. His one facial expression is worth a 100 words. Javed Jaffery too delivers to the Tee performance. His deep-baritone is accentuated in the short and crisp dialogues that he has been given. Minissha Lamba is pleasant to the eye in the movie full of men. But in spite of 20-odd minute role, the movie clearly belongs to Kay Kay Menon. Every time he appears on the screen, it sizzles with his raw power. Whatever little excitement the movie has, it’s because of him. If you fall asleep a little (like I did) he’s the one who will make you sit and listen. And to compare his performance with Jack Nicholson (Few Good Men), well Kay Kay is so not out of his league.
Director, Samar Khan, has his heart in the right place. Racism indeed is man’s gravest threat to man, the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason. What he is conveying through this movie is a harsh reality, but with a shoddy screenplay like that its plain cruelty.
Cast & Crew:
Cast: Rahul Bose, Minissha Lamba, Kay Kay Menon, Rozza Catalano, Javed Jaffrey, Seema Biswas, Deepak Dobriyal
Direction: Samar Khan
Verdict: It takes courage to do the right thing…right! So if the theatre is on your Left, go in the Right direction.
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Tags: Deepak Dobriyal, Javed Jaffrey, Kay Kay Menon, Minissha Lamba, Rahul Bose, Rozza Catalano, Samar Khan, Seema Biswas, Shaurya, Shaurya - Hindi Movie Review, Shaurya hindi movie | Filed in Bollywood
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