Shorgul is purportedly about the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots but, thanks to the censors, the UP town isn’t mentioned even once. It is replaced by Malihabad. It is difficult to fathom how that makes any difference to the substance of the film - whatever there is of it. Shorgul is so horridly ham-handed that it merits no rating as a film. But for the statement that it strives to make, no matter how feebly and incoherently, it deserves one star. And that is all it’s worth.
However, despite an army of terrific actors, Shorgul comes off as a shallow attempt to dig deep into issues behind such uprisings. If you aren’t familiar with what happened in 2013, or were looking for a new perspective on the incident, Shorgul isn’t for you. The movie is a disappointment.