Movie Title: “SEHER”
RATING: (OUT OF )
Review by Ranju Anthony
INDIA, 2005
Running Length: 150 Mins
Censor Board Certification: A
Language: Hindi
Genre: Thriller
(Wide Release)
Director: Kabeer Kaushik
Producter: Ashwin J. Patel
Cast: Arshad Warsi, Mahima Choudhary, Pankaj Kapoor & Sushant Singh
Music: Daniel B. George
After watching ‘Seher’, you may never look at Uttar Pradesh in quite the same way. Crooked cops, dedicated cops, dynamics of railway contracts, bureaucracy, student politics; phew these are the issues that have been dealt in a pragmatic manner in this motion picture. The difference between Seher and numerous other, more routine films of the similar genre begins with the script. Surely, it has been written in a one dimensional format but it’s smart, insightful and more importantly consistently engaging. Probably the best part of this motion picture is the absence of subplots or shall I say deviations.
(Arun Kumar) Arshad Warsi is an honest police officer and as part of this package is forever kept on the relocation drive. In his new posting at Lucknow, he is asked to investigate the murder of a local dreaded gangster. As he dwells deeper in this case, he comes across the deep nexus that runs between the local politicians, the builders, contractors, student union leaders and of course the goons. Apart from this character, Gajraj (Sushan Singh) takes your attention; as a wannabe king of a particular area he spews terror with his intense gaze and stillness. It takes Seher nearly two and one-half hours to spin its tale, but the time passes remarkably quickly. There’s hardly a wasted moment in the entire movie (apart from the songs of course).
The three leads give strong performances. Warsi’s character is brimming with tightly-controlled anger is caught between his towering ambition and his desire to do the right thing. While this is the actor’s best turn since ‘Munnabhai’ and he does a credible job, that may earn him the opportunity to do more ‘serious’ work in the future. But sure he is the not the only one around. Sushant Singh is restrained as usual and sends a chill down your spine with his cold looks and drooling personality. Though, not with such flamboyance as in ‘Dus’, Pankaj Kapoor, again holds on his own. This man is indeed the most talented performers of our times.
On the flipper side, Mahima Choudhary’s character was totally unwarranted and could be completely taken off. The music also is a big letdown and looks like more of a blooper.
In addition to the high caliber of acting, another thing that sets Seher apart from an average entry into the genre is the dialogues, which sparkles with intelligence. The director may not have Tarantino’s gift for words, but his characters speak reasonably, not like they’re reading from a sheet of paper. Even the supporting players, say and do things in a believable manner.
Although it’s quite predictable that projects such as these hardly find any takers in the interiors and because of a recent calamity that struck Mumbai, chances for a fine run in the metropolitan cities are equally dim. But nevertheless, one has to commend the valiant and sincere effort of the team behind this powerful motion picture.