I have been reading in the newspapers that a couple was killed because they tried to elope or were trying to get married without the permission of their parents or belonged to different caste, hence the only punishment for them was to depart from this world. Not peacefully but by meeting a gruesome death.
As I grew amid the power / growth of media, it dawned at me that all these killings were taking place for the sake of the honour of the families of the dead. Yes your honour, they were killed in the name of honour. They were not murders, they were honour killings. But I use to wonder, how come the culprits were never brought to justice? Why?
Director Priyadarshan who is better known for giving us comedies has once again shifted gears & has presented a film that is based on honour killings. It is not a simple film as it deals with a social evil of honour killing & the director with his writers has done a good study of the issue before presenting it on the silver screen for us. The result is dark, gruesome, which though has the Bollywodish touch but is still a rare gem. We don’t get to see such films every day.
The film starts with the killing of Raavan followed by Ramleela where the dancer/singer explains the greatness of Lord Ram, while the daughter of a powerful person elopes with her lover who came with 2 of his friends. News spread immediately & the devotees of Lord Ram who just killed Raavan, transforms into the latter.
Actually the basic plot of the film is set in the first 10 minutes itself without a single word being spoken but the technician is Priyadarshan is in top form & all you need is to keep your eyes open & keep them glued to the screen.
An agitation by the students & pressure from the media propels the authorities to send a team of CBI officers comprising of Akshay Khanna & Ajay Devgan to Jhanjhar to investigate the case of 3 missing students.
Jhanjhar, a place in Bihar, where the three students went missing is ruled by the powerful locals & is a place where the issue of caste system still exists. Lower caste people live a scary life & are often victims of the wrath of upper caste people. At times mass killing of lower caste takes place. Anybody who tries to file a FIR or decides to open his mouth against the powerful people either goes missing or his dead body is found. No case registered because the police are the mistress of the upper caste & follow their instructions.
Discrimination is shown to that level where you will really pity the lower caste people, as they drink water from a different well, which is marked as KAALA KUAN where as the well of upper caste is called DOODH KUAN. You have to be very attentive to observe these things because Priyadarshan narrates the tale with technical fineness without any dialogue.
Ajay Devgan & Akshay Khanna reaches Jhanjhar to solve the case of missing boys. A place where the situation of law & order is pretty unlawful & completely out of order, how will they solve the case? They are even attacked by a group of SHOOL SENA but continue the investigation which takes to a stunning climax that leaves you shocked.
There are so many scenes in the film that leaves a mark & forces you to ponder. For example, Rajendra Gupta an upper caste man & a teacher who brings up Ajay Devgan who belongs to lower caste, teaches him that there is no such thing called upper & lower caste. One fine day asks Ajay to forget his daughter – reason being their caste & the aftermath if Ajay marries his daughter. You can feel the dilemma of a father & see the failure of a teacher as he fails to follow what he preached.
Photography by Tirru is good who has captured Jhanjhar nicely but why did the camera shake at times when the chase scenes were filmed? It was as if the camera is shivering.
Dialogues by Aditya Dhar are praise worthy. They leave a mark on you.
I personally feel there was no need for songs in this film but the producer thought otherwise. Unfortunately the music is of substandard. Though the background score is top class.
Almost every side artist delivers a good performance.
Bipasha who is trying to change her image as an actress is in a deglamorised small role & is strictly ok. Though Reema Sen in a deglamorised role looks good & her eyes do speak. She needs a good director to explore her talent.
Paresh Rawal as the corrupt cop delivers yet another fine performance. Ajay Devgan is back with a pensive look on his face, as a man with a mission & delivers a good performance. Akshay Khanna one of the most underrated actors in India continues to deliver good performances. He is flawless. Great job Akshay.
Priyadarshan deserves all the praise for giving us this dark, gruesome film & should he had kept the screenplay a bit tight in the second half, this would have been a masterpiece. But this film is still strongly recommended to all to witness the other side of the crime that takes place in small towns / villages.