After a long time, comes a movie which makes you think.And for a Hindi movie to induce you to do that is a fulfilling job indeed.Encounter does this and much more. Please do not dismiss this as a another gangster movie. It is totally different from the run of the mill stuff.
Inspector Sam Bharucha is a Parsi Police Officer which is a rarity on our Police Force.He is a sincere person and very dedicated to his job. He is currently investigating the Matter Gang which has been upto the usual rounds of extortion and bloodshed.But they are being aided by four young sharpshooters who are as cold blooded as they come. It is on the basis of these 4 guys that their gang has achieved the status of a much-feared gang.
The case receives the much needed break when one of the boys is accidentally caught by his mother when she discovers a bundle of cash and a pistol in his bag.She promptly hands over her son to the police and then starts the whole case.Now, it so happens that one of the boys is developing a severe case of conscience and he wishes to opt out of the business.The next morning in a shootout with the police, the boy is mercilessly shot down by Sam Bharucha.
He is informed by the other officers that the boy was about to surrender when his life was taken. Bharucha is filled with remorse because this is the first time on the Force that he has killed someone.So here starts his odyssey where he starts his search for the boy’s parents because no one has turned up to claim his body.This is where the film delivers the punch.It is indeed sad to note the hypocrisy in our society where we feel answerable to everyone and we have to hang on to our status quo.Well, this movie delivers a punch seldom felt when seeing a movie. It brings a lump to out throat whhen we witness the plight of Sam Bharucha trying in vain to find the boy’s parents and even after finding them he has a tough job convincing them that this is indeed their son.
Naseeruddin Shah as the harried police officer is simply the best. His portrayal as the Parsi cop is really going to fetch him laurels.He had portrayed the role of a Parsi gentleman before in Pestonjee, but this is really too good. Viewers in the city who are familiar with the Parsi way of life will empathize with his portrayal in the movie.This movie has no known stars to boast of but all of them have done a sterling job.Please forgive the songs which crop up, but then the director must have felt it necessary to do that.Dilip Prabhavalkar is a stage actor who plays the role of Punappa, a man who aids Sam in his search for the boy’s parents.Prabhavalkar is simply superb as he hogs the show with his antics.He is shown to be a cynic and how!
My hearty congratulations to the director for having conviction for his subject and having the guts to come out with it on the big screen, regardless of its box office fate.See it folks. It is very rarely that you see an ace director pull at your heart strings with all the deftness of a skilful puppeteer.Yes, he is that good.I thoroughly recommend this movie to those in search of some meaningful cinema.Believe me, you will not regret it.