Produced under the banner of AKFPL alone was a strong reason for which I decided to watch Shahid. Directed by Hansal Mehta, Shahid is strong, gritty and dark cinema that beautifully portrays the true life story of Human Rights lawyer Shahid Basheer, an ordinary citizen with an extraordinary commitment to justice.This is a strong moving motion picture and a completely different take on the system of justice. One of the best court room dramas ever made it’s so much different from Jolly LLB and also Oh my God.
How many of you must have known the story of Shahid Azmi, the human rights lawyer, thanks to the director for making us aware about his lifestory. With some of the best star cast this movie completely floors you with it’s unique and honest plot. Much of it’s strength lie in the performance of it’s lead actor Rajkumar Yadav who is hard to take your eyes off even when he is not in the dialogues. He showed us in Kai Po Che, what a wonderful actor he is, and in this biography, he is the shining star.
Kay Kay Menon, Md Zeeshan Ayyub( Dhanush’ Friend in Raanjhanaa) and Tigmanshu Dhulia put in splendid side acting performances, bang on casting.Mariam as Azmi’s wife, played by Prabhleen Sandhu also carries herself gracefully through out the film.
Now, Shahid is not commercial of course, this is hard hitting cinema at it’s best. But in my perception if you are really into movies then you must not miss this. This is one movie you should watch in your life time to know a person who lost his life fighting for justice of innocent Muslim people who were traumatized and jailed for only their names and religions.
Easily one of the best biographies after Paan Singh Tomar and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Shahid is a giant leap forward for Hindi Cinema
and also nails the genre Biography and makes it special.
This is one of the best movies of the year with an honest performance from Rajkumar Yadav, the story is gripping and it builds on you slowly.