Film Review: ​Irada

Film Review: ​Irada
Dir: Aparnaa Singh
Cast:​ ​Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah, Divya Dutta, Sharad Kelkar, Sagarika Ghatge
Rating:​ ​**1/2

What’s​ ​it about:

Cancer is at the heart of this tale of greed and corruption in Punjab and the prevalence​ ​​of something called reverse boring (dumping chemical waste deep into the earth).​ 

​Armyman Parabjeet Walia (Shah) is a father of a cancer-sufferer. His daughter Riya’s (Rumana Molla) diagnosis, has left him emotionally wrecked. He soon finds out that his town’s water supply is​ ​contaminated and that a politician-industrialist nexus is what maintains the status quo. The offending​ ​ party, a pharma giant, couldn’t care less and neither does, as it seems, the CM of the state, Ramandeep

Braitch (Dutta). And this becomes even more evident when Arjun Mishra (Warsi) comes into town to investigate a​ ​murder.

What’s​ ​hot:

Naseer, as always, is​ ​a joy to watch. Warsi as the cop is quite engaging. But it is Divya Dutta, who has your attention as the scenery-chewing CM-you-don’t-want-to-cross. Kelkar as one of the bigshots at the pharma firm is efficient, too.

Films like these, with better subjects, need to get made. Singh has made a good step in the right direction. But is it enough? Sadly, it isn’t. The writing immediately betrays Singh’s flaws. You’re not immediately invested in the lives of the characters on screen.

What’s​ ​not:

There are other tracks in the story -- one includes Sagarika Ghatge, who plays a journalist in the film, seeking revenge -- that don’t really tie in. A film like this requires an older, more assured hand and a keen eye for studied nuances to characters to actually make an impact. As they say, irada​ ​nek​ ​hai,​ ​lekin​ ​baat​ ​jami​ ​nahin.

What to do:

Ponder upon a somewhat lost opportunity. Films with social causes at its core work, but only if​ ​they manage to resonate with you in some way. This one doesn’t, at least not to the degree you’d like it to.