The 'After Hrs' review: 'Lanka'

Film: Lanka
Cast: Manoj Bajpai, Arjan Bajwa, Tia Bajpai
Director: Maqbool Khan
Stars: **1/2

The posters of the film show actress Tia Bajpai trying to cover her modesty by clutching on to a bedsheet, while Manoj Bajpai looks at her lustfully. One more of the Jism type? Well, don’t let the posters fool you. It’s probably one of the cleanest films, though it’s the story of a girl being sexually exploited by a man in power. The fact that it could have gone completely in that ‘sex sells’ direction but doesn’t, is where the beauty lies.

The film based on a true story, is set in Bijnor, a small town, which is Jaswant Sisodia’s (Manoj Bajpai) Lanka. He’s the undisputed ruler and his terror does the talking. This Ravan also has a mistress Anju (Tia). Her family is helpless in trying to stop their only daughter from being exploited sexually, even though the father is a doctor and so is Anju.

In all of this enters Arjan Bajwa, who’s almost like a brother to Jaswant. But though the hero, he is no Ram. Instead, he’s shown to be equally heartless when it comes to killing in cold blood. However, the close equation that he shares with his brother-in-power gets rattled when he meets Anju. There is no romance, but no one misses the sparks between the two, as Anju’s vulnerability and helplessness gnaw at the unquestioning loyalty that forms the very basis of his relation with Jaswant.

Ghar Ka Bhedi Lanka Dhaaye, and Arjan is that Vibhishan.

Once AD to Anubhav Sinha, Maqbool Khan seems to have tried to make the most of the opportunity offered by Vikram Bhatt to make his commercial debut as a director, but not at the cost of sacrificing his festival-cinema-sensibilities. (His earlier film Kabootar was a festival film). But this conflict reflects in parts, so while he panders to the commercial requirements and fine-tunes the inclusion of the masala elements like an item song, — he also remains true to realism.

As a director, he manages to capture the nuances of small town and uncover the murkiness layer by layer. Community politics, power play, hit-men ready to kill for merely Rs5,000... all are issues not unknown in smaller towns and Maqbool draws from his own experiences of having grown up in UP, and projects them brilliantly on screen. The topshot of a firing sequence is worth mentioning.

But the film clearly belongs to Manoj. We have seen him excel in films like Shool and here he finally takes it forward. He takes on the character as if he was born to play this. As the man torn between duty and love, Arjan emotes with his eyes and shines in his restrained performance, as the helpless lover. Tia, Yashpal Sharma, Yatin Karyekar and Manish Choudhary put in fine performances too and do justice to their screen times. It is these performances and the crisp direction that make the film worth a watch.

On the downside, absence of star power may not attract masses, but if you are game for some rustic and raw fare, this is a good watch.