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| Edited By: Blessy Chettiar |Source: DNA |Updated: Nov 21, 2013, 01:44 PM IST
Film: Shagird (U/A)
Cast: Nana Patekar, Mohit Ahlawat, Rimi Sen, Anurag Kashyap
Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Rating: *
The maverick Nana Patekar is back with gritty one-liners as crime branch cop Hanumant Singh. Patekar, who also played inspector Sadhu Agashe in Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), is rough, uncouth, and has a thing for old Hindi film melodies. So much so that he wastes no time pulling the trigger on those inclined towards modern Bollywood songs. Clearly, for him, there’s no time for apologies.
Unapologetic himself, Hanumant Singh is hand-in-glove with the top politicians of Delhi, and is assisted by a handful of chamchas. A visibly loser-like sub-inspector Mohit (Ahlawat) is assigned to work under Hanumant, who keeps his boys happy with honest distribution of the ill-gotten booty.
Shagird’s scatter-brained plotline also has a certain local terrorist Bunty Bhaiyya (Kashyap), seemingly important in the scheme of things, though you never completely understand just how. There are other very vague characters and subplots that make Shagird look like an outdated joke that needs explanation. The film loses track so many times, forcing you to give up keeping track.
The politicisation of crime and criminalisation of politics themes are evident, but don’t these concepts suit our politics textbooks best? A no-story for a story, pretending to be straight out of a real-life crime-politics scenario, suffers even more due to some really disjointed and unnecessary additions like the abduction of three journalists and innumerable chase sequences (even after we have learnt of the brutality called Hanumant Singh!)
Another problem is the haphazard editing, abruptly jumping scenes, and the first half leaving one clueless of what’s unfolding on screen. With Ahlawat’s one-for-all-seasons expression, he could well be furniture in the police chowki. This would save him the bother of running around lethargically with a service gun he uses rarely. Kashyap makes cameos in every film he writes or directs. In Shagird he gets a full-fledged role and doesn’t disappoint.
There isn’t much going for the film apart from Patekar’s wit and Kashyap’s acting talent. Without them, this film would probably have not got a single star.
