Movie: Mardaani
Director: Pradeep Sarkar
Cast: Rani Mukerji, Tahir Bhasin, Jisshu Sengupta, Priyanka Sharma
Rating: ***
‘Mardaani’ is not a great film, but Rani Mukerji makes it a decent watch with her knockout performance. I never pictured Rani as a cop material, but she proved me wrong by playing Shivani Shivaji Roy, a Senior Inspector in Mumbai’s Crime Branch to the hilt with aplomb. I absolutely have no complaints about Rani’s flawless performance, but it’s the inconsistent tone of the film, especially in the second half that shows why ‘Mardaani’ is not another ‘Sarfarosh’ and ‘Ab Tak Chappan’, even though it desperately tries to be these films at some instances.
But don’t let the first paragraph of my review stop you from watching the film. Because despite its inconsistent tone, ‘Mardaani’ still is pretty good, keeps you hooked for the most part of its short running time. It’s a kick-ass cop’s tale.
In the opening scene, Shivani is on her way to apprehend a criminal from a busy neighborhood. En route, she calls home to find out if her niece has completed her homework. Family is as important as work for Shivani, and that’s what differentiates her from all the male cops, who are mostly shown as bad family men, in Indian cinema. But you don’t see the gender differentiation when it comes to work. Shivani is as fearless, ruthless and extremely intelligent as any male cop. She’s swift, can chase down baddies on her feet and doesn’t need to rely on her male counterparts for protection.
Mardaani is Hindi cinema’s average cop film, but the presence of a woman in the lead role makes it engaging and different. Shivani has the valor of ACP Ajay Rathod Singh of ‘Sarfarosh’ and the wit of Sadhu Agashe of ‘Ab Tak Chappan’. In one scene, as Rani settles down to have dinner with her family, she receives a call from Tahir Bhasin. He calls her maam; she calls him ‘Under 19 team ka 12th man’. It’s so much similar to a scene from ‘Ab Tak Chappan’, particularly the way Rani mocks at Tahir. Nevertheless, the conversation and the strange camaraderie between them is so much fun. This timely inclusion of humor at regular intervals keeps us entertained too.
The biggest problem with ‘Mardaani’ is that it tries to tick off all the boxes in the Bollywood cinema format. While the first half is unbelievably brilliant, the last 15 mins in the subsequent half is mostly disappointing because this is when the film attempts to be a commercial cop drama. As a fellow critic rightly put it, it tries to be Lady Singham. Pradeep Sarkar could’ve easily avoided all that and instead should’ve focused on finishing the film on a realistic note, minus the long lecture Rani delivers in the end. But still ‘Mardaani’ is far better than any of the star-studded cop films of Hindi cinema.
I have to be honest but I liked Tahir Bhasin more than Rani, because we’ve already seen some great performances from her over the years. Tahir as Walt, the English-speaking, videogame-addicted, Breaking Bad fan villain is slyly menacing. He was excellent and he’s here for the long haul. Anil George as Vakil is equally good, though he plays a very brief role.
It’s a great comeback for Sarkar after two horrible films. He may have given in to a few Bollywood clichés but he still made a film that doesn’t bore you for a minute. And that’s a blessing.
