Shorgul is a political drama film, which is based on 2013 Muzaffar nagar riots. The movie deals with the love story of Hindu boy Raghu (Anirudh Dave) and Muslim girl Zainab (Suha Gezen), which escalates into a political minefield, causing unrest and chaos in Uttar Pradesh.

Ranjit (Jimmy Shergill) is the dapper sunglasses-sporting demagogue from a political outfit that resembles the Bharatiya Janata Party. His love for whiskey and massages from under clad women do not prevent him from using the traditional route to election glory. Ranjit badly wants to stir up religious violence and ruin the good name of community patriarch Chaudhary (Ashutosh Rana), a Gandhian figure whose personal integrity makes him immensely popular among Hindus and Muslims alike.

His son Raghu (Aniruddh Dave) is in love with their Muslim neighbor, a Salma Agha-lookalike Zainab (Suha Gezen). As always, it’s a woman who is the cause of the world’s woes. Zainab is betrothed to Salim (Hiten Tejwani), a liberal Muslim whose cousin Mustaqeem (Eijaz Khan) has moved back home from Gujarat. The piece of flesh that dangles precariously from Mustaqeem’s neck suggests that he was the victim of communal violence in the 2002 riots. Mustaqeem is brimming with anger, and he gets a chance to play mischief maker when he realises Raghu’s one-sided love for Zainab. One thing leads to the next, the bodies start piling up, and Chaudhary steps in to protect Zainab’s honour as the town burns.

A sub-plot featuring Ranjit’s conniving and ambitious aide suggests that in the end, all is fair in love and politics. Like many other populist films about communal riots, Shorgul suggests an idyllic peace between Hindus and Muslims that will endure so long as meddling politicians stay out of the picture.

Performances

The movie features memorable performances from Ashutosh Rana and Jimmy Shergill. While Shergill is at great ease playing a politician who thrives on the politics of divide and role, Rana reminds us of his remarkable range as an actor. His screen presence is still as commanding. They are well backed by the rest of the cast with Eijaz Khan, Hiten Tejwani and Narendra Jha leading from the front. Suha Gezen, the pretty actress who plays the central character Zainab, reminds one of a young Tisca Chopra.

Music

The album comes as a fresh breeze at a time when you can fit most other new music composers in the same bucket. Arijit sings ‘Tere Bina’ with a lot of passion and reminds you of the Jatin-Lalit brand of the music. ‘Masta Hawa’, a party number is groovy with lazy beats that will give club goers some good rhythm to move. ‘Baroodi Hawa’ gels well with the movie genre and subject, but is not something that you will listen to out of the movie context.

Verdict

Shorgul deals with a burning issue like Hindu-Muslim rivalry, which has been brought on screens several times in the past. But the directors have managed to make the film an interesting watch with their brilliant treatment of the subject. The movie has an engaging and entertaining narration right from the beginning till end. This 132-minute movie has strong performances. Overall, Shorgul makes for a decent watch. Shorgul’s strong socio-political commentary succeeds in depicting the dirty side of vote bank politics and in raising pertinent questions about the lack of tolerance that engenders communal hatred.  It scores heavily on the acting front and performances alone make it watchable. More importantly, it tries to teach us the true meaning of humanity.

Tags: Aniruddh DaveJimmy ShergillMovie ReviewMuzaffarnagar ritesshorgul