Director: Amit V Masurkar
Cast: Vidya Balan, Neeraj Kabi and Vijay Raaz
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Rating: 2.5/5
Vidya Balan's latest movie Sherni is a sincere and thought-provoking drama that caters to those fond of realistic cinema. The film revolves around what happens when a female forest officer tries to resolve human-wildlife conflict while dealing with vested interests.
Shades of 'Newton'
The basic storyline follows the 'underdog vs the system' formula, which is pretty much as old as the hills. The plot is conceptually similar to the one seen in the director's last outing Newton as both movies, broadly speaking, revolve around an outsider's attempts at changing a system.
A few flaws
The storyline does not quite reach its potential as the writing is not as good as could have been. Newton worked mainly because of tense and complex dynamics between the main characters. It also managed to highlight the 'human face' of the issue at hand. This, sadly, isn't the case with Sherni. A couple of sequences try to highlight the impact of the human-wildlife conflict on the 'aam aadmi' but they do not really make an impact as they are rushed. Moreover, subplots such as the challenges faced by women and the political rivalry haven't really been explored too well.
Talented actors underutilised
A film featuring multiple actors can reach its potential only if each character gets ample scope in the grand scheme of things. Newton, for example, was such a well-written film that even Sanjay Mishra, who made a 'guest appearance', was able to make an impact. Similarly, Pankaj Tripathi's character was the perfect foil to the one played by Rajkummar Rao. Sherni, however, fails to focus on the supporting characters. As a result, talented actors such as Sharat Saxena, Vijay Raaz and even the ever-dependable Neeraj Kabi are underutilised.
Effective climax
That said, Sherni is not a lost cause by any stretch of the imagination. The makers need to be lauded for highlighting the challenges faced by forest officials, something that not a lot of filmmakers have done over the years. The last 30 minutes are quite engaging and hit the right notes with their organic intensity. The silences do the talking in quite a few scenes, widely regarded as the hallmark of good storytelling.
Vidya at her finest
It goes without saying that Vidya is the heart and soul of Sherni. She leaves an impact with her restrained performance. Her subdued rage in a scene where she is asked to 'dress up' is hard to miss. Her scenes with her reel family members too have come out well.
Technical aspects:
The cinematography is quite good and captures the sights and sounds of the heartland. The background score, however, is a bit middling. The other technical aspects are up to the mark.