Movie Review - Haraamkhor

 

Despite Being Flawed Haraamkhor Is Worth A Watch

Haraamkhor,  directed by Shlok Sharma and starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui with Shweta Tripathi in principle characters, had its first look revealed on 8^th  March 2015. But in less than a month after that a FIR was registered against director Shlok Sharma on a complaint by Balbharati, Maharashtra’s textbook bureau, objecting to striking similarities between its logo and promotion scenes from Haraamkhor.

Later the Censor Board objected to the ‘bold’ content of Haraamkhor because they thought the Indian audience was not ready for bold themes. This forced the makers to take a legal recourse and appeal before the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, which delivered the verdict in the movie’s favour. And finally Haraamkhor is out. The film can be said to be another prime example on how Hindi cinema is exploring new themes with assurance.

Based on a bold theme Haraamkhor has a story/plot  that one can connect with if not directly then indirectly through the stories featured on various news channels and in the newspapers.

According to Sharma Hraamkhor was shot in 16 days in a small village in Gujarat. But one wonders if it was really shot in Gujarat since in one scene they show a Madhya Pradesh Inter State Bus Terminus but that does not take much away from the content. What does though is the incoherent narrative at times. Because there is an evident absence of a single chief narrator and instead several characters contend for that description.

What happens between Shyam Tekchand (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and Sandhya (Shweta Tripathi) living in an undistinguished remote North Indian village is undeniably shocking. From teachers/tutors touching their pupils inappropriately to students getting infatuated with their teachers we’ve heard them all.
It’s a tiny village that they live in tiny enough to allow characters to move from one location to the next within a span of minutes and large enough to ignore the scandal brewing in its midst.

An already married Shyam has a volatile temper, and beats up young boys and even adolescent girls in anger. His wife is suspicious of an illicit affair between her hubby and his teenage student Sandhya. But tries his best to fool his wife but is also conscious of his ‘sins’ because there is only lust and no love on his part for Sandhya.

It’s a complex narrative. Director Shlok Sharma plays with angles of perception – you can’t easily pinpoint the culprit. You know the girl is infatuated and everything happening before you is consensual, but it’s still wrong. As is the case in most of mofussil India, policemen are regarded with dread. But even that doesn’t stop Shyam from taking advantage of Sandhya.

Shyam is a predator you realise that when it is revealed that wife Sunita is also an ex student of his. Sharma smartly weaves the story from the perspective of two kids, Kamal and Mintu. who study in Sandhya’s class. In faxt, the wriggly brats, Kamal and Mintu are the two most observant and alert residents of this unnamed lust bowl are the two wriggly brats, and to the movie’s peril, debutant director Shlok Sharma examines an affair that the law regards as statutory rape through their insignificant eyes. Incidentally, Kamal is in love with Sandhya and wants to marry her. He along with his friend Mintu detest and question the fact that how can Sandhya is see a man who is more than twice her age.

Till the end of the film it is not clear why Sandhya loses her heart to Shyam, to the extent of risking her reputation. It is also not clear if her father is a doting father or a pervert?  Does Sandhya have a thing for shabbily dressed unkempt men? Why all the characters are half baked? Overall Haraamkhor is little lazily scripted and the director seems to be in a hurry to call cut. The material may be sensationalist, but the treatment isn’t. The end of the film is very abrupt as if the director just wanted to put an end to it.

Sandhya’s juvenile behaviour and urge to understand her body better are visible. For the 31 year old Shweta Tripathi playing the role of a 14 year old girl is something she should should be proud of. Masaan (in which she played the character of a 19 year old girl) was no fluke.

Siddiqui is at his deceptive best. He plays a sexual offender to perfection, but you can’t judge him instantly.

Irfan Khan as Kamal and Mohammed Samad as Mintu are enjoyable to irritating. Other artistes pass muster.