'Mulk' Movie Review

When you set into making a film on a controversial subject and that too a subject like Terrorism and on top of that in Bollywood, you are playing with fire.

The lure to make it Jingoistic, Overtly Dramatic is so real on one hand and on the other hand one has to be aware of how not get mired into any kind of communal controversy. 

The other challenge is how do you bring in freshness into the treatment of a subject like 'Terrorism' which has been such a done to death subject.

On top of all this the crew does not necessarily have credentials that would make you feel extremely confident. Specially the director Anubhav Sinha whose filmography is decent and interesting but u can't call it outstanding at the same time Tapsee Pannu is capturing eyeballs ever since she has stepped into Bollywood but she has not yet been tested really well.

With this background i went to watch MULK simply because somehow the trailer intrigued me. (Yes i have a golden strike rate with Trailers.....My prediction of a film is always based on its trailers and they generally come true)

On the second day of the weekend late night show the screen was full, was an indication that the film was gaining positive word of mouth and like me it was possibly intriguing many others.

As i went thru the film,  the first half was decent but i was still having my iffy moments as the screenplay was decent but there were some cliches in the treatment Be it the Hindu Muslim Friendship being dramatized, Love For The Hindu Bahu In A Muslim Family etc....

But as the film moved into the second half my heart was in the mouth because i soon realized that its going to be a complete court room drama being largely played by Tapsee Pannu, Ashutosh Rana & Rishi Kapoor.

With lot of scepticism i started the second half and soon i realised how well the characters of Tapsee Pannu was unfolding, how mature she was in managing her scenes without being over dramatic, Ashutosh Rana inspite of being in his comfort zone was still delivering something that was not looking jaded and most importantly Kumud Mishra in the role of judge keeping the audience guessing as if what is he thinking.

The final moment of glory of the film were the outstanding arguments that were being put against and for the case (Rishi Kapoor and his family in the film charged on terrorism) that would shake us in moments and challenge us to think for bit, and the most glorious moments was the final verdict being given by Kumud Mishra as the judge as it sounded so mature. It went on the define what is Terrorism, How Muslims Need To Be Aware That There Is Something Wrong Going In Their Society , At the same time Hindus Need To Understand That they need to come out of their prejudices......

The film takes an extremely mature stance on how as people of India we should treat Terrorism and its relationship with just one community.

According to me MULK is better than even Talwaar in its ability to remain neutral in treating a subject when its so easy to take stance.

Anubhav Sinha has done a brilliant job and shown great finesse as director and writer while Tapsee Pannu reached a new high and shown her versatility as an actor, Rishi Kapoor as usual was Brilliant and so were other actors including Ashutosh Rana, Manoj Pahwa, Nina Gupta and a special mention must go to Kumud Mishra.

If you haven't still seen MULK and its still running you must go and watch it is my recommendation or catch it once it is published on OTT or TV.

Loved the film , It Kept Me Engaged Thruout...