This is the story of the everyday life, from the High places to the underbelly of the city of Mumbai, as seen through the eyes of a Reporter who writes a political column named 'Nagrik'.
"Nagrik" means Citizen. This is the story of that citizen who struggles to expose the truth through his journalism, only to get swept aside like an inconsequential and irritating housefly by the politicos and the rich. It is the story of that citizen who has to make a choice between making a decent living and being truthful to his ideals. A story of that citizen who has spent his life fighting a losing fight against the injustice to the poor worker like himself. It is the sordid tale of that citizen who is unscrupulous in his hunger for power. Too, of that rich builder who will stoop to any level to quench his depraved thirst. It is the story of that poor citizen who is happy to trade the life of his one child in order to save the rest of his kids.
Naming the movie "Nagrik" is quite misleading. They should instead have named it "Life". For, instead of entertaining us, as a movie is supposed to, this flick will leave you squirming in your seat, as it holds a mirror in front of us and makes us see the sordid side of our daily lives. That sordid part which we conveniently choose to ignore as we go about our business of living with a blind over our eyes.
Or maybe, they should have named it the "Truth". For, just like the truth, this movie is difficult to discern and even more difficult to digest, not to mention unsavory and downright ugly. It shows us that, which is right there in front of our eyes, and yet, its so dirty, so real, so fucking clear as the air and the sky, that we choose not to face it. We go about living our lives, blissfully turning a blind eye to the truth around us. Truth, about the perverted and insidious nature of greed that encompasses our politicians, rich-men and god-men alike.
The acting is brilliant. Performances by the dynamic Sachin Khedekar, the veterans Dr. Sriram Lagu, Sulabha Deskhpande and Dilip Prabhavalkar, and even Milind Soman in a negative role, are all executed so perfectly. The direction is quite decent. The dialogues are packed with dynamite.
And yet, somewhere down the line, the movie fizzles out, as it tries to be as faithful to the real life as possible. And that is where, it fails the viewer who has come in expecting some good action and fireworks. That, and the optimistic, yet unrealistic and abrupt ending. Which is why, this movie is not for everyone. Do not go in expecting some nice action from Sachin Khedekar like he delivered in "Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy". Instead, be ready to come out with a sense of unease.
We go around our daily lives, earning our bread, chasing our dreams, looking out for "me and my own". And in that process, we become a part of the system. A system where we are supposed to turn a blind eye to the ugly truth. A system where you scratch my back and I will scratch yours, thank you. A system which eats you up and spits you out into oblivion, if you ever dare to oppose what you think is wrong. You do not dare to open your eyes. For if you do, you will see the vile relationship of Man and Greed. Try to change it and the system will change you instead. Or drive you insane. For the sake of your sanity, you quickly close your eyes again, drop your pants and welcome the inevitable pain that has become the part of your life as an Employee and as a Citizen. A system of the Rich, by the Rich, and for the Rich.
The film exposes the ugly underbelly of that system. And that is why it leaves you with a sense of unease. Unentertaining, yet extremely important. Better seen once than let it vanish into oblivion. Failure as a movie, yet shamelessly successful as an eyeopener...
"Nagrik" means Citizen. This is the story of that citizen who struggles to expose the truth through his journalism, only to get swept aside like an inconsequential and irritating housefly by the politicos and the rich. It is the story of that citizen who has to make a choice between making a decent living and being truthful to his ideals. A story of that citizen who has spent his life fighting a losing fight against the injustice to the poor worker like himself. It is the sordid tale of that citizen who is unscrupulous in his hunger for power. Too, of that rich builder who will stoop to any level to quench his depraved thirst. It is the story of that poor citizen who is happy to trade the life of his one child in order to save the rest of his kids.
Naming the movie "Nagrik" is quite misleading. They should instead have named it "Life". For, instead of entertaining us, as a movie is supposed to, this flick will leave you squirming in your seat, as it holds a mirror in front of us and makes us see the sordid side of our daily lives. That sordid part which we conveniently choose to ignore as we go about our business of living with a blind over our eyes.
Or maybe, they should have named it the "Truth". For, just like the truth, this movie is difficult to discern and even more difficult to digest, not to mention unsavory and downright ugly. It shows us that, which is right there in front of our eyes, and yet, its so dirty, so real, so fucking clear as the air and the sky, that we choose not to face it. We go about living our lives, blissfully turning a blind eye to the truth around us. Truth, about the perverted and insidious nature of greed that encompasses our politicians, rich-men and god-men alike.
The acting is brilliant. Performances by the dynamic Sachin Khedekar, the veterans Dr. Sriram Lagu, Sulabha Deskhpande and Dilip Prabhavalkar, and even Milind Soman in a negative role, are all executed so perfectly. The direction is quite decent. The dialogues are packed with dynamite.
And yet, somewhere down the line, the movie fizzles out, as it tries to be as faithful to the real life as possible. And that is where, it fails the viewer who has come in expecting some good action and fireworks. That, and the optimistic, yet unrealistic and abrupt ending. Which is why, this movie is not for everyone. Do not go in expecting some nice action from Sachin Khedekar like he delivered in "Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy". Instead, be ready to come out with a sense of unease.
We go around our daily lives, earning our bread, chasing our dreams, looking out for "me and my own". And in that process, we become a part of the system. A system where we are supposed to turn a blind eye to the ugly truth. A system where you scratch my back and I will scratch yours, thank you. A system which eats you up and spits you out into oblivion, if you ever dare to oppose what you think is wrong. You do not dare to open your eyes. For if you do, you will see the vile relationship of Man and Greed. Try to change it and the system will change you instead. Or drive you insane. For the sake of your sanity, you quickly close your eyes again, drop your pants and welcome the inevitable pain that has become the part of your life as an Employee and as a Citizen. A system of the Rich, by the Rich, and for the Rich.
The film exposes the ugly underbelly of that system. And that is why it leaves you with a sense of unease. Unentertaining, yet extremely important. Better seen once than let it vanish into oblivion. Failure as a movie, yet shamelessly successful as an eyeopener...
My Rating: 3
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