Shorgul Review: When some good noise turns out to be a false alarm

Directors Jitendra Tiwari and P Singh’s Shorgul has been making a lot shor (noise) off late due to the political controversy it got embroiled in. As a film too it does make some decent amount of positive noise, only to be turned into a false alarm. It eventually becomes yet another forceful attempt of endorsing communal harmony. 

The film is based in a town in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Chaudhary ji (Ashutosh Rana) is one of the most respected figures. He has a family-like relation with his Muslim neighbors. Raghu (Anirudh Dave), Chaudhary’s son, is a childhood friend of their neighbor’s daughter, Zainab (Suha Gazen). She is unaware that Raghu has feelings for her.  

The town is ruled by the evil opposition MLA Ranjit Om (Jimmy Shergill), who is always on the lookout of using the Hindu card for personal gains. His rival is the state’s Home Minister Alam Khan (Narendra Jha), who plays with the sentiments of Muslims. Fundamentalists from both communities get an excuse to create havoc when Raghu’s love for Zainab, a Muslim girl, becomes known. 

Shorgul has a decent and promising first hour. The story builds up sensibly with a good amount of pace. The characters are high in number but their definition is well taken care of. But the most interesting aspect is the portrayal of real-life politicians with slight change of names. There is also an instance of a real speech made in 2012 being used almost word-by-word in a smart manner. 

Unfortunately, this smooth ride turns bumpy courtesy some major potholes. The most important turn in the tale, just before interval, is not only unconvincing but silly. From here on, the proceedings go downhill, never to regain sensibility. What irks the most is the age-old manner of preaching insaniyat (humanity) over mazhab (religion).

Lalit Pandit’s music is a pleasant surprise. ‘Shaam-o-Shehar’ and a Qawwali track are certainly impressive. It’s surprising why the makers didn’t promote them to create awareness about the film. 

Cinematographer Manoj Pradhan makes his presence felt through some artistic camerawork. The moment when Shergill’s character’s change in expressions is shown through the rearview mirror of a car deserves special mention. Coming to the other technicalities, the background score is too loud. 

Shergill matches his style and persona with a good performance. Tejwani is believable as Zainab’s fiancé, Salim. Dave isn’t convincing in the important role of Raghu. Gazen’s act rises at a decent level but she struggles when she is needed to be too expressive. Rana is earnest but his character suffers from being too preachy. Suri fits the character of CM Mithilesh Yadav but he isn’t at his natural best. Some earnest support is provided by Vermaa, Jha and Khan. 

Overall, Shorgul loses the plot after an interesting first half. The film has good prospects in UP, but it would struggle otherwise at the box-office. 

Directors: Jitendra Tiwari and P Singh

Producers: 24 FPS Films

Writers: Jitendra Tiwari, Khalid Azmi, Raj Verma and Shashie Vermaa

Cast: Jimmy Shergill, Suha Gazen, Anirudh Dave, Ashutosh Rana, Hiten Tejwani, Eijaz Khan, Sanjay Suri, Narendra Jha

Music: Lalit Pandit

Genre: Drama

Release date: 1 July 2016

Runtime: 132 minutes

Rating: 2/5