With the World Cup & exams in full swing, the films has been far & few in the last fortnight or so. Actually the last Bollywood film that I had watched was "Dum Laga Ke Haisa", which was pretty good though I haven't written the review for it. This week saw the release of "NH10" which has Anushka Sharma donning the role of a producer for the first time. It has been showcased as a road movie & the promos promises it to be an edge of the seat thriller. So has Anushka invested her money wisely???
Meera (Anushka Sharma) & Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) are happily married couples settled in Gurgaon who decides to take a break from their high profile jobs to usher in Meera's birthday over the weekend at a private villa. They set off on their trip at a leisurely pace until they stop over at a dhaba for some refreshments. There they witness a couple being mercilessly thrashed by a bunch of hoodlums, who incidentally seemed to be led by the girl's brother. Arjun tries to intervene & placate the situation but to no avail as he gets slapped in the process before the gang leaves the scene with the couple in their grasp. Meera & Arjun resumes their journey, but on the way they witness the gang's vehicle & much to her displeasure he follows them. So what were the gang going to do to the couple & can Arjun save them from further torture???
After the critically acclaimed "Manorama Six Feet Under" which released in 2007, Navdeep Singh is back with his latest venture which yet again proves his credentials. The script by Sudip Sharma is undoubtedly inspired from "Eden Lake" & it has been Indianised quite impressively by bringing in the angle of honour killing. Navdeep gives us an ample view of the vast expanses of lawlessness & male dominated terrains still prevalent in many parts of the nation. Both the halves keeps us engaged & gives us a lump in the throat, when we realise that incidents like honour killing does exist in our society. All the technical aspects were spot on be it Jabeen Merchant's sharp editing, Arvind Kannabiran's impressive visuals or the BGM by Karan Gour which was in sync with the mood of the movie.
Anushka Sharma was fantastic as the protagonist as her body language, expressions (oscillating from helplessness to nerves of steel) made the character so impactful. It wouldnt be prudent to proclaim that she is presently in pole position to sweep the awards. Neil Bhoopalam has done a fine job while Darshan Kumar does evoke a chill in our spines. The rest of the cast have done an equally praise worthy job & Navdeep needs to be appreciated for his apt choice of actors. A special word of mention for Deepti Naval who sizzled in a guest role as the village sarpanch.
Verdict: The film is undoubtedly one of the best thrillers in recent times but it's going to appeal only to a niche audience. Since the investment is peanuts when compared to many of the other movies, I believe it wouldn't burn Anushka's fingers. In short, if you are ready for a dark thriller...this is surely an apt choice!!!
Rating: 3/5
Regards...Ben
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