Mardaani (2014)

I first saw this in a theatre with my dad n son. Revisited it recently on a dvd. It is a solid crime thriller. Rani Mukherjee pulled of the job of a cop very well. The fight sequences r top notch n thank God ther ain't any songs in this film. People may find similarities with Trade (2007) n Taken (2008).

Fmovies: Mardaani is a good film released at the right moment.

I say that because of the high proportion of news about rape and sexual assault and attacks on women in the national newspapers in India. Pradeep Sarkar succeeds in retelling the acclaimed Hollywood story (Liam Neeson's Taken) of how an officer single-handedly taken on the traders of flesh. He charms the audience by filling all holes that would've crept up had it been a poorly researched film, like all other recent Bollywood films are.

Here in, we have inspector Shivani (Rani Mukherji) who uses her manliness to search and kill the young boy, a flesh trade kingpin who kidnapped and sold her adopted child into overseas sex rackets. There are chiefly two villains in the film, both of which are good. But I am awestruck by nobody Tahir Bhasin's brilliant performance as the vindictive boss who speaks like he was a born criminal. His air, his diction, his portrayal - all upped my ante in cinema-watching experience. Come climax, this same villain goes through a paradigm shift and seems to have lost all his qualities, which drives the predictability ahead.

But I am not complaining because the 2 hours were never boring. Plus, since it conveys a message that women should stand up with a touch of power for their rights hits the right chord with the large number of women that were present in the theater hall.

Coming to the cuss language, I didn't mind it because it was a necessary component. Mukherji is good, as well. The supporting cast is fine. The title track is surely to hit the charts.

BOTTOM LINE: One of the very few watchable films in 2014 Bollywood, Mardaani is an unexpected treat. If you have 2 hours to spare this weekend, go watch it and come home entertained.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES (You should!)

I have no words to express what I am going through. Rani time and again has tried really hard to sustain a movie on her shoulders. She wanted to make a mark. She wanted to show that you don't need a hero for a movie to be good. Finally she triumphs and how . My god what an attempt in showcasing the brutality of reality, the pain and the wrath of millions. Very few movies are applauded by audience and mardaani is one among them. People screaming and cheering for whats being shown clearly depicts how well they relate to the issue and how clearly the team has succeeded in their attempt. This film deserves to be watched by every single human being. There were many cops in Hindi cinema making cars and lorries fly but there will be only one Shivani who touches your heart. People stop making 100 crore masala movies which makes no mark and adds no value. Learn from this team to make meaningful cinema which leaves a mark for eons to come.

• A proud Rani fan.

Mardaani fmovies. Bollywood has always space to celebrate womanhood through their films. Mardaani is on that league. After watching the trailer recently I decided to watch this movie which deals the serious subject of sex trafficking in India. Based on some true events the story opens up with Rani as a brave lady officer who is bold and mannish. The dialogue was witty to portray a daring officer when she deals with a goon who messes with her. The way she asks them "anyone else wants to learn law" was fantastic. The story gets serious when Rani tangles herself into the case of a missing girl "Pyarri" who is known to her. Then she traces and reaches Walt the kingpin of the child sex trafficking and challenges him that she will save the girls within thirty days. The rest of the story travels with some raw reality about human trafficking and drug deals from Mumbai to Delhi to expose some hard truth about India. Whether Shivani Shivaji Roy was able to succeed her mission of saving the girls before they lose their innocence in prostitution is the rest of the plot featuring some investigations, chase etc., makes us stay engaged throughout the movie. As for as the performances the lead starting Rani Mukerji is promising as Shivani Shivaji Roy senior inspector of police crime branch Mumbai. May it be a blind girl in "Black" or an adulterous wife in "KANK" or a daring journalist in "No one killed Jessica" or the bubbly thief in "B&B" she has always justified her role. Yet again she proves again her versatility. Then comes Tahir Bhasin as Walt the antagonist succeeds in creating a feel of hatred towards him. Technically brilliant camera works and BGM helped the movie greatly. #Mardaani is a worth watch gripping tale but lags something to join the wagon of other woman hood films like "English Vinglish" "Kahaani" "Queen" "Fashion" "The Dirty Picture". Eagerly waiting to watch the next film on this league PC's avatar as "MaryKom". -Reviewed by Sivakumar Balachandran

There are some movies which are made just to entertain but there are some which makes you think, Mardaani falls in the latter genre.

Human Trafficking is a business which is growing at an alarming rate worldwide and India is a hub of Child Trafficking and Mardaani deals with this topical subject.

Gopi Puthran chooses a controversial topic of Human Trafficking for his story and the risk with such subjects is that it becomes preachy. But thankfully Gopi's screenplay refrains from doing so and tells the story in a thriller format of a crime branch Inspector Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukherjee) who has a soft spot for an orphan Pyari (Debutant Priyanka Sharma). Life takes a turn for Shivani when Pyari goes missing, how Shivani busts the Human Trafficking nexus and finds Pyari constitutes the rest of the story.

Gopi's screenplay captures the modus operandi of how human trafficking is done in a thriller format which is engaging and keeps you at the edge of the seat; not much time is spent on the emotional quotient. It is the climax which looks a bit too convenient. The characters are realistic and so are the dialogues. But I thought the Thriller quotient could have been much better as the surprise element is missing in most part of the movie.

The performances are the biggest highlight of the movie. Rani as Shivani gives a crackling performance, everything from her body language to the way she speaks everything is spot on. Rani Mukherjee again proves that you cannot keep a good actor away for too long. Another brilliant performance is of the debutant Tahir Raj Bhasin who plays the antagonist Karan, he is so good that you start hating him, truly a brilliant debut. Tahir's portrayal of Karan is a perfect complement to Rani's portrayal of Shivani. Mona Ambegoankar gives a superb performance, though her role is small but she shines even in a brief role, sad to see that a brilliant actress like her is underutilized. Another debutant Priyanka Sharma as Pyari shows spark. Jishu Sengupta the Bengali actor is wasted in a brief role. Rest of the cast is cast well and they do a good job. I should mention Shanoo Sharma the casting director who has done a brilliant job of casting.

The second highlight is the cinematography by Artur Zurawski who captures the bylanes of Mumbai and Delhi well and keeps the tone as realistic as possible in lieu of the narration.

With "Mardaani" Pradeep Sarkar resumes his original form which was seen in "Parineeta" (2005). Though a dark and sensitive subject, but Pradeep handles it well and keeps the narrative simple though a bit of twists would have been better. But Pradeep is successful is extracting some brilliant performances from the cast which is commendable.

Kudos to Pradeep Sarkar for taking up such a sensitive issue for a movie and showing how women can defend themselves against odds. This movie is a true celebration of woman power....

The cover page may show how the country is honored and reputed with her inordinately enriched culture, but beneath the radiant covers lie some of the darkest stories listening to which one might flinch with disgust and pain. Pradeep Sarkar and his team made a masterful attempt to narrate one of them, Child trafficking.

After Pradeep Sarkar's dual debacles(Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Lafangey Parindey), with "Mardaani" he manages to strike the bull's-eye this time. With a crisp, fast-paced and to-the-point screenplay, the movie keeps you glued for the entire two hours. Though dramatic and filled with intense emotions, the sequences of the film are quite within the realistic domain(the climax however may seem another typical- Bollywood-hero-villain-clash).

In terms of characterization, Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukherji) the daring protagonist is an elegant amalgamation of Mother India and Bajirao Singham. She breaks every barrier for the girl(who she thinks of her as her daughter), she fights everyone gallantly(but staying within the realms of human power)...Rani Mukherji totally justified the role. Karan Rastogi alias Walt (Tahir Raj Bhasin) also manages to tingle the nerves with his villainous performance. Pyari(Priyanka Sharma), the abducted street girl, also makes her presence felt with her obtrusive performance.

I salute and applaud the team's effort to raise awareness of such a gruesome issue which preys over 40,000 innocent children of the country every year.