Shanghai | Movie Review

Quite frankly, the best Hindi film this year (so far). We say 'Hindi film' and not Bollywood film because Dibakar Banerjee, as always, is consciously working outside the familiar domain of superstar-loaded masala showcases that will battle for the year's biggest opening records.

Shanghai isn't setting new records - it wasn't meant to. Except, perhaps, push the envelope on cinematic creativity just a bit more for filmmakers who like to dream World Cinema-size, far from the crowd of maddening Bollywood cliches.

This film reminds us once again that Dibakar is a solid contender for the title of our most innovative storyteller in modern times. Intense and introspective, this is Dibakar's most assured work yet. But Shanghai isn't all about directorial genius. Shouting for attention beyond the perfectly-rendered acts of Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin - poster stars of contemporary arthouse - is the rebirth of Emraan Hashmi. This film should redefine the Serial Kisser - as a camera-savvy chameleon who has learnt the trick of changing hues as his director wants. Paunch and stained toothy grin in place, Emraan's our man to watch out for in Shanghai.

Dibakar and his co-screenwriter Urmi Juvekar set their tale in the Hindi heartland, in a smalltown aptly named Bharat Nagar. Without frills, the film starts off on a thriller note. A road accident leaves a prominent left-wing activist (Prosenjit Chatterjee) in critical condition. The activist, Dr Ahmed Ali, was in town to campaign against a business park that will render several families homeless. The only witness (Kalki Koechlin) is convinced the accident was a cold-blooded set-up for murder. The situation gets volatile when a petty porn filmmaker (Emraan Hashmi) turns up claiming he has video proof that could bring down the government. A top bureaucrat (Abhay Deol) is summoned for damage control.

The suspense unleashed through the chain of events that follow is balanced deftly with a subtext comment. For the record, the film officially adapts its plot from Vassilis Vassilikos' Greek novel, Z, already interpreted by way of a Costa-Gavras film of the same name in 1969.

Dibakar's film is different from what Costa-Gavras showed. If the Greek maestro made a sharp comment for Communism in 1960s Greece, Dibakar uses the Z template to lay bare the greedy political set that invariably piggybacks on the bogus dreams of progress they sell to smalltown India.

Shanghai is an angry outburst packaged well with wry humour. It is the heartland political thriller that several among the Bollywood lot have tried to make lately but didn't quite have the guts to. Just for that, this film is pure gold.


Director: Dibakar Banerjee
Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Farooq Sheikh, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Pitobash Tripathy

Released On : June 08, 2012

Posted in: Movie Review,Shanghai,Shanghai Movie Review