nh10c
The film, directed by Navdeep Singh, reminds us of a number of things – of the 23-year-old girl who fought six rapists and succumbed to internal injuries in the heart of Delhi; of Khap Panchayats that kill people in the name of honour, and the infamous, long-standing Rural vs Urban war.
At the centre of the film, is an urban couple who are being chased by a gang of killers. The film stays true to its genre – ‘dark thriller’ – for a while. It’s riveting, bold, horrifying and very violent. However, many scenes, where the characters get over-dramatic and unrealistic, kill the fun. Like the moment in which Meera mouths a playful Tamil love-line, when Arjun is grievously injured and the killers are dangerously near.
The film portrays the world outside the city as a strange, lawless territory where rapists, misogynists and sadistic killers are on the prowl. Darshan Kumar and his gang resemble Nirbhaya’s rapists – they are uneducated and uncouth. The kind of men who hurl the phrase ‘randi saali‘ at women.
*****
The film begins in Delhi and enters NH10, the highway which connects Delhi to Punjab via Haryana. Arjun and Meera are young and affluent, leading a happy married life. Arjun, unlike the men we see later in the film, is a liberal, supportive husband. He dislikes his wife smoking, yet gifts her a packet of cigarettes on her birthday.
To celebrate Meera’s birthday, the couple decides to go to a private villa in the outskirts of the city. On the way, Arjun gets out of the car to ask for directions. He notices a child sitting on a wall, wearing a sweater similar to his. In the scenes that follow, we see Arjun behaving pretty much like a child – impulsive and silly. And, rash.
*****
When Arjun and Meera approach the police after she’s attacked, they are told off. Later, as they are driving through NH10, they come across a couple being beaten up and taken away by a bunch of goons. And this is where the most absurd part in the movie occurs: the couple decide to follow the gang despite everything. “They are villagers, I just want to scare them off with this gun,” Arjun tells Meera. Meera is unconvinced, and there’s a grim sense of foreboding.
*****
In the first part of the film, we see Meera having a successful career, much to the envy of her male colleagues, who attribute it to her ‘attractiveness’. She’s independent, rich and has powerful connections, yet she doesn’t feel safe in the city she lives in. When she sees a profane word written on the toilet door of a road-side dhaba, she rubs it off.
That’s her silent protest.
In the second half, we see Meera transforming into an angry avenger. Not unlike Kannagi of Silappathikaaram. She unleashes her rage on the family of the Sarpanch – who also happens to be a woman.
*****
Deepti Naval surprises us in this new avatar – of a Sarpanch and mother who mercilessly gets her daughter killed for falling in love with a man from another caste.
*****
Recommended
Anushka Sharma owns the film. Her power-packed performance aside, she has also produced the film along with Phantom. It doesn’t have songs or item dances, and might not engage the B, C audiences. But, it is a treat for women – a perfect job, a perfect husband, Anushka’s punchlines, and revenge against a gang of killers.
Also, there’s a mainstream actress breaking boundaries, a director and a scriptwriter who overcome clichés to create a dark thriller, and there’s a woman in the film who wears jeans and smokes cigarettes.
But, she’s no vamp.
As for the other woman who wears sarees and doesn’t smoke?
She’s party to a ruthless murder.
*****
The NH10 review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
Image courtesy: Rediff.com