- Review : Nagrik (2015)
- Director : Jaypraad Desai
- Producers : Sacchi Entertainment
- Writer : Mahesh Keluskar and Jaypraad Desai
- Cast : Sachin Khedekar, Milind Soman, Devika Daftardar, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Rajesh Sharma, Dr Shriram Lagoo
- Music : Tubby-Parik and Sambhaji Bhagat
- Genre : Political Drama
- Review By : Keyur Seta
Rating: 3.5/5
Review:
An
 honest and fearless protagonist stranded in a grossly corrupt system is
 not a novel subject. But a tried and tested subject ceases to be one if
 treated completely in an out-of-the-box or unconventional manner. It is
 this treatment that makes 
Nagrik an impressive, hard-hitting and intense socio-political saga.

The
 film revolves around the idealistic, fearless and honest-to-the-core 
newspaper journalist Shyam Jagdale (Sachin Khedekar). He is known for 
his column Nagrik, where he exposes corrupt practices. His recent column
 exposes the utterly corrupt and ruthless politician Vikas Patil’s 
(Milind Soman) idea of orchestrating communal riots. However, this 
doesn’t go well with his new editor with lose morals.
As the 
editor is more interested in generating revenue, Jagdale isn’t allowed 
to publish any more of such stories. Hence, Patil continues his shoddy 
practices for political gains as a helpless Jagdale looks on. He soon 
realizes that Patil is just a cog in the entire corrupt machinery.What’s
 worse is that Jagdale’s personal life is also far from perfect. Will 
things ever change within his house and outside?
Nagrik 
doesn’t follow a conventional storyline. It is more of an attempt of 
providing a glimpse into the filthy world of corrupt politics and the 
murky underbelly of Mumbai in a completely no-holds-barred manner. Due 
to some skillful efforts of the writer and director, the film succeeds 
in its attempt. The viewer is sucked into a truly intense world, which 
stays on with him/ her long after the completion of the film.

The
 practice of generating a hard-hitting effect through visuals, 
expressions and silences isn’t explored much in Indian films. Off late 
though, the trend if catching up where a particular scene says a lot 
without saying much. 
Nagrik continues the trend very 
successfully. This results in a number of sequences and incidents that 
hit you hard without the use of clichéd lines. There is a long 
non-verbal sequence in the second half portraying the irony of the life 
in Mumbai, which is the highlight of the film.
However, 
Nagrik,
 has its share of downfalls. After a point of time in the second half, 
the proceedings tend to lose grip when nothing much is happening in 
terms of story development. Few incidents, in this half, are 
questionable. Also, the climax isn’t as hard-hitting or something that 
provides a kick. Thankfully, these issues don’t do much in overriding 
the plusses.
Sambhaji Bhagat’s folk songs played in the background
 go well with the situation and add up to the effect. From the rest of 
the tracks, ‘Bola Vithal’ is impressive. The camerawork goes with the 
intense theme. The background score also adds to the intensity. But 
majority of the times, they have decided against using any background 
music and it works that way.

Some
 dedicated performances also play a major role. Sachin Khedekar 
brilliantly brings out the right frustration and vulnerability. Having 
said this, he scores well during witty confrontational scenes with 
Soman. But Milind Soman too makes a solid impact. He is outstanding as a
 ruthless, corrupt but at the same time, calm-headed politician. Dilip 
Prabhavalkar isn’t behind, as is expected from a quality veteran, as 
another corrupt politician.
Dr. Shriram Lagoo, another thespian, 
displays his talent in a difficult role of an ex-politician agonized by 
the sorry state of affairs. The film can also boast of some high quality
 performances from Devika Daftardar, Rajesh Sharma (Bollywood actor 
making his Marathi film debut), Neena Kulkarni, Sulabha Deshpande, 
Madhav Abhyankar and Rajkumar Tangade.
Overall:
Nagrik
 is a hard-hitting realistic socio-political saga that is recommended 
for the lovers of sensible cinema. It is expected to do fairly well at 
the box office provided it receives positive word-of-mouth.
Tags:
devika daftardar, star cast in nagrik, 
nagrik marathi movie duration, nagrik 
marathi movie cast, nagrik marathi cast, 
nagarik movie, 
nagarik film song marathi, 
marathi movie reviews, 
Devika daftadar, Biography of 
Actress Neena Kulkarni,