Shagird is unlike the several other bollywood flicks on encounter specialists. It has a unique subject, well executed by Tigmanshu Dhulia who, in his first directorial venture – Haasil which too had an insightful story. Shagird movie review…
Yet again, after the super hit Ab Tak Chhappan, Nana Patekar essays the role of an eccentric crime branch cop, Hanumant Singh. A typical senior cop who doesn’t mind accepting bribes and sharing the money with his team. His hobbies – listening and humming to old Hindi songs and just can’t stand the modern ones.
As a part of his work, and seniority, he has the task of mentoring a young officer Mohit (Mohit Ahlawat), who’s the latest addition under his team. Mohit the junior officer has his own principles.
Our senior cop Hanumant Singh is hand in glove with the local gangster Bunty Bhaiya (Anurag Kashyap) and they work for the powerful politician Rajmani Singh (Zakir Hussain). The politician is ruthless and mean to the core, and even more so are his chamchas – Hanumant and Bunty Bhaiya. The local goon’s character isn’t so menacing, while Hanumant Singh the senior cop is more corrupt than the minister in the film and even outsmarts the politicians in their vicious games. The film is devoid of any clichés.
There is also a television journalist Varsha Mathur (Rimmi Sen), who gets kidnapped by terrorists whose demand is the release of their men from Indian prisons as ransom. Honestly the entire kidnap drama appears unconvincing.
Even more far-fetched is the identity of the person who masterminds the kidnapping drama.
The strength of this thriller cop drama – Shagird is that the twists and revelations which come at unexpected moments are even harder to foretell. Every next incident is unpredictable, even till the end.
The director has rightly taken cinematic liberty in showcasing the events pertaining to the Indian police department. Also the narration is rightly focused which keeps the movie engrossing and entertaining all throughout Shagird.
One thing unacceptable in this film is that the encounter specialists in our Police Department are motivated only either by vested interests or then with the aim of pocketing huge sums. This isn’t true to all those cops who have even laid down their lives for the country.
Nana Patekar’s character seems straight out of life, ably supported by his compelling performance. Zakir Hussain appears very real as the conniving and shrewd politician, Mohit Ahlawat has bounced back. A realy talented actor. Anurag Kashyap and Rimmi Sen make their presence felt. Vishwajeet Pradhan, Khan Jahangir Khan and Virendra Saxena pitch in commendable performances.
There are numerous moments in Shagird which keeps the viewer spellbound right from the very beginning with its interesting narratives. The action and chase sequences are outstanding. Credit ought to be given to the director who has taken care that even the smallest incident shown in the movie has a link with the main story.
Cast of Shagird:
Hanumant Singh – Nana Patekar
Mohit Kumar – Mohit Ahlawat
Rajmani Singh – Zakir Hussain
Bunty Bhaiya – Anurag Kashyap
Ali – Vishwajeet Pradhan
Shamsher – Khan Jahangir Khan
Varsha Mathur – Rimi Sen
Mrs. Hanumant Singh – Kishori Shahane
Mohit’s Father – Srivallabh Vyas
Virendra Saxena
Ashok Pandey
Gargi Patel
Kamal Malik
Moin Khan
Pankaj Kalra
Rajendra Sethi
Murli Sharma
Sitaram Panchal
Mushtaq Khan
Credits & Crew of Shagird:
Banner – Reliance Entertainment, Faizee Production
Producer – Hussain Shaikh
Executive Producer – Purvi Lavingia, Naeema H. Shaikh
Director – Tigmanshu Dhulia
Story / Writer – Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kamal Pandey
Music Director – Abhishek Ray
Cinematography – Yogesh Jani
Editor – Pravin Angre
Action – Abbas Ali Moghul
Sound – Rakesh Ranjan
Costumes by Falguni Thakore
Shagird – movie review