Movie Review: Tanashah

Producers- Rizwan Ahmad and Rehaan Ahmad

Director- Ritam Srivastav

Star Cast: Dilip Arya, Shashi Chaturvedi, Ravi Khandwailkar, Laura Mishra, Jeetu Shastri, Indraneel Bhattacharya

Rating: ***

Riveting Revenge Drama!

Jyothi Venkatesh

Taanashah is loosely based on the life events of the notorious bandit Shiv Kumar Patel or Dadua, who ruled the jungles of Bundelkhand uninterrupted for 28 and more years and by the time he was killed by STF in 2007, he had control over 14 MLA seats and he virtually decided who would rule UP next. The dreaded outlaw had evolved a powerful ecosystem with innumerable beneficiaries and no one dared go against him. The film's fictionalised story Shiva, an uncomplicated man, finds himself in a vortex of desperate and miserable life after an act of mindless violence by the demonic village Thakur

 This dacoit drama opens in impressive haunting brutality inhabited by a villainous ageing, widowed village Thakur, who ruthlessly and viciously eliminates a bride and her parents on her wedding day – only because they dared to reject his suit to send her to him for his sexual exploitation. In the firness of things, predictably the surviving older brother of the bride, Shiva Kumar (Dilip Arya) goes on a spree of vendetta wiping out Daddan and his henchmen - leaving behind a trail of death and destruction in his wake.

Again predictably, left with no alternative but to turn a dreaded outlaw wanet by the cops, Shiva Kumar teams up with a gang of Dacoits led by Raja Rangoli(Jeetu Shastri) and continues the reign of terror and stays one step ahead of the politicians and police who have found a new evangelist willing to risk it all to wipe out the terror posed by these ravaging bandits. And there lies a twist in this riveting narrative.

As far as performances’ go, Dilip Arya stands out with his brooding demeanor even as he resembles director-actor Prakash Jha and Ajay Devgn in parts while mention ought to be made of Indraneel Bhattacharya who puts in spirited performance as S.P. Ajay Sinha who is assigned to eliminate the dacoits. While Vinod Nahardih scores as the two timing doctor who outwits his dacoit friend, Jeetu Shastri ends up hamming all though his screen time, till he is also eliminated.

Though the narrative is gritty, gripping and also taut when it begins, it soon loses its way into a morass of predictability and déjà vu and you start comparing it with many infinitely better and distinctive films right from Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Mujhe Jeene Do to Bandit Queen to Sonchirya that this substandard generic of crime drama tends to the passé. There’s nothing new to tell here - other than the initially distinctive portrayal of violence, but nevertheless the film is elevated with the sincere performances of the lead players and you do not even feel the lack of a proper heroine.

The USP of the film, which is a riveting revenge drama, is that though it does not boasts of well known names in its cast, it is technically as well finished as any big budget film. It has been edited by Prashant Naik, sound design is by Rakesh Ranjan, Cinematography by Hari Nair and Its production designer is Jayant Deshmukh

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Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood News, Bollywood Updates, Television, Telly News, Movie Review, Tanashah, Dilip Arya, Shashi Chaturvedi, Ravi Khandwailkar, Laura Mishra, Jeetu Shastri, Indraneel Bhattacharya