REVIEW: VADH

Producer- Luv Ranjan

Directors- Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal

Star Cast- Sanjay Mishra, Neena Gupta,

Genre- Thriller

Platform of Release- Theatres

Rating- ***

Taut and Edgy Thriller

The film is about the gripping tale of Shambhunath Mishra (Sanjay Mishra) a humble and helpless retired school teacher from Gwalior who borrows money from a loan shark, Prajapati Pandey, (Sumit Sachdeva) to help his son educate and settle abroad. With no financial support from their child, Shambhunath and his wife Manjum Mishra (Neena Gupta) face harassment month after month, even trying to make ends meet.

The loan shark, Prajapati Pandey makes it a point tom harass Shambu and utilises the pure vegetarian family’s house to drink, eat meat, and even bring women of loose character, leaving Shambhunath and his wife Manju (Neena Gupta) to clean up after him. An incident makes the otherwise cool and righteous teacher snap and lose his patience and go to the extent of slaying their tormentor. A powerful local cop (Manav Vij) needs to locate Prajapati at any cost. Does Shambhunath get away with blue murder or does he get caught, is exactly what the crux of the plot of the film is.

The director duo ought to be complimented for treating the film aesthetically without hurting the viewer’s sentiments, setting out to show how the simple man meticulously gets rid of the evidence even as he faces his wife’s disappointment with him. Especially the scene when Shambhunath discards the body will send chills down your spine, as the sound has been very skilfully used, without the need to show any gory scenes and numb your sensitivity. After a point, though the first half gets slow as well as repetitive at certain points and the way Prajapati harasses the couple could have been shorter, the second half is thrilling to the core and appeals to the viewer instantly.

As far as their performances go, each and every actor whether it is Sanjay Mishra or Neena Gupta or even Manav Vij live their characters with effortless ease and make you empathise with them at any cost. Sanjay conveys anxiety, desperation, and a sense of urgency in a way so organic that only he can pull it off with absolute effortlessness. From detailed writing to an impressive direction and from brilliant performances to crisp editing-this certainly is cinema as it ought to be. The makers have done a commendable job with the resources that they have at hand.