Indu Sarkar Movie Review

Release Date: July 28, 2017 
Cast: Kirti Kulhari, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Anupam Kher, Neil Nitin Mukesh
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Duration: 2 hours 19 minutes    

Madhur Bhandarkar, who is known for making realistic films that point out to the undercurrents in a specific industry, has taken a different approach this time around with Indu Sarkar. The movie aims to apprise the youth of today about the period of Emergency, which is considered as one of the darkest moments in Indian political history. Unlike the earlier movies of Bhandarkar, most of which were largely non-prejudiced, Indu Sarkar seems to be biased towards a certain group of people. However, we can’t blame the director since filmmakers have the liberty to utilize their artistic freedom and expressions. Even the Supreme Court has allowed the screening of the film after protests were held by some political parties and a plea was filed by a woman who claims to be the biological daughter of late Sanjay Gandhi.

The movie captures the times of Emergency from the viewpoint of a fictional character named Indu (Kirti Kulhari), who plays the role of an orphaned individual. Being an introverted person, Indu stammers and faces a tough life as an adult. However, things begin to change when she meets Navin Sarkar (Tota Roy Chowdhury). Indu thinks she has met her soul mate, as Navin is able to understand her emotions at the deepest level. But, the ugly side of Navin starts to reveal itself after they get married. Indu finds that Navin is no angel; rather, he is just like the other corrupt politicians who are benefiting from the Emergency. With her trust broken, she transforms into a rebel and joins the movement against Emergency.

The one major bug in the movie is that shades of grey are missing and it’s just painted in broad brush strokes of black and white. Of course Emergency was a dark period in India’s history, but a fair judgment could have been attempted. At least, some of the good reasons for the Emergency could have been evaluated in some parts of the movie. Kirti Kulhari has done a wonderful job in her role, as she perfectly displays the dilemma being faced by the common man at the time of Emergency. Tota Roy has also performed well.

This is among the few movies that are based on the period of Emergency. If you want to catch a glimpse of the past, you can certainly book your tickets for Indu Sarkar.