Roar.
Sherni was plain and simply boring according to me. I sat through the 2-hour 10 min movie with much gusto only for its main protagonist; Vidya Balan. For someone who chooses her projects with utmost care, the promos and teasers were feeding into my hope of watching something interesting. The problem with movie writing is that they tend to border only on the length. Stories in this age need to be blunt, fast-paced and power packed.
So, we have a forest officer, Vidya Vincent; played by Balan who’s trying to make a difference despite the age-old filmy dialogue-baazi of whether or not the forest is a woman’s world. Slashing sexist stereotypes, she tries hard to battle an unsettled tigress; handling pressures, both natural and man-made. Then there’s Pintu bhaiyya played by a brilliant Sharat Saxena; an ex-army guy, who’s seeking to create a record of sorts with maximum kills to his credit; and someone who’s hand-in-glove with the local netaji.
By the time Balan is transfixed on laying her hands on the tiger to capture it; the animal’s fate turns otherwise. Without giving away too much of the narrative, Balan tries hard to save everything and everyone; including the forest, the people and mostly her sanity; all in vain.
The Pros: The movie is a good take on how things are plotted against the backdrop of the forest. Some bits of priceless information add to the movie’s delight. Vijay Raaz; donning the professor’s cape is brilliant in his screen presence, so is Vidya’s mentor, Nangia, played by Neeraj Kabi. Ila Arun as Vidya’s mother-in-law is brilliant in a blink and miss role; the lady sure knows how to shine through minuscular bits. Brijesh Kala as the
The Cons: A very predictable desi end to what could have been a sorted and well-etched screenplay. An abrupt end suddenly jolts the movie; possibly rushed up thanks to the lockdown situation we are all facing…
