Rating: 4/5
Haraamkhor recently won the Silver Gateway Award at the JIO MAMI 17th Mumbai Film Festival and according to its producer Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment, the film is all set to release in the theaters very soon. It is a rural tale of a teacher-student liaison.
Till now Bollywood has always played the safe game while portraying the ‘sacred’ emotions of a teacher-student relationship; such relations have always been handled delicately, from a safe distance and that too often dipped in deliberately dramatized dignity.
But in the film Haraamkhor, the only emotions that are taken into consideration are unprocessed and raw, intense and realistic, and devoid of any kind of sugar-coating for sure.
Set in a small town from Gujarat, a school teacher named Shyam (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is said to be having an affair with one of his student Sandhya (Shweta Tripathi).
At the initial stage though, it all seems to be just a rumor, a small-town gossip but as the film reveals itself along with it’s characters, it soon becomes pretty evident that Shyam and Sandhya’s relation is way beyond the usually expected tutor-pupil correlation. It’s a strange mix of lust and passion, of naive innocence and also a bit of love.
And then, Sandhya being underage (15-year-old) and Shyam being a 35-year-old married man makes their relationship more of a taboo!
The premise is simple, but the execution is savagely precise and gritty and very entertaining as well.
Now of course, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the selling point of the film as undoubtedly he is the most gifted actor of our recent times. And yes, he has done a tremendous job with his character in Haraamkhor; the cunning, libidinous, occasionally violent school teacher who at the same time is desperate to maintain his reputation as well!
But this film is not a one-man show.
The stage is been shared by another very talented actor Shweta Tripathi, who already appeared in the soulful film Masaan, and yet again in this film has proved herself to be one of the best upcoming talents of our industry.
Along with the two child actors who added enough humor to the script, Trimala Adhikari‘s performance is also much credible as Sunita, the wife of the flirtatious schoolteacher Shyam.
Written and directed by debutant Shlok Sharma, the film is a unique combination of serious adult drama and numerous fun-filled moments. An awesome debut film!
Though the ending is not the part to be particularly proud of but overall the film is based on a taut script, beautifully portrayed emotions, attention given to every little detail in preparing the characters and superb acting.
If you prefer realistic films and aren’t shy of looking into an illicit relationship between a minor girl and a much older married man, this film is definitely worth a watch.
Written By: Souranath Banerjee
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