Shanghai Movie Review ? | hopmagazine.in

Dibakar Banerjee?s political thriller not only shocks, engages and enthrals, but also packs in some subtle messages about the state of the nation

Genre:?Romance, Thriller, Suspense

Language:?Hindi

Release Date:?June, 08, 2012

Directed By:?Dibakar Banerjee

Starring:??Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Amin Raj

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First things first, the real hero of?Shanghai?is neither Abhay Deol nor?Emraan Hashmi, it is Dibakar Banerjee and his co-writer Urmi Juvekar.?Shanghai?is in the same league as the recently released Sujoy Ghosh movie,?Kahaani, though both films have different backdrops.?Political thriller as a genre has rarely been explored in Bollywood, but with?Shanghai, Dibakar has made one of the most compelling films in that category. A special mention here for Emraan Hashmi, who has not only ventured out of his comfort zone, but has also delivered the goods that a film like?Shanghai?demands. This is a mean feat in itself!

Set in a fictional city called Bharatnagar,?Shanghai?represents almost every developing city in our country, where one always sees that work is in progress, yet knows deep down that it is all hogwash. The selfish agendas of politicians, the helplessness of those who somehow manage to eke a living, and those who suffer for no particular fault of their own, are all mirrored in this film which has a run-time of less than two hours. The interval point (totally uncalled for) might irk you, but Bollywood films minus the popcorn-soda break are unimaginable we guess.

Adapted from Vasilis Vasilikos? novel?Z, Dibakar?s latest big screen outing is a representation of what is happening around us. The shopping malls, the metro railway lines and all the other development that is being spoken about, mean a lot more ? only if you bother to dig deeper. You could end up as an outcast in your own land if you sell your soul, and that is what we took home with us after watchingShanghai. Selling out is an easy proposition if your existence is at stake or if you are not risking the next meal.

All in all,?Shanghai?is a film that makes a social statement without being cynical. It?s a well-crafted, well-written movie that sets you thinking. But it doesn?t hit you where it hurts the most.

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