IANS Review: ‘Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video’: Brilliant thought-provoking thriller (IANS Rating: ****1/2) (Lead)

IANS

Film: Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video Duration: 116 mins 30 secs

Director: Mikhil Musale Produced by: Maddock Films

Cast: Nimrat Kaur, Radhika Madan, Bhagyashree, Subodh Bhave, Soham Majumdar, Chinmay Mandlekar, Shruti Vyas, Sumeet Vyas, Sneha Raikar, Ashutosh Gaikwad and Rashmi Agdekar

IANS Rating: ****1/2

Mumbai, Oct 27 (IANS) The master of thrillers, Alfred Hitchcock, once said, “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it. The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.” This is apt for Mikhil Musale’s directorial, ‘Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video’. The film is nothing short of a masterpiece, an absolute must-watch this weekend.

The case of a missing girl turns into a massive story of unravelling everyone’s thought processes, biases, motives and deep-rooted controlling issues.

The film revolves around Sajini Shinde, played by Radhika Madan, a missing teacher, presumably dead, who comes from an orthodox Maharashtrian household. She is engaged to be married and her fiance works in an IT Firm.

Sajini’s school-related trip overseas turns into a massive graveyard story when a video of Sajini dancing drunk with male strippers goes viral.

An innocent invite for a drink after work with friends turns into a life-altering decision for Sajini. She ends up drinking one too many, and someone shoots a video of her dancing with male strippers in a club. Soon, the video is shared and turns into a sensation, for here was a teacher dancing with strippers.

Sajini is bombarded with judgement from her family, friends, fiance and the people she works for, resulting in her taking drastic measures. Radhika Madan’s performance brings out the pain, hurt and desperation felt by Sajini, instantly making the audience relate to and feel for her character.

Nimrat Kaur, as the officer investigating the case, Bela Barud, is called in to solve the matter, and she is more than anyone can handle or hide from. Her character is witty, razor-sharp and doesn’t believe in anyone’s innocence, including that of Sajini’s boss, co-workers, fiance, and family. She unravels the whole rotten and deep-seated age-old thinking, where everyone puts on a mask of fake modesty, modernism, or is propelled by forced morality.

Chinmay Mandlekar’s character Ram is the perfect support to Inspector Bela Barud, adding wit and humour to the story. Soham Majumdar as Siddhant Kadam showcases his acting skills beautifully, portraying a weasely fiance to Sajini, who cares more about saving his own skin than saving her.

Bhagyashree, as the head of the school, will leave everyone shocked and their jaws hanging on the floor. She is outstanding in her role. Subodh Bhave, who plays Sajini’s father, is also amazing portraying a nuanced and conflicted character.

‘Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video’ is a brilliant thriller with thought-provoking elements, which will find its audience rather quickly. Powerful dialogues like ‘Yeh aurat card Aadhar card nahi hai jo har jagah use kar sakte ho’, among others, help bring to light real issues and distinguish pseudo-feminists from real ones.

The movie is a wake-up call for everyone, especially for promoters of pseudo-modernism, who believe in education and gender equality, but waste no time hiding behind morals when things don’t go right.

The film is kinetic, almost visceral, so you don’t want to take your eyes off the screen, in fear of missing something. The director wastes no time in establishing the key players and jumps right into the gripping narrative.

The screenplay of the film is its backbone, and goodness gracious, this one is super-strong and hard-hitting. This is backed by stellar performances, making for a superb viewing.

A Maddock Films production, Dinesh Vijan presents ‘Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video’, directed by Mikhil Musale. The film stars Radhika Madan and Nimrat Kaur in the lead roles with Bhagyashree, Subodh Bhave, Chinmaye Mandlekar, Soham Majumdar, Shashank Shinde and Sumeet Vyas playing pivotal characters.

–IANS

srb/