Movie Review: Shanghai

Cast: Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Pitobash Tripathi, Kalki Koechlin, Farooq Sheikh
Director: Dibakar Banerjee


Take any of your favourite political thrillers. What you'd find is political insight and compelling suspense, seamlessly woven to demystify your flimsy notions and beliefs about that subject. While the protagonist peels the layers off falsehood, you experience the joy of veils dropping. You get more than just the solution of a mystery; a new interpretation of the event, a shocking perspective. Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai is one such political thriller. This terrific film hits you like a hurricane and terrifies you to bits. It has an abiding effect that will haunt you even hours after you’ve left the theatre.

A fictional town in India (Bharatnagar) is poised to become the next Shanghai. This re-development project, called the International Business Park (IBP) is headed by two corrupt political parties. On the eve of its launch, a tempo mows down a prominent social activist (Prosenjit Chatterjee). His student, Shalini Sahay (Kalki Koechlin) believes it to be a murder. She seeks help from Joginder Parmar (Emraan Hashmi), videographer by day and porn filmmaker by night, to investigate the accident. Enter the reticent but strict IAS officer Krishnan (Abhay Deol) who takes matters in his own hands. What follows is the journey of these characters and their pursuit to find justice in the murky labyrinth of Indian democracy.

Inspired by ‘Z’(a book by Vassilis Vassilikos), which spoke largely about Greek politics in the 60s, Dibakar Banerjee has successfully Indianised the political tension and made Shanghai a fresh subject of his own. The film isn’t about politicians dressed in Khadi. Instead, it’s about how politics adversely affects our day-to-day existence. It explores the underbelly of a township at the mercy of the corrupt politicians. In the name of progress, the poor is exploited and left to fend for themselves.

Shanghai works not just because it excels in its genre. But for the people that you see in the film – their problems, actions and the situations thrown at them which the audience can easily relate to. The gritty milieu and an equally edgy soundtrack play an important role in keeping you engaged. Also, the use of satire is evident: tragedy and comedy, death and life, exist side by side.

Amongst the performances, it is Emraan Hashmi who shines. He has a deep understanding of what he’s doing in front of the camera. He knows how to maintain an immediate direct relationship with the audience. His fans who expect him to just sing songs and smooch his lady love on screen will be thoroughly disappointed. Abhay Deol as the cold, calculative and honest officer is true to his role. He plays his part just well-enough and doesn’t let it become a caricature. Kalki Koechlin is there from the first frame to the last with more screen space than Abhay and Emraan. Without her the film doesn’t exist. But her subdued performance lets the others take centre stage.

The real hero of the film is Dibakar Banerjee. At the very start of the film he puts all his cards on the table. Yet, he succeeds in keeping us engrossed. In less than two hours, he packs a riveting drama with a sledge hammer of a social message. No gimmicks, just good old story-telling.