Sick Product of a Sick System

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Mardaani is a movie about how a female cop (Rani) Takes on mafias of sex trafficking to search for a girl who is like family.Movie is a thriller with tight screenplay that keeps you glued to your seat till end.Rani Mukherji has acted very well. One can clearly see how exceptional she is.One of the main reasons I review this movie was that I noticed Namaz and was curious why it was there and when Rani highlighted it, it felt nice. I just wanted to share that.Watch it, it is exceptional movie.

The treatment of women empowerment in the Indian celluloid is an age old practice.From Nargis in Mother India, through Dimple in Zakhmi Aurat, Zeenat in Insaaf Ka Tarazu, Susmita Sen in Samay, Madhuri in Anjam, Raveena in Daman...they all proved one thing- it takes more than muscle to emphasize power. Under the recent light of the movie, Mardani that literally means "manlike" or more philosophically "like a man", once again we see a woman challenging the age old concept of feminine docility. One who dares to challenge a man in a man's world. Rani Mukherjee sets some "dabang"of her own as she adapts a man like stature, WITHOUT losing her feminine oomph. I am so glad, I didn't see any bolywood gimmicks like- rushing the streets in a "dhoom" like haze or cross the rail tracks like in "kick". But most importantly I am blessed there are no "bharat Ki Nari" dialogs. The things I liked about the movie - compact story line, crisp dialogs, down to earth sequences and NO SONGS. Even when she is in an emotional turmoil, the protagonist handle the situation "like a man"...with no quiver in her voice...while a roll of tear drops down her white marble cheeks. Rani looks like a million bucks and performs like a duchess....Yes, when war becomes personal all bets are off. And when vultures are eying your kids and home...you need to have courage to gut them. My heart sank at the atrocity and menace of the flesh trade. How a simple act of enjoying eating a panipuri can drag you into the kingdom of darkness...yes like the protagonist and the makers of the movie "Mardani" I am scared and scarred for the rest of my life...into the nightmares of flesh trade and human trafficking.

Mardaani is a film which portrays reality as it is, no sugar-coating in it. It is a splendid film one which should be watched by all cine lovers. The film did not garner good box office results as it did not contain the normal routine of item songs and non-existent screenplay which most bolly-blockbusters now a days have, but what it has is treasure worthy. The film leaves an impact; it makes you want to scream and tell everybody you know that this film is a must watch. Hell it made me log in to IMDb, rate it and review it(my first review)! So guys please see this movie, not for the very awe inspiring portrayal of a police officer by Rani Mukherjee but for the story it portrays.You will thank me for it.

After the train-wrecks that were 'Laaga chunari mein daag' (with the same lead) and 'Lafangey Parindey', Pradeep 'Parineeta' Sarkar uses YRF to polish up the tough subject of human trafficking. There was a recent movie headlined by Rachel Weisz (The Whistleblower) on the subject as well, so the timing of this one is also interesting (inspiring, perhaps). Surprisingly enough, with the exception of a few hiccups, he manages to pull it off.The mis-steps first: A few sequences in the beginning, intended solely to evoke empathy (with a few choice film-making sledgehammers up his sleeve) in the minds of the audience, were a little too smack in-your-face, even with the choices made in sound design and score, that I had virtually no hopes for what came next. Add to that some severe exposition and sentimentality, and I was sure this was just gonna be another run-of-the-mill Bollywood potboiler.Even the choice of the title is a decent metaphor (for those who get it) for describing what (most) men in the business perceive as their right over their fellow human-beings, i.e., treating them as just another commodity.Much has been criticized about the last 15 minutes of the movie, and I went in dreading that portion, but I thought that it was pretty well-handled, giving a little logic to an otherwise clichéd situation. After all the cat-and-mouse games all thru the flick, allowing the lead to make a decision that smacked of Bollywood excess was actually not bad for a change. Even the scene where she goes 'Bourne' on her would-be assassins was handled with verve and polish, bringing to mind the excellent 'Kahaani'.Making the bad guy a very relatable conversationalist has to be one of the best master-strokes in this genre, with him going toe-to-toe with the lead, manipulating her, going one-up on her, in spite of her being so collected and presenting a veneer of control, ensuring that his punch hit home at the end of their sparring sessions, involving us in their once-you-win-next-I-do possibly brought forth the best portions in this flick. I was reminded of the excellent 'Ransom' during those sequences. Add to that the sequences that show him being vulnerable as well, with this curious mix making for extremely entertaining viewing all-through.All in all, while it's not perfect, it makes for very engrossing viewing at the multiplex closest to you.A word about the censors though - seems as though the policies are extremely inconsistent, where all the swear words in this one are left intact, along with some partial nudity, in the same week that the adult-rated 'November man' (also dealt with the same subject as this one, albeit from a different perspective) was ripped to shreds, with some talking-portions of the PG-13 'Expendables 3' also meeting the scissors. I do prefer the approach adopted to retaining the gritty feel and sounds of 'Mardaani', but confess to be extremely confused about what their policies are actually about.