Veteran star excels in his role
MOVIE: Mulk
RATING: 7/10
REVIEWER: Fakir Hassen
THE somewhat ironic thing about Mulk (Country) is that there is not a single Muslim person involved in the main cast and crew, except for a consultant who was brought in to give Rishi Kapoor an authentic look.
Director Anubhav Sinha sets about exposing the bigotry and bias against Indian Muslim patriotism because of the enmity with the neighbouring state of Pakistan, which was carved out of a single British India in 1947.
Patriarch Murad Ali Mohammed (Rishi Kapoor) is a retired lawyer whose nephew becomes involved with terrorists, leading to the entire extended family being charged with treason.
Despite his protestations, the boy’s father and his uncle Murad have to face serious charges that could invoke the death penalty. Even the lifelong Hindu friends and neighbours who had earlier protected Murad and his family during Hindu-Muslim riots, turn against him.
It falls on Aarti Malhotra (Taapsee Pannu), Murad’s Hindu daughter-in-law,
to fight the case brought to court through the efforts of prosecutor Santosh (Ashutosh Rana), who shows his clear anti-Muslim bias; and Danish Javed (Rajat Kapoor), an antiterrorism agent whose sole aim is to prove to his superiors that despite being Muslim
himself, he does not
tolerate any terrorism by his community, even to the extent of creating trumped-up charges.
The court case itself is drawn out longer on screen than it could be, but soliloquies delivered by Murad and Aarti are a delight to watch and listen to as the attitudes in India today on religious extremism and intolerance are challenged.
Veteran Rishi Kapoor excels in his role. So does Pannu as she continues her string of screen successes in diverse
roles.