Tackling India’s social woes without being preachy
Movie Review: Mere Pyare Prime Minister
Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Cast: Om Kanojiya, Anjali Patil and Atul Kulkarni Rating: 7/10 FOLLOWING the failure of his previous release, Mirzya, celebrated director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra attempts a small-scale film.
While the film has its heart in the right place, there are several aspects that distance this from Mehra’s other works.
Plot
The story revolves around a young slum kid, Kanu (Om), who travels to the capital with his young friends to meet the prime minister, after his mother Sargam (Anjali Patil) is raped.
Critical Overview
The film can be seen as a promotional vehicle for the social voice shortly before the upcoming elections in India. It’s an issue-based film with a primary focus on poverty, womens’ empowerment, the brutality of sexual violence and the country’s sanitation system. Thankfully it addresses these issues without being graphically politicised or preachy.
It is a film by an intellectual storyteller, so the encompassing docudrama technique is expected and also appreciated by people who are serious about cinema.
Mehra underplays his emphasis on drama and instead extracts realistic imagery of Mumbai and heartfelt performances from the cast. The director opts to display this grim reality through the minimal hope they survive on.
There is a beautiful relationship between mother and son that will surely tug at your heartstrings. It’s the same with the way the writer explores the lessons the children learn along the way and their lives as slum-dwellers, which contributes to a feel-good atmosphere.
The children, all of whom are acting for the first time at this kind of professional level, are a delight to watch on screen. Om Kanojiya steals the show with an outspoken, prankish attitude that wins your heart from his very first scene. National Award-winning actress Anjali Patil puts up a robust, convincing portrayal of the rape victim.
Recommendation
A toned-down social drama that is earnestly inspiring yet cinematically incomplete.
● Sookhun is a popular LotusFM personality with a 20-year history of working in the entertainment industry. You can follow him on Instagram, @im_varshan; Facebook and Twitter, @varshansookhun