Shool

Debutant director E Nivas bravely tells the story of a courageous police officer and his fight against the system for justice. Though the man-against-the-system story has been overused in Indian cinema, 'Shool' has a grittiness and honesty that makes that sets the tone apart. The movie doesn't merely show the battle but it delves into the psychology of the protagonist and his inner conflicts. The viewer can really connect to Samar Pratap Singh and his wife Manjiri.

Shot in washed out green-tinted colours and the use of the shaky camera and with the lack of overdone sets, 'Shool' looks very raw and authentic. The violence, though suggestive, implies very brutal and graphic mental images. The film starts with a telephone-call which is followed by a brutal murder and this already tells us what kind of a person Yadav (the antagonist played by Sayaji Shinde) is.

The performances are superb. Manoj Bajpai nails the part. The character seems to have been written for him and a lesser actor could have easily made a caricature out of this, but not Bajpai. He's simply excellent in displaying even the toughest expressions and this ranks among his best works. Sayaji Shinde is great. Even though his mannerisms are the same as other characters he's played, they perfectly suit Yadav's personality. Raveena Tandon takes the role of Manjiri after Juhi Chawla who had to walk out due to an accident which caused her to be hospitalized. 'Shool' couldn't have come at a better time for Ms. Tandon. After all the glamorous roles and comedies, the actress was looking for something different and in 'Shool' we see a deglamourized Raveena Tandon. Here she gives a very subtle, convincing and heartbreaking performance as Manjiri. The child actor is expressionless.

On the flip side, 'Shool' is quite predictable but one can't think of an alternative ending that would have made it better. Nonetheless, even though we know what will happen, the last scene is very effective, mostly due to Manoj Bajpai's performance and dialogue delivery. Anurag Kashyap's dialogues and E.Nivas's screenplay are good. Some scenes would have stood out more without the background score (which isn't that impressive). The songs are passable (and fit the situations) and of course there's the famous item number 'Main Aayi Hoon UP Bihar Lootney' filmed on a raunchy Shilpa Shetty. This is perhaps one of the few films where an item number actually works as it both fits the situation and tells more about the character of the actors (e.g. Sayaji acting all wild around Shilpa).

On the whole, 'Shool' is a great piece of Indian cinema. Although the story isn't new, it's presentation is and unlike others this one digs into both the protagonist's and antagonist's psychology.

Other than Govind Nihalani's Ardh Satya, Shool is the only worthwhile spiritual successor to 1973's Zanjeer. In some ways it takes the template to even greater extremes. Shool's cop as played by Manoj Bajpai is not just angry, he is white hot furious. He displays an almost pathological level of intolerance for the rot in the system, even as he pays a heavy price for it. The story & screenplay are credited to Ramgopal Varma and E Niwas, both of whom never before or after achieved anything approaching this level of emotional intensity (I suspect Anurag Kashyap, who is credited for the dialog, had more actual contributions to the script). I know the world has its share of fans of RGV's gangster movies, but hell no, I will stand my ground that none of them are anywhere near the brilliance of Shool. Every scene and character are so well-written, and without any compromises. The direction is terrific, maintaining the grounded nature of the film's setting (or at least consistent to the universe's logic, it's not slavish to the cause of realism). Every scene right down to the item number has its logical place and doesn't look like it was bunged in from somewhere. This is a movie where you don';t divide the cast into lead and supporting actors because everyone is playing a character. Bajpai smolders in the lead making a whole new mold for Angry Young Man, Sayaji Shinde as the main antagonist sends a shiver down your spine (before he replayed those mannerisms ad nauseam in a thousand movies), Ganesh Yadav and Vineet Kumar offer are solid as Bajpai's colleagues. Even Raveena Tandon does a good job. The end is unrelentingly bleak in keeping with the movie's structure. See it now. If you've seen it once before, see it again.

It is too real to be a movie. If you have been to that part of India, eastern UP and Bihar, you will feel as if the things happening to Samar Pratap Singh or others have, or may have, happened to you / your family / your friends. Particularly for me it seemed more near to my heart as My Dad, though he is not a police officer like Samar Pratap Singh, is idealistic like him, and faces problems like he faces. After watching this movie, the desire to become an IAS officer and start cleaning up the system becomes very high, it took some days to put it back under control.

E Niwas, a 23 yr old boy, probably in his directorial debut has given a marvellous movie.

It is story of an honest police officer, in fact an honest man who happens to be a police officer. His only fault is that he is honest, honest as per the real definition of being honest. Here it should be noted that in India in general and in those parts of India in particular, the definition of honesty is changed. In those parts, If a person demands his share from the bribe that his colleague has taken, he is normal, if he does not demand, he is honest. And if he does neither of these, he tries to stop his colleague from taking bribe, he is ..... there is no adjective to describe a person, probably people never felt the need, exactly as Eskimos did not feel the need to have a word for cactus.

The only unrealistic part in the movie is its end, where Samar, after having lost his wife and kid, goes on to kill Bachchoo Yadav the villain, a rowdy who becomes politician. But however unrealistic it be, it should have been that only. After all it is this unrealistic stuff that differentiates between a movie and a documentary. And Shool is a movie, not a documentary.

Let us all hope for the day, when after watching Shool, instead of the end, one will feel the other things were unrealistic.

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Shool is an excellent crime drama about corruption and murky politics in India. This plot isn't anything new, but what makes the movie work is the mind-blowing performance of Manoj Bajpai as an honest cop trying to do his job in a corrupt environment. With his work in this film, Bajpai has proven himself as a great character actor, at par with another cinema great, Shah Rukh Khan. Both these actors have proven that you don't need good looks to make good movies.

Aside from Bajpai, Shool is filled with wonderful performances, such as the de-glamorized Raveena Tandon's heart-breaking portrayal the police officer's wife, and Sayaji Shinde's genuinely scary villain!

A mature film intended for a mature audience, Shool is a film that shouldn't be missed by anyone looking for quality in the otherwise lackluster world of Indian cinema!

Shool is one of the best cop movie made. Set in Bihar, this movie talks about a journey of a cop who is frustrated of being an honest cop and what all he has to sacrifice just because an honest cop and wants to do his job with integrity.

Story/Screenplay

Samar Pratap Singh who has been posted to Motihari (District in Bihar) as an Inspector sees that the town is owned by Bachoo Yadav MLA of that area. Bachoo Yadav's Gang and Political Affiliations makes Samar's life hell. His Difficulties never ends and the reason is Bachoo Yadav who is too big and will not spare Samar who is troubling his goons. Screenplay is smooth and does not mislead you. The story where Samar as father is vulnerable, as Husband is loving and as Cop is Honest. Same the menacing effect of Bachoo Yadav has been presented wonderfully.

Direction

Director E Niwas knew his job. He did excellent job in showing the realism. The setting and storytelling was powerful. Though this movie was not a thriller but the story is compelling and binds you throughout the movie. It has great memorable moments.

Performance

There could not be any one other than Manoj Bajpayee who could pull this off. He lived the chaara year of Samar Pratap Singh. Apparently he gave the name to the character. But the way he performed is Master Class. Even Mr. Amitabh Bachchon was impressed by his performance. Sayaji Shinde's first Hindi Movie playing a Bihari Politician makes you believe that he is that menacing politician. He is so devilish that he haunts even after movie ends. Raveena Tondon gave one of her best performance in this movie. Even though the movie belongs to Manoj Bajpayee but she makes sure that her performance is noticed. There is a small scene where Nawazuddin is also seen. Rajpal Yadav as coolie is very effective though he is there for 5 min onscreen.

Other Dialogue wise also the movie was too good. It had great dialogue, see the scene where Bachoo Yadav is insisting for water to be not used for electricity. Look at the last scene which is nothing but iconic. Editing of the movie is good which helps the story to move forward

Overall This is of the best cop movie ever made. Great story, extra ordinary performance. Must watch.