Haraamkhor

I love art movies and Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one of my most favorite actors. Whenever I hear that his movie is out - I want to see it.

We saw "Haraamkhor" at the theater but didn't bring our daughter with us. I was told that it will have some sexual content and lots of bad language.

The movie is set somewhere in rural India, the landscape is bleak and dusty. The heroes are a 15 year old student Sandhya (Shweta Tripathi) and a school teacher Shyam (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Sandhya lives with her father - a policeman and Shyam - with his wife.

Although we were warned by the note on the screen about a serious problem that Indian government schools are having, especially regarding girls, I had no idea about how will this "female problem" will be depicted. I was actually expecting some horrible female abuse (current Indian trend). But there was none of that.

The lead female personage Sandhya came up as rebellious, expressive, strong and "modern" girl. We do not see the "tradition" here, the caste etc...After watching it I felt that "Indian village may not be that bad after all". I found more positives than negatives in it.

There wasn't a lot of bad language either. I didn't even notice it and while there were some naked backs, it wasn't too sexual.

Of course, the acting and the dialogues were amazing, my husband thought though that the scene with the windmills was overdone, but I liked it. I take it as if local people probably would watch the same scenery again and again (as there is not much to look at in a small village).

There seemed to be two parallel stories happening in the movie at the same time. One was the Sandhya's and Shyam's "chakkar" (affair) and the other one was the little boy's Kamal's (Irfan Khan) one- sided crush on Sandhya. Those two stories seemed to intertwine very little with each other somehow, meeting only occasionally.

It was fun to watch the act of Mintu (Mohd Samad) and Kamal (Irfan Khan), because they were kids and acted effortlessly and naturally. I was wondering if they were the real village kids picked up from there and asked to act or were they some young geniuses...I thought one needs a lot of guts to run around in underwear and pull off whatever they were pulling off.

The magnetism between Shyam and Sandhya was weird and amazing. She was just a 15 year old and Shyam was probably 25 - 30 or so...The young actress face created some sort of magic on the screen when together with Shyam.

Sandhya's father, the police inspector (Harish Khanna) was a very interesting character too. He was distant, skinny, a little philosophical. He too was not a stereotypical police officer and it was nice to see it.

I rated this film 9 stars because despite all of the things that I loved: the cast, the location, the photography, the dialogues, the humor (yes, there was some good humor), the "mood", the music, there was something about the story where I hoped for some more completion, more power (?!). Although perhaps it's the type of story where completion is not possible: the whole film seemed like a fragment captured by a camera of someone who passes by...There seems to be no defined beginning and no defined end and it doesn't seem to matter...Maybe that was the director Shlok Sharma's idea?

Other than that I enjoyed the experience, the calmness, the humor and the realism of "Haraamkhor". It felt like peeping through a keyhole into someone's village, someone's life.

Shlok Sharma's 'Haraamkhor' is a bold attempt, that works in parts. Actually it works when the supremely talented cast gets a chance to score. Otherwise, the film just goes on.

'Haraamkhor' Synopis: A sleazy teacher gets involved in a sexual relationship with his teenager girl student.

'Haraamkhor' is bold & realistic. And that's its plus, without doubt. But Shlok doesn't know where to go beyond a point. The sub-plot, involving 2 boys, one of whom is in love with the leading-lady, is funny, but gets monotonous after a point. And the final 20-minutes go haywire. Shlok begins the film very well & the laughs are pretty good in the first-hour, despite the perverse behavior of its despicable protagonist, but beyond that, it begins to falter. Shlok's Direction is good for sure, but the Writing isn't tight enough to hold your attention throughout.

Now coming to the performances! 'Haraamkhor' is a yet another triumph Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Nawaz is brilliant here, portraying a part so hard to like yet hard to snub. Right from his body-language to his expressions, Nawaz is a scene-stealer. Also in excellent form is the underrated Shweta Tripathi. Tripathi, 31, plays a 15 year old with innocence & charm. Both of the actors make 'Haraamkhor' memorable, with their effortless performances.

On the whole, 'Haraamkhor' gets lost mid-way, but the acting remains strong. Give it a chance.

Haraamkhor- Movie explores a bold subject in an interesting way....but somewhere fails to hold interests levels throughout. However, its enjoyable in parts and what really makes it watchable is the terrific performance of nawaazuddin. He gives us some real Lol moments in the film which any other actor couldn't have been able to deliver with the same timing...the female lead played by shweta tripati does well...never knew she is a 31 year old lady playing a 15 year old gal in the film.. .not bad.. The screenplay is bit sloppy and few of the scenes involving the 2 little prankster boys should have been chopped off.. .its intended to bring in humour but felt over the top and unnecessary at some places... Overall this film can be given a try for the different kind of subject it offers.

Finally!!! This film got released; though, it has been released in a select few screens . 'Haramkhor' have an ambiguous start, an uneasy yet beautifully shot interval and an unexpected end. What is it about ? "In a small Gujarati town, a school teacher has more than an academic interest in one of his female students". Trust me, it is more complex than this and i won't spoil it. This film can be seen from the eyes and actions of characters. Characters are well written and played even better. Even small character as 'shaktiman' is well build. +1 for the character development because a few people can achieve that.

Shweta Tripahti - A big applaud for her. I never expected that she(actually anyone) could to do justice to the character. She is the big thing here, people. The issues her character is going and how she reacts to it reflects more about the real struggles(i won't spoil) of women( or young girls) in this country.

Nawaz - Honestly, most of the film collection(box office) is dependent upon him. He is superstar for independent film and his timing is perfect. Watch out for his humor to keep smile on your faces but soon you will realize why film is called 'HARAMKHOR'.

Irfan khan AND Mohd samad - They bliss this film with innocence and immaturity. A naive journey for love and brotherhood. They are undoubtedly one of the reason why this film is beautiful. I guess, they make casual audience feel more comfortable.

As a movie - The most important aspect of the film is how different things are falling in the places. The flaws that them more real.

As a motive - I cannot even begin to think how hard it was for the director put pieces in the places. Reasons being how sensitive our country is and how taboo is the topic. Kudos to Shlok Sharma for putting the thought and effort for putting forward the motive. It was definitely worth it!

Lastly, I have seen the censored version. I might have missed out some scenes.

Awesome Movie, it is right this movie might not understandable to everyone but it has a different zone viewer.A Full bag of acting skills whether it is Mintu (Md. Samad) or Neelu(Shreya Shah). Sunita(Trimala) also did a great job. Shaktimaan(Haneef) is mind blowing in this movie. No words!! If you love acting then you must watch this movie.