Hirkani is a very simplistic yet interesting story of a woman who gets stuck within the premises of Shivaji's fort after the gates are locked in the evening. As per law, the gates can only open at dawn and the mother who is desperate to get to her newborn makes a daring attempt to climb down the cliff to reach the village below. This is basic human drama without any political connotations, despite being a chapter from real history.
However what made an inspiring lesson in Marathi textbook isn't quite translated likewise on celluloid. Firstly the film takes a little too long to reach the first act and too much time is spent on the setup. There is an elaborate song on Shivaji's glory soon followed by another love song of Hirkani's romance with her husband. While one expected more interpersonal relationship between Hirkani and her son, here the focus is too much on her bonding with the husband - which essentially isn't much important to the story as the husband leaves on an expedition soon after.
However what bothers more than anything is that while one perceived the story as a brave attempt by a woman to scale great heights in history for her valour, here she is shown as a meek mother all through. While one eagerly looks forward to her journey down the cliff to her home, unfortunately she comes across as a victimized crybaby in the entire escapade who is bruised and battered en route. You don't feel much for her pain because she doesn't come across as a proactive doer but someone who is just adjusting to circumstances. This is the major letdown from the part of the makers.
While there was absolute opportunity to portray this woman as a fearless and brave personality who would go to any extent to get to her child, she comes across as an agonized soap opera character. Also from the start, she is shown as a docile woman who cares for her husband and just follows the male prototype (like getting inspired from him to fight the wolf) without having her own individuality.
The direction also seems dated with some functional performances and in your face drama. I am not even talking about production values, SFX, background score and other technicalities. We could have ingored all of those budget constraints had the storytelling been more persuasive.
While the makers had honest intentions to explore an interesting chapter from history, their interpretation leaves a lot to be desired!
