Shool

Motihari is a one-train town in the badlands of Bihar. As a sanctuary of evil it resembles a piece of pre-riots Bombay, without the smells and the early closing. As though in recognition that the underworld everywhere is essentially the same, debutant director E Nivas -- who began his career as spot boy under Ramgopal Varma and graduated to become his chief understudy -- has shot Shool in dank, washed-out colours, so that the red is drained to maroon and the blue to navy.

Hi Any influence, unconscious or otherwise, that Satya may have had on Shool and Varma on Nivas, however, ends there. Although cast in the typical Bollywood potboiler formula, its portrayal of the political milieu in the Hindi heartland is as authentic as it is rivetting. Shool offers enough on this score to be a tempting alternative to curling up with the latest of William Darlymple's prize-winning despatches, if not a sojourn itself to Bihar's back of beyond. Bacchu Yadav (Sayaji Shinde) is the MLA of Motihari for 15 years running but, more pertinently, is the lord of all he surveys in the district. The film itself begins with a midnight call informing Yadav that the ''high command'' has decided to give the ticket this time to his local political rival, a Thakur. The caller, before hanging up after confidentially confiding this information, darkly hints that the announcement will be made public only in the morning and that Yadav could do a lot by then. And does he! It's a simple expedient: he himself leads his goons to Thakur's home, wakes him up and makes some small talk before stabbing him through the heart.

The next shot cuts to a sylvan sunrise and a train steaming into a station. A young man, lugging two ancient trunks, and with wife and kid in tow, steps out into the dappled light and... well, a few sequences later, to a cutting knowledge of what life as an idealist police inspector means in Bihar.

Manoj Bajpai, as inspector Samar Pratap Singh, has risen to the expectation, pulling off a robust and salty performance. At times he tends to go overboard, as with the scene where he pleads with the mute crowd for a glass of water for his dying child, and the result is smirky and jejune. Otherwise, whether as a character out of his kilter or as a villain in a script he can't remember writing, Bajpai's acting is controlled and commendable, and he has an advantage here for so much of his personality resides in his eyes.

The scene-stealing performance, however, has come from Sayaji Shinde. Incidentally, Bacchu Yadav is the darker confiere of Bhiku Mhatre in Satya, played ironically enough by Bajpai. Yadav is a vain priss who reigns through terror and wouldn't be remotely liked by his dependants even if he were to declare a general amnesty and donate a mangalsutra to every family with an unmarried daughter. As though that weren't enough, he is truly reptilian in temperament: his eyes narrow in mock scrutiny of an unfortunate henchman, even as his smile has a pixie twist to it, making his next step unfathomable. It's a memorable performance of a feudal politician, dumb and dictatorial, his virility and maschismo shading into bullying, his sheer physicality flatulent and dangerous.

But Inspector Singh, the cop on the tear, is scarcely deterred by all this. Each transgression by Yadav and each new incident revealing the obsequiousness of his superiors, rather than making our hero lose scales from his eyes, makes him more amped up. His wife's -- played by Raveena Tandon who has done a subdued and convincing no-frills job --- remonstrations, as that of a trusted colleague, the only one, fall on deaf ears.

From now on, formula takes over. The climax is not predictable only in the excess of melodrama it contains. And you have music accompanying the whole scene which sounds like something the music director-trio --- Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy --- dreamed up after a Mexican meal. Understandably, the whole thing turns the movie into mush.

Trying for an infernal starkness, Nivas has achieved an infernal tackiness. In the earlier parts of the movie the camera whirls and swoons among bursts of fauvist light and that combined with the authenticity of the various characters' nuances. Their dialogue had managed to convey something feral and ominous. In the end one can only say that Shool is for the most part a slovenly film and its politics fuzzy, but there is a vitality to the fuzziness. Not something every Hindi movie can claim. And lastly, congrates to the director and the actors team for working in such not-so-commercial serious movies.

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.

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.

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.

Manoj bajpai,sayaji was brillant.movie was full of politacal aspects and its loopholes. Raveena and little sonu was also done her worl very well.