Dirty Politics

DIRTY POLITICS is as it say, dirty politics! I had not really heard of this film though it keeps popping up on YouTube watch lists. Today I decided to give it a go, half expecting to switch it off in boredom. Was I surprised!

To begin with the cast was interesting : Om Puri, Anupam Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff - all known for their stellar performances ... and they certainly did not disappoint. Okay okay there was Mallika Sherawat and Atul Kulkarni too. Mallika was actually pretty good as Anokhi Devi. Atul Kulkarni was more of a hamming act and rather disappointing. Ditto for whoever played his brother. The person who played Dayal was good.

The plot certainly held the interest throughout, drawing heavily from the world of what else but "dirty politics" - and very believable too.

The ending was unexpected and actually this under rated movie was more interesting than several recent one's with "critical acclaim". Just goes to show .....

In summary, this is a very watchable movie. Much better than what it seems to be.

One of the most pathetic attempts to showcase the corrupt political scenario of our country, DIRTY POLITICS actually gives you the clear evidence about some speculated facts related to our Hindi film industry and its working culture.

But before moving into that if one still wishes to know about the film then it simply has nothing in terms of content, execution or performances to say the least. The man behind many known hit films, K. C. Bokadia (the director) tries to build some suspense about one Anokhi Devi in the first 20 minutes (unsuccessfully), before the lady (Mallika Sherawat) walks in with her mandatory item song with the sick lyrics "Mere Ghaaghrey Ke Liye Ghamasaan Machi Hai". The song strongly gives you the indication of what might be coming next but it surprisingly goes much beyond the lowest expectations sliding further, becoming a soft port before the interval awfully featuring the veteran Om Puri with Mallika Sherawat in all those sensual scenes shot pretty badly. In the second half, the film tries to become a useless investigative thriller with the same laughable vision with no care taken about the story progression, logic, intercuts or dialogues. Plus all its stretched court room sequences in the final hour end on such a ridiculous note that one cannot even find the energy to laugh on its downright silly climax quite honestly.

Hence without wasting any more lines on the film, I would like to come back to the more interesting facts revealing the possible truth behind such lackluster products thrown at the viewers at regular intervals every year.

Firstly, reading the name of K. C. Bokadia in its titles as the director, one has to accept that time keeps changing inevitably and that truly leaves many people behind who are not willing to change with the newer times, learning the new tricks of the trade as required.

Secondly, such films repeatedly force everyone to suspect that do these producers really make some projects just to show heavy losses in their account books as widely speculated. Or it's the money invested by some fresh entrants in the business who don't even know the basics and simply trust the people they are hiring, only to get betrayed in the end…… openly.

Third but the most important deduction of DIRTY POLITICS is that in most of our films, the actors are actually enacting only some particular scenes given at a time (in a day's shoot) and they don't really know (or even care) that what is being made, how its being shot and what will be the final edited shape of the product in totality.

Moreover it's either the MONEY or THE Relationships that force them to sign these kinds of poor films along with the major biggies making their otherwise 'creditable name' in the industry. For instance I frankly couldn't recall any recent project having such experienced, award winning performers being together on the screen including Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Ashutosh Rana, Atul Kulkarni, Sushant Singhand Jackie Shroff. However it's a different thing that except Anupam Kher every veteran here seems to be acting over the top pointlessly along with Mallika Sherawatplaying their obvious center of attraction (as the sex symbol).

Talking about the recent Censor Guidelines, surprisingly this film has its few cuss words not muted but does have a disgustingly horrible scene wherein the good old Om Purikeeps massaging the naked legs of Mallika (while talking on the phone), enjoying the act quite lustfully. May be that was the need of its script progression as per the respected Censor team as it seems.

Anyway this single scene and many more similar ones in the film certainly qualify DIRTY POLITICS to be included in the Most Trashy Films of the recent times without any doubt. So if you love watching Trash then this is surely going to be a treat for your eyes shockingly having many respected names of our cinema playing the prominent roles.

(Note : The film is said to be based on the real life instances and murder of Bhanwari Devi and her associations with few influential political leaders.)

First question: What the hell where Anupam Kher, Naseerudin Shah, Om Puri and (arguably) Jackie Shroff doing in this movie with a title like "Dirty" politics and so poorly made??

Just a time pass below average masala movie which doesn't make much sense. Obviously there was no script, since the movie seems to go thru haphazard changes throughout the proceedings and characters drop in and out.

Finally, the big question - What is "Dirty" in this DirtyPolitics? There is little bit of sleaze with paunchy Ompuri making out with Mallika Sherawat, which becomes the subject of scandal.

Nothing is really worth homing about in this sorry excuse of a movie.

Can be safely skipped, unless you want to subject anyone to slow torture.

This is the type of film whose audience know what to expect. And by that sense, Dirty Politics honestly attracts you into a political crime drama that is riddled with sleaze.

The disappearance of dancer-turned-politician Anokhi Devi (Mallika Sherawat) is what the story begins with. Having dragged into politics by a debaucher Dinanath (Om Puri) solely for sexual purposes, Anokhi finds herself trapped in a world of deceit. The blame is partly on her as she turns into a greedy provider for her benefactor's erotic fantasies. The entire film is the past and future of her disappearance, infrequently throwing light into practices that mar present-day politics.

Characters are thrown in like rain accompanied by sandstorm; all at once, giving an abrupt start. Soon cleavages are revealed and sex tapes are made, which drive the story ahead. Honestly, the sensual chemistry between Puri and Sherawat is awkward, and no viewer in his/her right mind would enjoy the explicitness. The story, as a whole, reeks of predictability and wraps up with a rather laughable climax. At the end, of whatever was promised by the film, only sex prevails, as Bokadia may have wanted. It has all basic characters and elements required for a Prakash Jha movie, but only Bokadia can turn it into a circus of lewdness.

It is clear that salaciousness was what the makers had in mind, but to cast veterans like Shah and Kher to play clowns is cheap. They are the only ones who make the viewing bearable if at all you happen to find yourself watching the film. Let me stop myself from exploring the filmmaking factors.

BOTTOM LINE: Of course, there is no actual sex (only suggestive) in the film if you were wondering, but it sure has obscene scenes and curses that will make the CBFC's blood boil. I'll leave the decision to you. You watched the trailer, and I gave you the details. What more do you want for decoding that the "Dirty" in "Dirty Politics" is an implication to that three-letter word which is still a taboo in India.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO

Nudity/Vulgarity: Mediocre | Profanity: Very Strong