Shool
- 1999
- 2h 18m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
A tale of an honest cop set against the backdrop of the brutal, lawless system prevailing in the Indian state of Bihar, and the endless suffering he tolerates before all hell breaks loose.A tale of an honest cop set against the backdrop of the brutal, lawless system prevailing in the Indian state of Bihar, and the endless suffering he tolerates before all hell breaks loose.A tale of an honest cop set against the backdrop of the brutal, lawless system prevailing in the Indian state of Bihar, and the endless suffering he tolerates before all hell breaks loose.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 3 nominations total
Manoj Bajpayee
- Inspector Samar Pratap Singh
- (as Manoj Bajpai)
Virendra Saxena
- Prawal Pratap Singh
- (as a different name)
Rajpal Naurang Yadav
- Porter
- (as Rajpal Yadav)
- …
Featured reviews
excellent story, close to daily life of Indian corrupt system, and a honest police officer against it, pushing the law and order over corrupt politicians and system. Strong script, gripping story, very tense, Manoj at his best performance, reading out the true close to reality story with his best acting. After shool many director try to copy the same story with a bit of change in script but nothing close to this true gem. give it a go, you wont be disappointed. i don't usually watch Indian movies because of the length of story, but this one i watched many times, and every time i watch i enjoy it more. Manoj is the best actor and at his best in Shool, Once true and honest police officer against the corrupt system from streets to Parliament, if you are into gangsters movie against law, this is your thing. don't be distracted by some user reviews, its not a popcorn flick with some un necessarily sex scene and funny fight which could be torture for some people like me.
Yes it is a good movie you should give it a try. But the music is so bad.
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.
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.
Good movie to watch for especially the manoj bajpayee best performance the movie is very well shot great movie and great direction.
Did you know
- TriviaNawazuddin agrred to do waiter's role for Rs 2500, but he was not paid with money. He visited their office for 6-7 months and every time he was offered a meal and that is how his dues were settled for this role.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 45th Filmfare Awards (2000)
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- Spike
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