WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Principal. Ethics. Morality. Absolution. In the face of injustice, who will stand for the accused? Who will make the choice that puts them in the line of fire of those who seek nothing but justification for their actions, regardless of right and wrong? Who will become the voice of reason amidst a sea of embittered chaos? For a young lawyer named Aarti (Taapsee Pannu), these questions will resound within her when, upon visiting her in-law’s home, her father-in-law Murad (the late Rishi Kapoor) and uncle Bilaal (Manoj Pahwa) become embroiled in a scandal involving Bilaal’s son Shahid (Prateik Babbar), an unthinkable act of violence, and the dark specters of racial, political, and religious prejudices against them all that soon threaten a family’s legacy.
Next, my Mind:
Legal dramas can be a slippery slope to navigate for this critic, as let’s be honest, so many can become overtly formulaic and predictable. Sometimes they can be saved by the talent level involved, sometimes by the benefit of quality writing, as otherwise, many fall a little flat for me. Which is why it took the mighty machine that is South Asian cinema in combination with not only a well-written, deftly executed narrative, but a potent duo that represents the treasured cinematic traditions of acting elite with the already well-established, continually rising star power of contemporary Bollywood to deliver a timely, eerily relevent, socially unflinching, statement-making effort such as this 140-minute gem from writer/director/producer Anubhav Sinha.
Screened as the final film of the 2020 ECSA: Escapist Cinema of South Asia online film festival presented by Jingo Media and sister festivals DFW SAFF and NYC SAFF, it’s a mainstream film with a completely independent heart and soul at its core, reveling in its character and story-centric focus in depicting the ugly realities of unforgiving bigotry, factional politics, and unwarranted intolerance based on appearance and prejudged behavior with having all the facts. The real influential and compelling arguments against all these societal maladies is presented with, as mentioned above, such wonderfully intelligent but no less forceful means as the story unfolds, and it really showcases for me a filmmaker wanting to blatantly emphasize these themes for the sake of challenging the status quo.
This is to say that there’s no middle ground to be had here as much as a straight-forward, no-holds-barred approach to clearly illustrating what’s right and what’s wrong in order to be understood on that foundational level no matter what race, color, or creed you find yourself representing. It’s honestly a call for not just true justice to be delivered to those who would seek to upend the notions of finding the desperately needed equality and interconnection we are seeking, even in disagreement over any myriad of topics, but very much a plea for unification, whether as a nation or as simply human beings. I felt the film addresses both ends of this struggle with an intentionally slow-burn delivery that makes you have to ponder, contemplate, each and every facet of the intent here.
Additionally, there are a plethora of other concepts explored, including the burden of proof we are sometimes made to manifest when it comes to rightly defending who we are in the face of unnecessary hatred and misunderstanding, multiple angles about the very nature of what terrorism is, and personal preferences actually forming so many unfounded biases within us that we still act on, often to our detriment. But, to face these elements is to have a willingness to BE faced with them, a look into that clouded mirror we’ve allowed to be created that keeps us from looking and assessing inwards before so rashly judging outwards. How the film culminates this entire run of ideologies may be partially expected, but it doesn’t lessen the power of the messages being conveyed.
It is with such a heavy heart to be writing about a celebrated actor posthumously, but this is sadly the case in regard to cinema legend Rishi Kapoor, here in one of his last roles before his passing in April, as Murad Ali Mohammed, a Muslim man and lawyer of great conviction and heart for all he puts his hand to and with an unrelenting love for his family. But when his brother gets entangled in a unanticipated battle for his future thanks to a hidden truth about his son now violently revealed, the entire community they’ve been a part of turns against them, and it’s up to Murad and his daughter -in-law to stand up for what’s right so true, abiding justice can prevail. It’s a masterful performance by Kapoor, with his unbridled intensity and commanding presense in the courtroom sequences tempered by his endearing, quieter, but no less formidable manner when the character is with family. He will be so greatly missed. R.I.P., Rishi sir.
Pannu presses on in her more than already stellar yet still-forming career through this magical performance as Aarti, a lawyer living abroad with her husband, Murad’s son Aftab, until a special birthday and other circumstances cause her to come and visit her in-laws. While there, the incident occurs that rocks the entire family’s world, and soon she finds herself defending Bilaal and even Murad himself from the forces that would utilize hate and discrimination as their “truths” to put Bilaal away and place lasting shame on the rest of the family’s honor. Like Kapoor, Pannu always brings this absolute certitude and fully grounded realism to the characters she plays, and it’s no exception here, with the emotional volatility of the journey Aarti endures here so beautifully embodied by Pannu.
Primary supporting roles, truly acted with excellence, are present from Pahwa as Bilaal, a humble man who has to bear the brunt of a community’s malice when his son is involved with a vicious event, Babbar as Bilaal’s son Shahid, the catalyst for the storm his family now has to weather, Rajat Kapoor as the local police inspector Danish Javed, whose personal journey will be one fraught with inner conflict by the end, Ashutosh Rana as the prosecuting attorney Santosh, an overconfident blowhard who often seems more about grandstanding and provoking the defense than actual trial law, Neena Gupta as Murad’s steadfast wife Tabassum, Prachi Shah as Bilaal’s long-suffering wife Choti-Tabassum, Kumud Mishra as the court judge, and Sumit Kaul as Mehfooz Alam. Appearances are also made by Indraneil Sengupta, Ashrut Jain, Vartika Singh, Anil Rastogi, and others.
In total, “Mulk” is the utter beauty found in an amalgamation of mainstream look with indisputably independent film mindset with its bold, unapologetically unwavering portrait of the contemporary actualities we reside in through the eyes of the societal, political, and religious viewpoints it chooses to utilize for its narrative’s premise. We allow so much that is trivial to warp common sense and basic human decency, all in the name of what we think is “good” or “true” when it actually reflects our own inadequacies or lack of facts to base any of it on. It is then taken out on others, at their expense, to satisfy our own groundless justifications. Folks, none of us are perfect, but there is a point where we do need to realize that better understanding and logical reasoning to sort it all out is needed to replace the needless anger, hate, and violence that only perpetrates more of the same rather than mutually beneficial solutions.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
