Movie Review: Shanghai

A small-town videographer (Emraan Hashmi) films political rallies besides producing porn on the sly. He counsels a half-European girl (Kalki Koechlin) caught in a serious emotional bind to return home – “England, America, wherever”. The man’s logic is simple: “This is India. It won’t suit you.”

This is India indeed, but it happens to be the girl’s home. The option of escape isn’t available to her. In fact, she isn’t the only who’s hit a dead-end. Nobody in these bleak boondocks – the place is trapped in the benighted past but dreams of a bright and prosperous future – has any real freedom of choice. 

Dibakar Banerjee’s fourth film, Shanghai, certainly isn’t about the China’s commercial capital. Set in a fictional town dubbed Bharat Nagar, it probes the grave anomalies that pockmark the non-inclusive development model that is currently in favour in an India that is supposedly shining. It is about hopelessly caged creatures for whom Shanghai is only a chimera, if not a cruel joke.

Shanghai is a spiffily crafted and well acted political thriller that pushes the boundaries of the genre. It breaks free from established narrative devices and follows a trajectory that is marked by intelligence and restraint.

Adapting a celebrated novel – Greek writer Vassilis Vassilikos’ Z – and going head to head with the classic Costa-Gavras is an act of great courage. Pulling it off without mishap is a full-on marvel.

The manner in which screenwriter Urmi Juvekar moulds the text to reflect the contemporary Indian reality is strikingly seamless.

Shanghai bridges the gap between genre filmmaking and socially relevant cinema. It does so without making any concessions to popular expectations.      

A left-leaning activist (Prosenjit Chatterjee) is a sworn opponent of a business park proposed to be built on a stretch of land usurped from those without a voice. Political and business power brokers hatch a conspiracy and bump him off.

As the campaigner lies in hospital battling for his life, his wife (Tilottama Shome) and a former student (Kalki Koechlin) build pressure on the administration to bring the culprits to book.

The chief minister (Supriya Pathak) sets up a probe commission with a single member, a laconic South Indian IAS officer (Abhay Deol). It soon becomes apparent that the exercise is an eyewash – the principal secretary (Farooque Sheikh) seeks to prevent the investigator from digging too deep.

This is India indeed and chicanery is rife. Shanghai paints a trenchant portrait in which grey is the dominant hue. Nobody, yes nobody, is above suspicion here.

The exploitative politicians and bureaucrats wear an angelic visage. The bravehearts battling to mend things aren’t without their share of flaws. The IAS officer has to fight off the demons within him and those around him while the videographer must bank upon his survival instincts to keep his baser instincts at bay.

They live in a world that is so out of balance that simple rules of logic and morality have lost currency.

This cautionary tale is aided by the contributions of cinematographer Nikos Andritsakis, film editor Namrata Rao, sound designer Pritam Das and background music composer Michael McCarthy. Together, they embrace the ambience of Shanghai with complete conviction, aiding and abetting the build-up of tension and atmosphere.

Abhay Deol’s first-rate performance is reminiscent of the controlled intensity that he brought to the table in Manorama Six Feet Under. Kalki Koechlin, playing a girl with a dark past struggling to redeem herself in tragic circumstances, does not have too many spoken lines to aid her but she uses expressions and body language to convey the plight of a girl unable to come to grips with the unstable world around her.

Emraan Hashmi, cast against type, is a revelation. Armed with stained teeth, a lost look and an unshapely midriff, he proves that his serial kisser persona is only one facet of the package.