Movie Review: Haraamkhor

While the glamor struck industry of cinema waited for the release of 'OK Jaanu', another movie released. Albeit with much lesser fanfare. We had first heard of Haraamkhor when the Censor Board  (I fondly call it the Sanskar board ) had objected to its 'bold' content.  Now realism could be bold, or rather realism is bold and  Haraamkhor is guilty on that count. It is too realistic and holds a mirror to those aspects that the 'sanskari' society pretends doesn't exist.

Wikipedia says Shweta Tripathi, the actor that plays Sandhya in Haraaamkhor is 33.  She plays 14-year-old Sandhya effortlessly. Masaan wasn't a one off and one hopes we get to see more of the actor soon. The makers of Haraamkhor had a bouquet of challenges.  Indie cinema is almost always overshadowed by the brouhaha of glamor and at the time of release, Haraamkhor is sandwiched by a host of such movies. Then there is the subject of a school girl being sexually involved with her teacher that they handled it very carefully. (Who cares if it really happens? Who cares if you know
someone with a similar past or present? It is being shown in a motion picture and therefore it is bold.)

Haraamkhor is set in a world the urban, suave, social media savvy, English speaking class doesn't talk about. And therefore, the plot might be a shocker for them. This is an India where preteens are confused about sexuality and have no means to know better. Hence, when a friend tells a young boy, on the threshold of manhood that if a man and a woman see each other naked, they get to marry; he believes. This is an India that has no cellphones, and therefore, there is not much option to supplement loneliness with. In Sandhya's case, the supplement is in the form of Shyam. This is the India of Luna and intermittent power cuts.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been playing the underdog, the common man for a very long time and therefore, Shyam did not have much to offer. For a fan who has seen reruns of almost all his films- and has watched Kick and might have to watch Raees too- Shyam's mannerisms were a tad bit predictable. He is the hot-headed teacher who beats up teenage girls and punishes young boys with the murga pose. And Sandhya is not the first student he has romanced. His wife was his student too.

But Shyam is not a villain. Or is he? Sandhya goes the extra mile to get intimate with him. She is giggling and relishing her ice cream once they find out that she isn't pregnant. Subtly points out why teen pregnancy is on the rise but leaves it to us whether or not we judge Shyam.  The law says Sandhya is underage to have sex. But she is smitten by her teacher. So what do we say about Shyam?

Shlok Sharma weaves the characters interestingly. Shyam, for example, is a modest school teacher, but unlike most in rural India, is not scared of a policeman. In this case, the policeman is Sandhya's father. He flirts with a student's mother, gets intimate with his wife, and then again with his student Sandhya.  He gets some of the best yet 'unfilmy' moments in the film.

Young Mohammad Samad who played Gattu in the movie Gattu impresses as the preteen who pretends to know a lot about man-woman relationships, and how to woo a woman. We all have had that friend. Kamal, who is smitten by Sandhya is constantly guided by Mintu- played by Samad and mostly they end in failure.

There are however two things that jolt the film. The continuous disclaimers and the violent end which looked a little forced. But Shlok Sharma is a winner because he had a topic to handle and it had all the potential to make the director judgemental. Sharma, however, dodges the bouncer and does it prettily.