Talvar (Hindi, 2015)

Vishal Bharadwaj belongs to those rare breed of folks who excel in more than one aspect in the film world. And after Haider, here again he has been bold enough in writing something that has been in the news for a long while now. The fact that he has scored the music as well shows how much he has invested in this film. One more thing to note is that he has, without an ounce of ego, handed the direction duties to Meghna Gulzar who has excelled in her job too.

So many Indian actors want to strike it rich in Hollywood, but very few succeed due to their insecurity of losing hold within their country. However Irrfan Khan has managed to crack that formula by being able to brilliantly balance his commitments in the West to the ones within India. He glides through his role of an intelligent detective mixing satire and anger effortlessly.

With a lot of inevitable focus on a prima donna performer like Irrfan, there is ultimately less screen-time for the other supporting characters. The choices of Neeraj Kabi (of Ship of Theseus & Detective Byomkesh Bakshy fame) & Konkona Sen as the parents of the murdered Shruti, Gajraj Rao, Soham Shah, Prakash Belawadi, Shishir Sharma as Police officers in various capacities with distinct characteristics and not to forget the numerous servants, add immense nativity & value.

In a tale as serious as this, it is important not to keep the proceedings monotonous. In that vein, a folk ballad rendition, and a discussion centered on the missionary position amidst serious happenings are downright hilarious. More importantly this humor does not seem forced and blends in beautifully due to the brilliant performances.

Technically, the film is excellent given that none of Music, Cinematography and Editing show up starkly. They all blend to create a riveting cinematic experience. Since one particular incident is being explored from different sides, there are lots of repetitive scenes with slight differences in each instance. The fact that this never gets boring is due to the crisp editing & the well thought-out shot division.

In a film of this type which is based on a true incident, it is important not to compare what resolution the film gives or what side it takes. Rather it should be treated as a film and be rated on just the cinematic effectiveness. On a personal level though, the film highlights how easily things can go wrong in one’s life and how essential it is to have qualified folks on the Police Force, Forensics & the Medical departments.

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