NH 10- A MOVIE REVIEW

NH 10- Trailer

A tale of blood and gore

When perfect lives are reduced to remains of a battle, it’s sad.  Navdeep Singh’s new feature film, starring Anushka Sharma and Neil Bhoopalam wanders tickling through those senses of human emotion. Meera (played by Anushka) and Arjun (played by Neil) are a well settled couple and successful professionals based in Delhi. The film starts on the roads of Gurgaon, with Meera and Arjun talking in the background, in their car heading towards a party. Meera is evidently uninterested in the festivities, but Arjun is adamant. The unsafe situation that the women in the capital face is again unveiled as Meera faces an attack as she drives back alone. Driven by professional needs she leaves the party before Arjun. It’s pain staking to see that even the policemen feel, that women should not travel alone, which seems to be an easier rule to enforce than punishing the offenders. Meera is suggested to carry a gun for her safety.

However the real massacre begin, when the couple decide to celebrate Meera’s birthday in a weekend gateway, which required them to drive across the stretches of un-civilised part of Haryana through NH10. These villages are places, where we see highest toll of female foeticide and crime against women I guess are not even reported as in most cases the police is involved. Light of education and civilisation have not been able to fight their way through the age old social taboos. Differentiation on the basis of caste and creed is an integral part. And hence honour killing is a common crime in these areas. In the movie I specially loved a dialogue which said “with the last mall in Gurgaon democracy ends”. True it is these villages are ruled by local Panchayats, which support the age old orthodox mentality.

When Meera and Arjun, stop at a Dhaba for a meal, a group of villagers abduct a young couple in broad day light. Arjun eventually get involved in the issue, inspite of Meera’s continuous plead of not doing so. This particular behaviour is very typical of guys, especially in the Delhi- Gurgaon region. Their hot temperament and ego, lead them to pay high price as it happens in the movie. Initially Arjun thinks that he could frighten them with the gun, only to discover he had placed himself and his wife against a bunch of heartless butchers. The roll of events are a mixture of fight and flee. And Arjun looses life. Meera who all this time was trying to get out of the situation, on knowing of Arjun’s demise turns to vengeance.

From here the movies strays away from realism, however not totally. A girl trying to avenge her husband’s death in the land of killers seems impossible. But again, when overnight a fairy tale life is turned upside down to a heap of ash by a bunch of unfeeling, illiterate men, a reaction like this may be uncommon but not completely impossible. This part moves on the unknown realm of human psychology, as Meera turns a cold blooded murderer.

NH10 is a story of blood and gore, and disturbs. It tells a story, which we may not like to hear. But there is truth; it shows the striking contrast of life in a city and in a village. Where a cosmopolitan couple is alienated and left to die. It’s a different and dark world for many of us. A world where a mother, can bear the pain of killing a daughter rather than allowing her marry outside caste. Overall the movie is a must watch, because many of us do not know how dreadful life can be in those areas and how important it is to gauge the consequence before jumping to a situation.  All actors have done great job, but Anushka stands apart as she pull off the central character with great ease.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta