Inkaar movie review : glamsham.com

INKAAR: Sudhir Mishra has tackled a very relevant subject


Director :	Sudhir Mishra
Music :	Shantanu Moitra
Lyrics :	Swanand Kirkere
Starring :	Arjun Rampal, Chitrangada Singh, Vipin Sharma and Deepti Naval

January 17, 2013 07:45:53 PM IST
By Martin D'Souza, Glamsham Editorial

Sudhir Mishra leaves everything for the last 20-30 minutes. Suddenly, after a dreary first half, he brings his two main characters to life. As a viewer, it engrosses you because the primary concerns shared by Rahul (Arjun Rampal) and Maya (Chitrangada Singh) can be the story of any two young, ambitious people in the corporate world.

But for that interest in the characters to really fire you up, Mishra drags you along with his plot presented in a docu/drama sort of a manner. Nothing wrong in that. He is trying something different from other filmmakers. But it does get taxing a bit.


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The story keeps going back and forth so that the viewer and Deepti Naval (who is heading the inquiry on account of Maya filing a sexual Harassment case against Rahul) get to hear both sides of the story. The set-up is the office conference room with close colleagues.

Over a period of two days, the viewer is privy to the life of Maya and Rahul spread over seven years. Rahul is this 'very happening' Ad guru who is also the CEO of the company they work for. He takes a professional liking for a young Maya, in whom he finds that streak of talent. He grooms her for the advertising world, guiding her every step of the way. Their professional proximity soon turns into physical activity. While Rahul is matter-of-fact about this relationship, deep down you do see that he cares for her.

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Maya on the other hand, like all young girls her age, is over-the-moon and now thinks she is married to Rahul so much so that she keeps a 'watchful eye' on him. This brings about a strain in the relationship and she wants a transfer to Delhi.

A few years later she is back in Mumbai and is appointed the National Creative Head. She keeps this news from Rahul until it is officially announced. Rahul is hurt. He had also warned her against taking this designation because she was not ready for it. Viewed from a professional perspective, this is a very mature scene. If you look around, you will see many women who have risen to the top in a short time, not being there anymore. This is simply because there has to be that many years of experience to head a National Team. Rahul knows this, Maya thinks its jealousy. The rise in position also makes Maya arrogant.

This information comes in bits and pieces and as you try to piece the story together comes the grand finale in the office washroom where Rahul is confronted by a 'on the verge of break down' Maya. This final scene more than makes up for the dreary first half as it puts everything that happened before in perspective.


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So was Maya actually being sexually harassed by Rahul at her work place? This is something Deepti Naval too has a tough time in answering. You too, will feel the same.

There is a lovely song lip-synched by Saurabh Shukla that livens the mood. It's no 'Oo Mungda' from the 1978 INKAAR, but how you wished at the sound of breaking glass this song too would have played somewhere in the background.

CHECK OUT: Sudhir Mishra - To claim something totally original would be foolish

Arjun Rampal at first appears like he is aping SRK to the 'T'. Slowly he moves from that mould and comes into his own. He gives a human touch to his character. Chitrangada Singh handles the scenes with maturity and comes across as a real 'bi***' out to ruin Rahul. Like Arjun, she too feels the character she plays.

INKAAR is not your regular cinema. Mishra has tackled a very relevant subject. If you are willing to experiment with cinema that breaks the norms, then INKAAR is definitely for you.

Rating: 3.0