Language: Hindi
At the beginning of Hurdang, Daddu Thakur (Sunny Kaushal) is a regular alpha-male college student. He's an aspiring IAS officer but more interested in making sure he gets the exam paper ahead of time and ensuring his girlfriend is not married off to someone else. He's brash, loud, violent, proud of brandishing his gun. He starts getting involved in politics only when he is told by Loha (Vijay Varma), the neta he works for, that his IAS aspirations will be thwarted because of the new caste-based reservations recommended by the Mandal Commission.
The politics of the film is naturally not nuanced. That would be too much to expect. There is no exploration of the caste-based discrimination and atrocities that lower caste people face in the country. The arguments expressed show a lack of understanding of the issue. In fact, no supporter of Reservation is given even a voice in the film, a moment to present a different perspective on the issue. The one student leader who is pro-Reservation is callous and hot-tempered, slapping women who disturb his agitation. He is humiliated by the upper-caste boys and girls in a moment that is obviously meant to be funny but is not. Politicians in the movie are opportunists, instigating violence amongst students but officially supporting the Bill in Parliament. The film also finds a way to approve of that: they are poor politicians; how can they anger their vote bank.
Even Jhullan (Nushratt Bharuccha), Daddu's girlfriend, has a scene to express the view that she'd rather clear UPSC on her own merit rather than the Reservation she is eligible for. In this movie, only upper-caste characters suffer and are traumatized. Their opportunities are taken away, and their dreams are left to wither away. Daddu promises to fight for justice and for the future of his friends: all upper-caste, of course. It is only in the final scene that the movie admits that lower-caste people have been oppressed for a long time —just one sentence in the entire 2-hour movie.
In the midst of the violent uprising, Daddu and Jhullan face a bigger problem- that of getting together. They can't marry because they're not "settled", but Jhullan's parents want her to start meeting boys. All IASs. Jhullan tries everything to get out of it, even getting her friend Sunaina to give her hickeys on her neck so that the boy is discouraged. It doesn't work. The poor, Math-loving IAS officer mistakes her hickey for an insect bite. Jhullan is a plucky, interesting character, willing to fight for her own ambitions and for the man she wants. Yet, the fact that she comes from a low-caste family is barely explored in the film, except as a potential hindrance to Daddu's role in the anti-reservation movement.
Every twist and turn in the story can be predicted in advance, including the Great Betrayal in the end. The characters are not likeable, and therefore, you feel no pity for them when they suffer. The scenes end abruptly, and there's nothing remarkable about the dialogues. The acting, too, leaves much to be desired. Kaushal and Bharucha have no chemistry, and it is difficult to watch them struggle through the emotional scenes, especially Kaushal. Even Verma, usually so reliable and smooth, is wasted here as the manipulative neta, the dor to Daddu's patang.
It is the norm of the day, clearly, for movies with a political message that is harmful and without nuance. Hurdang is just one of those movies. It can be forgiven for its sloppy filmmaking, but not for the propaganda it is spewing. Hurdang is not just a bad movie. It is also a dangerous one.
Rating: 1
Shreemayee Das is a writer and a stand-up comedian. She writes mostly on cinema and culture. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @weepli.
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