1888 movie review: An intimate look at the desperate measures to convert notes during demonetization

2.5/5

Story: When demonetization is announced, former star and now social activist, Sandhya Shetty (Neethu Shetty), is faced with a massive dilemma. She has loads of the now demonetized currency stashed away – the spoils of years of hard work. Her inner circle, including businessmen and bank officials try their best to help her tide over this crisis, but turns out, there’s just way too much that needs to be converted. Left with no other alternative, she decides to burn much of it – if she can’t enjoy it, no one else should, she reckons.

But before the bag containing the money goes up in flames, an unknown person shows up, chases Sandhya and her clique away and takes off with her money. Who is he and how did he know that such a large sum of money would be thrown away?

Review: For most people, the 2016 demonetization drive brings up memories of having no money on hand, long queues at ATMs and banks, and the struggle of converting whatever demonetized notes one had to the new ones, which came with a limitation. At the same time, one also heard rumours of old currency being dumped by the road, or of economically weaker people with bank accounts being offered ‘bribes’ to drop off old notes at banks and convert the same to the new ones for affluent people with huge stashes of the now illegal money. It was literal hell for several months for most many of us.

Writer-director Sourabh Shukla’s film 1888 is set against the demonetization, which, one would think is a tad too late to be addressing it. It’s been over 7 years since, after all. True that the subject feels old, but what Sourabh does with it is actually interesting. Turns out, 1888 is not just about the hardships people faced owing to demonetization. Instead, it’s an investigative thriller about the lengths some rich people went to ‘convert’ their money.

Here, Sandhya Shetty is the one with crores that need to be taken care of. And while she’s dealing with her problem, it turns out that she is the subject of an intelligence bureau (IB) investigation. The film has a really slow start and takes its own sweet time to build the narrative. A bunch of characters are introduced, but it’s not clear who is who until the ‘IB reveal’, and the events leading up to that point do feel tedious. Once the investigation bit of the story kicks in, it’s almost as if one is watching another film altogether. Director Sourabh seems to be on much surer footing in the second half, with the story-telling getting a lot better.

Truth be told, the first half leaves much to be desired, so even though the filmmaker gathers it up into a coherent narrative in the second, the overall effect is still a little underwhelming. But having said that, the effort to present a different story and narrative deserves appreciation. It’s refreshing when filmmakers gather courage to veer off the beaten path and attempt something new. If only they also had the means to execute it well. 1888, for instance, is a film that was made within severe budgetary restrictions, so, it’s incredulous what the team was able to pull off eventually.

Verdict: 1888 is an interesting film that starts on a wobbly note and settles into a steady rhythm only much later. Once it does, it’s a smooth ride thereafter. Patience is key while watching this film, so if you are the kind that thrives on speed, this is not for you.