PremiumSherdil: The Pilibhit Saga review: Srijit’s sloppy storytelling turns Pankaj’s performance pointless
Neeraj Kabi perhaps had little idea about what the director was trying to achieve but correctly acts the script giving long lectures on forest life and communal harmony.
Last Updated: 07.54 PM, Jun 24, 2022
Story: Gangaram (Pankaj Tripathi) – the sarpanch of an impoverished village – embarks on a journey of self-sacrifice. He goes out to the adjacent tiger reserve purposefully to get killed by one of the big cats so that the villagers can get the compensation money from the government and survive. He meets Jim Ahmed (Neeraj Kabi) – a poacher, and finally coes across a tiger but fails to get himself killed. Gangaram becomes a celebrity overnight but a surprise twist ending follows.
Review: Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga could have been tuned into an excellent script of a village community’s struggle to preserve its livelihood. It could have also been a satire on the stark and naked reality of India that is Bharat. Most importantly, this could also have been a poignant story on human-wildlife conflict based on the forced encroachments on each other's spaces. However, it boils down to a mock-serious misadventure of a village, a simpleton albeit honest and sincere. Sarpanch Gangaram doesn’t understand the internet or any other hi-tech complexities of life. As his village is adjacent to the tiger reserve wild animals regularly destroy surrounding croplands. unable to avail of any ameliorative government scheme he devises a ridiculous plan to save his village from abject poverty. But more than a week in the jungle with long aimless roaming about and endless hours of wait make his journey a trifle boring. one can’t help notice that despite 10 days in a jungle, the Sarpanch’s dhoti-kurta remains as spotless as his naivety.
For hours, the film shows a lush green jungle with an array of flora and fauna but the composition seems pointless after a point of time for literally, nothing happens on screen. Near about interval time the film loses grip over the audience.
The remaining half of the film, post-interval, is relatively more animated with the arrival of Neeraj Kabi ; Jim Ahmed’s character could have been a little more convincing with background and buildup. Sayani Gupta seems absolutely brilliant as Gangaram’s wife. Her remarkable performance gets marred by the lack of attention to her character. He is smart and snappy without losing an iota of a rustic vibe. We can only wish that her role could be a bit more substantial.
Pankaj Tripathi probably can’t perform badly. He plays Gangaram as if he knows the man like the back of his hand. His performance flows like a river but he has little to salvage. The film pays tribute to the late singer, KK, whose song comes with the end scroll. The music is soothing but the songs on the screen lead us to nowhere.
Verdict: Despite a solid storyline that follows real-life events in the 2017 controversy regarding villagers reportedly sending their elderly family members to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve as prey for tigers so that they get government compensation,due to a flawed script, the film becomes verbose and boring in no time. In spite of Pankaj and Sayani’s splendid performance and Shantanu Moitra’s music, the film fails to leave a mark. Nevertheless both Neeraj Kabi and Masood Akhter deservingly attract attention. All said and done, after the movie gets over, it seems like a waste of an outstanding chance.