Genre : Drama
Year : 2015
Running time : 2 hours 35 minutes
Director : Meghna Gulzar
Cast : Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Sohum Shah, Prakash Belwadi, Sumit Gulati
Kid rating: PG-15
Talvar is based upon the real-life murder case of 14 year old Arushi Talwar, whose parents, Dr. Nupur and Rajesh Talwar were sentenced to life imprisonment. The film takes us into the story from the beginning , right after the murder is found. Then the local police are brought in and proceed to royally botch up the case. Amidst uproar in the media, CDI Investigator Ashwin Kumar takes over. What he finds out turns the case on its head.
This real-life case was a pretty grotesque one, and the film doesn’t shy away from details. However, credit to the makers in keeping this film strongly focussed on the story, and keeping away from the sordidness, which in less capable hands would probably have crept in to the film.
The film presents its mounting evidence in a very credible fashion and goes into quite a bit of detail regarding the investigation. All is logically presented, and it clarifies many details which were not correctly reported/garbled by the regular news media. I have no trouble believing the immense corruption and apathy that is depicted in the film. The policemen in the film are rude, uncouth and discourteous, besides being inept. It doesn’t come as a surprise when they concoct up an atrocious tale of “loose moral character” and “honor killing” to affirm their shaky theories; when it comes to women, everything simply must be about honor (#sarcasm). What is astounding is that in real life, the parents actually got convicted and sentenced based on these questionable theories!
At no time does the narrative feel forced or pushy. It does not make up our minds for us; instead it presents the facts and lets us make our own minds up. Of course, this could not have been done without the excellent cast. Besides Sen-Sharma and Kabi, who play the parents in a stellar fashion, there is also Khan, whom I need say nothing about; such is his reputation. Even the smaller roles are executed to perfection by actors like Sumit Gulati (as compounder Kanhaiya) and Sohum Shah (ACP Vedant Mishra).
Gulzar has directed a couple of films before this, none have been anything to write home about. She does well here, although I’m sure Vishal Bharadwaj’s genius (and writing) had beneficial effects on the film.
Kidwise: Owing to the topic, this is by no means an easy film to watch. While I’m rating this as acceptable for 15+, please exercise caution – this could be fairly disturbing for a younger audience.
