Director: Nishikant Kamat
The term ‘Madaari’ means a person who authoritatively makes the monkeys perform in front of the crowd and that’s exactly what Nishikant Kamat has portrayed in his film with relevance to corruption and life of a common man.
Kamat beautifully narrates the pain a common man through the eyes of the protagonist Nirmal Kumar (Irfan Khan). The plot of the film is stitched brilliantly that keeps the audience hooked throughout 133 minutes.
Madaari is about the pain and revenge of a single father who has lost his only child in a man-made tragedy (a bridge collapse). Taken over by grief and no agenda in life, Nirmal tries to end his life but then he decides to strike back to the people responsible for the bridge collapse and death of his child. He kidnaps the Home Minister’s son and tries to inflict the same pain and torture what he has been going through, ultimately exposing all the corrupt politicians and getting justice for his son.
The beauty and soul of the film is Nirmal Kumar. The director has portrayed his character in a way that every common man of this country can connect to. He is the simple, middle class man who has a small world in his son and has no expectations from the government. Nirmal Kumar could just be anyone in this crowd of billions.
The surprise element of the film is Rohan (Vishesh Bansal) who plays the son of Home Minister and is kidnapped by Nirmal. He adds the oomph of freshness to the hard hitting storyline and brilliantly supports Irfan throughout. Rohan knows where he belongs, he knows the power and money his father has but at the same time is strong, fearless and ability to understand what’s good and bad.
The dialogues by Ritesh Shah in the film is sheer brilliance. Rohan when asked to sleep by Nirmal, he seriously says “Raat ko toh mujhse door hi sona”. Another scene where Rohan asks Nirmal about his story, he frustratingly says “Nahi karunga kahani puri, khud tadpunga aur ussey bhi tadpaunga”. In the end scene Rohan turns back and says Nirmal “15 saal nahi lagey, sab samajh me aa gaya hai mujhe” (to Nirmal’s comment to Rohan in earlier part of movie where he says when you are grown up may be 5, 10 or 15 years from now.. you will understand everything).
It wouldn’t be wrong to say Irfan Khan is undoubtedly one of the best actors of the industry. He simply weaves magic. Nishikant Kamat has done a tremendous job to ensemble a strong cast but when you have an actor like Irfan driving the show, you know it will be nothing short of brilliance.
The supporting cast of the movie adds value to the storyline in every sense. Whether it is Jimmy Sheirgill playing the efficient cop or Tushar Talvi playing the role of home minister, every single character is there with a motive.
This is certainly Irfan’s one of the best performances. Nishikant Kamat has successfully been able to capture the reality of political or corruption scenario in the country in the form of a very emotional storyline. This deserves your attention and is a must watch.
