The premise of Shorgul movie may seem ridiculous to many. Religious conservatism exists in every religion, almost everywhere in the world. But when it is faaned with venomous breath, it doesn’t take a lot to turn a spark into raging fire.
Shorgul (2016)
Director: Jitendra Tiwari
Stars: Jimmy Shergill, Ashutosh Rana, Suha Gezen
At its core, Shorgul is a love story. A love story of a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl. But when we give this simple union and desire of two individuals a religious color, it doesn’t take time to turn this love story into ‘Love Jihad’ and a matter of national importance that threatens to obliterate a religion. Shorgul depicts this love story in the backdrop of a religious and political turmoil in Uttar Pradesh, which has been a hotbed for many motivated incidents in the last year.
Shorgul Movie Review
The story may look trivial overall, but as long as we have people who capitalize on the religious sensitivities of the masses, movies like these will be made. While these candidates have no qualms about spewing hate on the microphone, they are often touchy when their acts are immortalized in the movies.
Jimmy Shergill and Ashutosh Rana give good performances to show the volatile situation in Uttar Pradesh. Jimmy Shergill plays a local MLA, who uses religion shamelessly to fulfill his political ambitions. Ashutosh Rana on the other hand plays a liberal politician, and doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Jimmy Shergill. But the story has very little depth. John Keary at The Reporter Times finds the constant bickering and hateful speech a bit too overwhelming and doesn’t see the movie as something people would want to watch for entertainment. After all, there is no escapism here. The movie soundtrack is good and will provide some respite from the high tension.
Reviewer at Just Bollywood echoes other reviews when he says that the movie is too monotonous. Rahul Desai at catch news sees the movie as too formulaic. Showing inter-religious relationship as the reason for a full-scale riot is still skirting the real issue.
Overall, it appears, the movie handles a very important subject with as much rhetoric as people who prosper on religious hatred. So not a good choice for an entertaining weekend when Sultan is round the corner.
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