Mardaani

Shivani Roy is an inspector in the Mumbai police. A girl she knows from the street disappears; Pyaari lived in an orphanage and Shivani looked out for her. The report is not taken seriously. Shivani starts investigating on her own. The trail leads to a child trafficking network; girls are gathered in the provinces, brought to the cities and sold. A young man is at its head. He calls Shivani and threatens her; he is confident because he has protection behind him. Shivani cannot proceed through official channels. Pradeep Sarkar directs. Rani Mukerji plays Shivani and Tahir Raj Bhasin the man opposite her. The language is Hindi. It was Tahir Raj Bhasin's first major part and his character is what is most cited. The matter it treats is child trafficking; the film shows it as a system rather than genre material. The narrative also criticises the police as an institution; why the files do not move is described openly. Rani Mukerji's character is not set into an action shape; the narrative carries her as a detective. Its last section is hard and offers no official resolution. The film did well at the box office and a sequel was made. Its limit is structure; the plot takes short cuts in places and the ending is contested. Who it is for: viewers who like Indian crime films and thrillers on social ground. Who it is not for: the subject is heavy, some scenes uncomfortable, and the ending legitimises killing without trial.