Bastar: The Naxal Story Review: Less to offer; Adah Sharma isn't impressive either as the idea isn't strong enough

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Bastar: The Naxal Story Review: Less to offer; Adah Sharma isn’t impressive either as the idea isn’t strong enough

Bastar: The Naxal Story Review: Sudipto Sen's Bastar: The Naxal Story delves into the seedier side of the Naxalite-Maoist rebellion in Chhattisgarh's Bastar area, exposing brutality, bloodshed, and ugliness.

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March 15, 2024 15:46 IST
Bastar: The Naxal Story Review: Less to offer; Adah Sharma isn’t impressive either as the idea isn’t strong enough
Bastar: The Naxal Story Review: Less to offer; Adah Sharma isn’t impressive either as the idea isn’t strong enough

New Delhi: One of the country’s most pressing issues, Naxalism, is discussed in the film – Bastar: The Naxal Story. The events surrounding the Naxalites and their effects on tribal families, CRPF jawans, the state, and the federal government are the central themes of the film.

Bastar: The Naxal Story, an action-crime film directed by Sudipto Sen and starring Vipul Amrutlal Shah, hit theatres today, March 15, 2024.

Plot

The film follows Adah Sharma’s character, IPS Neerja, making a solemn commitment to eradicate Naxalism from the Naxal-controlled region of Bastar, where she is assigned. Lanka Reddy, a Naxalite gang commander, has instilled terror in the area. He turns the locals against the government by appealing to their emotions. These two characters are central to the plot of the film.

Aside from depicting the effects of Naxalism in Bastar, the film’s story also adds New Delhi and JNU.

Review

Sudipto Sen’s Bastar: The Naxal Story delves into the seedier side of the Naxalite-Maoist rebellion in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar area, exposing brutality, bloodshed, and ugliness.

A heated courtroom sequence between two attorneys, Yashpal Sharma (Neelam Nagpal) and Shilpa Shukla (Utpal Trivedi), sets the tone for the film.

A charming Bastari village comes into view as a band of indigenous people proudly raises the Tricolour. Milind is branded a traitor by the Naxals for his association with the Tricolour and his role as an informant for IPS Neerja Bhargava, in what seems to be an unlawful trial.

Bastar: The Naxal Story attempts to blend fact and fiction but comes out as a jumble of theories. The filmmakers have also added an unpleasant amount of over-the-top blood and guts to several situations. Despite its illogical motivations, the story comes off as exploitative because of the protagonist’s sick fixation with the unsettling depiction.

But the acting in Bastar: The Naxal Story, particularly by Shilpa Shukla, Adah Sharma, Yashpal Sharma, and Raima Sen, is a big deal.

The film has outstanding performances by Adah Sharma and Yashpal Sharma. But the film’s audience was hoping for a more savagery attitude from Adah.

In the end, nevertheless, Sudipto Sen’s directing is unsatisfactory. It alludes to some serious national problems, but the film doesn’t do them justice when seen in theatres.

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