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Sehar
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'Sehar' A New Dawn

By Aparajita Ghosh
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

If you thought that Arshad Warsi was good enough just for comedy, you ought to see him in Sehar. The movie has him in an intense role of a righteous cop.

Storywise, Sehar may not have anything new to offer to movie lovers – an honest cop cracking down on the organized crime. But as regards the treatment of the subject, Sehar does make an impact.

Director

Kabeer Kaushik has presented the story in a very realistic way, aided by excellent cinematography, slick editing and hard-hitting performances from Arshad Warsi, Sushant Singh and Pankaj Kapur.

Story:

31-year-old cop Ajay Kumar (Arshad Warsi) is the newly appointed S.S.P. of Lucknow. Thanks to his honesty, he was transferred to this UP town from his old post. In Lucknow, Ajay Kumar is given the case of a gangster’s murder.

It turns out that the gangster was killed by another rival gangster Gajraj (Sushant Singh) who enjoys a strong clout among political circles and police force.

As Ajay goes about investigating his case, he figures out how well organized the crime world is with its covert links to politicians, businessmen and the very keepers of law.

To crack down on this organized crime, Ajay forms the Special Task Force comprising of honest and dutibound cops. Among them is an expert in cell-phone technology (Pankaj Kapur) who helps the team tap the phones of influential people.

In his fight against the gangsters and the corrupt ones, Ajay has the moral support and the love of Police Commissioner’s daughter Anamika (Mahima Chaudhary).

The story of Sehar is told in flashback. From the opening reels – the bloody battle between two gangsters – the movie grips a viewer. The film progresses at a brisk pace with brief romantic interludes between Arshad Warsi and Mahima Chaudhary.

This love angle, and the romantic song featuring the two, in this otherwise serious, singularly directed story should better have been dispensed with. Perhaps, the director wanted to balance the realism in the movie with a little bit of eye-candy stuff. Hence, the presence of Mahima in the film.

Arshad Warsi deserves appreciation for his well-crafted performance in the movie. The actor, mostly relegated to second fiddle roles in films, proves that he has the ability to carry a movie on his shoulders. He brings the requisite angst, anger, frustration and self-control in his character.

Sushant Singh is commendable in the role of the gangster Gajraj. Pankaj Kapur, as usual, gets under the very skin of his character.

One big drawback of Sehar is its predictable story. Tales of cops versus gangsters have been pummeled to dead pulp in Bollywood. Gangster rivalry, politician-underworld nexus and organized crime – such stories have been shown umpteen times on celluloid.

What works for Sehar is the story’s realistic treatment by director Kabeer Kaushik and good acting performances by the star cast. The movie’s climax – shot on a moving train – is another redeeming factor.

Gritty But Stale

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