Sherni Movie Review
Sherni Vidya Balan a role that aptly describes the essence of the movie and its impact on the audience. The movie opens to a majestic view of the vast green forest. It lets you sink into the beauty of the jungle, its dense and treacherous ambience. Vidya Balan, who plays Divisional Forest Officer Vidya Vincent, in the film roars like a tiger.
In her position as the new forest officer, Vidya embarks on her role to resolve human-animal conflicts, however, her challenges go beyond just that. She has to establish her own standing as a woman in a man’s world.
Just like the central theme of the film – tigers – Vidya also lies low, not from fear, but for aim. She gently finds her way through the jungle, just as Sherni attempts to journey Hindi cinema to a terrain that has been probed, but not explored.
Amit Masurkar’s Sherni, draws attention to the unstoppable threats from poaching, deforestation and overgrazing. Then, there are communities that rely on forest returns for their livelihoods. Meanwhile, cattle and men venturing into the jungle are turning up dead. Yes, a wild cat is on the loose. Caught in the middle of this are forestry officials and our protagonist Vidya Vincent.
sherni is Quite intriguing and is Super Solid. Vidya balan’s choice of movies is getting better day by day
Sherni is reminiscent of Avni or T1’s case. The tigress was accused of killing 13 people. After months-long hunt, she was shot dead in 2018 in Yavatmal, Maharashtra, by a civilian hunter-led search accompanied by some forest department officials. Many activists described it as ‘cold-blooded murder’ and the case even reached the Supreme Court of India. The case is still going on with officials trying to find whether Avni was a man-eater or not.
Coming back to Sherni, Vidya soon realises that humans and tigers are both endangered. This fact hits her when lives are lost in the jungle and a politician grabs the opportunity to make big promises about showing the tiger its rightful place – sending it to a zoo or a circus, that is. Even the forest department remains complacent and corrupt. Things are not that different in reel or real lives
Sherni has been shot majestically across the jungles of Madhya Pradesh. However, as the jeeps speed along the jungle track, one as expects does not find the thrill of being in jungle with vast emptiness and the yearning to find a tiger staring at you or coming out the blue in front of you. It proves right as you recall John Vaillant’s saying, “The tiger will see you a hundred times before you see him once.” We feel a bit more camerawork in the jungle could have worked to create the much-needed thrill.
Back in civilisation, there are characters and sequences that seem stretched. We understand people in power have a laid-back attitude and little sense of responsibility towards forest folks and their woes, let alone the big cats. We also get how everyone from politicians to hunters just wants to forward their own agenda. But we did not need to see so much of it.
In the film, Mukul Chaddha plays Vidya’s husband, while Ila Arun plays her mother-in-law. Brijendra Kala and Neeraj Kabi play her seniors, who couldn’t be less interested in her mission or the actual goals of the forest department. Vidya finds support in Vijay Raaz, a professor who has much knowledge of tigers and their movements. Sharat Saxena is the big-bad hunter who is hell-bent on getting to the tigress on the prowl before others.
The performance of every actor in the film is well carved, and they play it well, and Amit Masurkar’s proves his mettle like the his hard-hitting 2017 film Newton – starring Rajkummar Rao – Sherni too doesn’t make a big shout. Yet, it captures the emotions, drama and the persisting issues sorrounding the jungles of India; the socially relevant message does comes through.
Sherni Movie Review: Vidya Balan keeps you immersed in the film Sherni with her brilliant persona and acting prowess .
She doesn’t make bold statements as she challenges patriarchal mindset at work and at home. She is restrained, but determined, a rare idealist in a flawed system. Her gender often comes up in conversations with the locals. They are not outright condescending but point out how a ‘lady officer’ has been sent to handle ugly situations. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing far from reality. She still tackles all the prickly issues in an impressive manner. As an actor, Vidya is well-suited for the part. She knows how to let her expressions convey her emotions where words would only add to the chaos.
In Sherni, on her mission to capture the tigress who has been declared a man-eater, Vidya encounters many obstacles. Everyone seems to have a piece of advice for her; no one seems to have faith in her actions. Yet, with the help of a small team and locals, she does her job. She doesn’t sit behind a desk, she is the woman on the ground. When she comes home, she tries to maintain peace there too. Vidya calmly expresses her life’s choices, rather than making big speeches.
In the end, you realise there are certain rules of the jungle for everyone – be the inhabitants, animals or mankind. Holding your ground against the powers that be takes courage, venturing out of your territory can be dangerous, yet you do what it takes to survive. No one is always the predator or the prey. Just like when confronted with humans, animals at times attack and other times, silently disappear into the darkness all for self-preservation.
Watch Vidya Balan’s roaring performance in Sherni on Amazon Prime Video.