Murder in a village

Sheetal

Set in Rautu Ki Beli village in Uttarakhand, this detective noir film comes from ‘The Fakir of Venice’ director Anand Surapur. Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Inspector Deepak Negi, this would rate among his most subtle performances. Streaming on Zee5, the film salutes parallel cinema, with silence playing a major role.

The titular village has seen no incident of crime in the past 30 years. So, when the death of the warden (Narayani Shastri) of a blind school is reported at the police station, there’s hulchul among the otherwise laidback and peace-loving inhabitants. Negi, along with his team of four, takes charge. Dealing with PTSD, he hasn’t been home since he became an Inspector.

Two old men gossiping highlights how fast word travels in small villages. There’s a strong local accent and every actor follows it, except for Atul Tiwari, whose character hails from Lucknow. He evokes a sense of déjà vu for his role as Governor Goverdhan Daas from ‘Maharani’ series. The anger and frustration of Manoj Keshri in ‘Rautu Ka Raaz’ matches that of Daas. Perhaps that’s what made the makers cast him in the role of the philanthropist running the blind school in the village.

Nawazuddin, the brilliant actor that he is, lives up to the expectations as the khaki-donning Negi. While he has established himself in romantic roles in his outings of late, he seems set to cut the cliché with this one. Nawaz plays a mysterious man with a sharp mind in a petite body, especially when standing next to his strongly-built junior, Naresh Dimri (Rajesh Kumar).

A slacking employee, but also a good cop, Dimri follows orders to the T, and yet, somehow fails to pick the simplest of clues. Negi and Dimri’s chemistry is very interesting and perks up the entertainment quotient in an otherwise slow investigation.

Geography drives the narrative. A female constable asking for leave to visit a temple; the warden’s assistant over-explaining when asked if she had an affair; Negi not resorting to violence until necessary; the local dialect and not-so-fancy offices or pubs — all point towards a scenic village in the mountains.

It’s not a film for everybody and strictly appeals to cinema buffs who like a simple and slow watch after a hectic week. But kudos to Anand for co-writing and directing this experimental film, when slacker noir is on the verge of extinction.

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