NH 10

NH 10- 2015 Director: Navdeep Singh

Director Navdeep Singh is back with another gritty thriller. Starring Anushka Sharma and Neil Bhoopalam, NH10 is a thriller based on real-life incidents that exposes us to the harsh reality of life. NH 10 is definitely not meant for typical bollywood audience. It is something different. Something combined with fear, love and how a young woman cope with such troublesome situation. When I downloaded the songs I was not expecting the movie to be SO terrifically awesome because the songs were not very catchy but after watching the movie I was speechless. Year 2014 turned the tables and there were many directors who actually played the role of being feminist and made a lot brilliant movies highlighting women and their issues in our society. In Urban areas of countries like India Pakistan Bangladesh etc Honor killing is considered as a pride but unfortunately it is called HEIGHT OF BEING IGNORANT.

Performance-Wise: Anushka Sharma, who also produced the film, delivers a huge, dramatic performance. She displays helplessness with sincerity, but breathers fire when it comes to destroying the villains. This is undoubtedly most power packed performance. Neil Bhoopalam is fairly good in the limited role he appears in. Darshan Kumaar is effortlessly wicked, enacting the chief villain with command. On the whole, 'NH10' is Tough Enough!

First things first, I was a little doubtful of this movie when I was purchasing the tickets because of all the negative reviews I had been hearing on the radio, on TV, and from friends, etc. Turns out, these were the best 100 bucks (yes, 100 bucks; perks of living in Greater Noida) I have spent in a while. The movie was brilliant! A high society couple hailing from a metropolitan of North India head out with nothing but a great weekend on their mind. Little do they know that this adventure road trip of theirs would be met by an incident, pertaining to one of the many social evils that still prevail in the rural parts of India, which would turn their simple journey on National Highway 10 (often abbreviated as NH 10) into a life-altering experience.

I was seriously blown away by the acting and direction, which defy most typical Bollywood movie template where the protagonist fights off three dozen gravity-defying goons of the villain but its a neck to neck battle with the antagonist himself, while his lady love (or rather a sidekick with almost no role to play in the movie) dances around needlessly and both survive in the end with a happily-ever-after ending. Obviously, it is seriously not meant for people who love Chennai Express-type movies. If you still decide to give it a shot, expecting even a pinch of romance, believe me you will be disheartened and disappointed with it, just like the couple sitting behind me who walked out of the theater in under 15 minutes. I liked it because it had a beginning, a mid, and an end. And all the three were properly executed, and did not completely defy logics OR physics, as is the case with most action Bollywood movies nowadays. Anushka was outstanding as the main lead, and other characters were pretty believable too. Nothing felt out of the place. And since its kind of a thriller, I really enjoyed the natural and expected behavior from the actors and I must say that in those regards, this movie even pips some Hollywood same-genre movies in which people are shown doing dumb things and act as if they are devoid of any and all common sense when in a life-threatening situation. I must say I was intrigued as well as immersed in the movie, especially in the beginning and in the end. The cast as well as the director were successful in keeping me from getting bored throughout the movie. And so, I hereby declare it a movie which is a bang for your (the no-nonsense and serious movie-goers') buck, and deserves my 9 rating stars.

Just a heads up, the movie is rated A, probably because of the one cuss word which is muted out towards the ending. Or maybe its because of violence, which most reviewers here are dubbing as "not- for-the-faint-hearted" *shrugs*. But meh.... No nudity or obscene shots, it is okay to watch it with your family, in my opinion.

'NH10' is brutal, frightening & yet powerful. Director Navdeep Singh gives a film, that's often scary & grotesque, but beneath all that, lies a story of courage & fighting back. It may not appeal to all due to its dark theme, but for those who relish on well-done violent thrillers, are sure to have a ball!

'NH10' Synopsis: A young couple's road trip goes awry after an encounter with a group of violent criminals. Chaos & Brutality follows...

'NH10' isn't for the faint-hearted. The sheer brutality depicted on-screen is off-putting & very disturbing. Also, this is a dark film, with absolutely nothing, but darkness all over it. But, the violence & the theme is so justified here, that it works as its trump card. 'NH10' works because the approach to this frightening tale, is given the correct treatment & execution.

Sudip Sharma's Screenplay is arresting. You're hooked onto the screen almost throughout, thanks to its tight writing. However, the first 30-minutes, when the story builds up, are dull. Those moments are the only shortcomings of this otherwise well-made film. But, the second-hour & the finale, in particular, are excellent.

Navdeep Singh's Direction is realistic & effective. He's handled the film really well. Cinematography is stark. Editing is perfect, as the film wraps up within a 110-minutes. Action-Sequences are gruesome, but well-executed. Background Score is first-class.

Performance-Wise: Anushka Sharma, who's also produced the film, delivers a terrific, dramatic performance as the horrified yet courageous protagonist. She displays helplessness with sincerity, but breathers fire when it comes to destroying the villains. This is undoubtedly her finest work to date. Neil Bhoopalam is fairly good in the limited role he appears in. Darshan Kumaar is effortlessly wicked, enacting the chief villain with command. Deepti Naval is absolutely fantastic in a scary cameo.

On the whole, 'NH10' is Tough Enough!

A good honest attempt by the director, producer and the lead actress, but the story and the characters let down the film badly. Every character is a cliché - every character behaves in a manner which is quite ridiculous. I did not feel that Anushka was in any real danger at any time. The gang chasing her was so incompetent. I did not feel any sympathy towards her or Neil. They had themselves to blame for the peril they were in. The only good scene in the entire movie is a sequence right at the end - but that is too little, too late to rescue the film. I was expecting a lot darker and serious movie - disappointed.

NH10 might take time to pick up, but when it does, there's no looking back for it. The film is a taut thriller with an interesting background of honour killing and a disturbing glimpse into societies that are incredibly primitive and backwards in terms of morality, values and their twisted mentality. This of course infuses NH10 with several harrowing sequences of sadistic violence which are unbearable to watch but also gives it a sense of hard-hitting brutality that makes the portrayal of areas that are known to all as having quite a few problems of this sort very credible.

This is where our leading heroine and her annoyingly stubborn husband find themselves. And their story is handled with great tension, where the writing makes the viewers really care for them and wish for their survival under such impossible circumstances. The film doesn't have a dull moment in this sense, and its many twists and turns secure a good watch which is bound to keep anyone on the edge of their seats even if it doesn't necessarily always ring true. It is towards the end where a good twist, despite its cathartic nature, follows an age-old format.

Remember the many female revenge films with Rekha, Dimple Kapadia and the likes? Remember how the kindhearted Rekha in Khoon Bhari Maang finds new purpose in life and returns to take revenge on the one who pushed her to the crocodiles? And what about sweet, demure Madhuri Dixit transformed into a merciless avenger in Anjaam? It's amazing how NH10, even if just for a few moments, manages to pay tribute to this famous wave of female-centric action films which allowed so many leading ladies to "experiment".

But unlike most of these films, which were quite bad and ridiculous (those mentioned above are quite good actually), NH10 has the advantage of being quite good and in so being it makes great use of what could have been Ab Insaaf Hoga (1995, with Rekha) or Gumrah (1993, with Sridevi), which are not up to the mark. In this sense, it is closer to Ek Haseena Thi with Urmila Matondkar as it keeps the quality on. And it gives the leading lady, the talented Anushka Sharma to shine through as both the racy city girl and the modern Jhansi Rani.

And she does. NH10, with all its qualities, is Anushak Sharma's film, and she is thoroughly convincing in this self-produced star vehicle, performing naturally and capturing with conviction the development of the character. Neil Bhoopalam as her husband Arjun is also very strong although as a character he is quite irritating at times. The supporting cast playing the group of goons is excellent, and the spectacular Deepti Naval, manages to leave a mark with another five-minute role as she always does. Watch NH10, it's a cinematic experience.