Review of NH10

Few years ago director Navdeep Singh had made an unconventional suspense thriller "Manorama Six Feet Under" which goes almost unnoticed in spite of being a good film but this time he has been more lucky to get a better subject as well as to get a mainstream actress Anushka Sharma as the main lead of his latest film "NH10" and both these factors have worked in favor of this movie and it has got a good pre-release buzz.
It is an intense, engaging, hard hitting film which targets the the difference in the mindset of the urban and rural India.It also tries to loud its voice against violence and discrimination against woman in India and tries to teach how to cop up with it.

The story begins with a happily married urban couple in Delhi, Arjun(Neil Bhoopalam) and

Meera(Anushka Sharma). They make a plan to spend a holiday in a private villa at the outskirts of Delhi  to celebrate Meera's birthday but destiny have planned something else for them. During their journey on the National Highway they stop at a roadside dhaba for lunch and there they see some local villagers are beating a couple badly. Arjun tries to intervene but it goes against him and unwillingly he brings himself and Meera in danger  as they witness the gang of the villagers to kill the newly married couple. After that it follows a typical cat and mouse chase of Arjun and Meera to survive from the gang of ruthless killers in a unknown jungle where some unknown danger is waiting for them at every corner. In her different attempt to survive , Meera tries to get help from every possible person whether it is car driver passing by the highway or the local policemen or a local migrant labor or the sarpanch of the nearby village but she fails to bring help for her and her husband. Later she realizes that she have to help herself , to survive among the killers she has to be like them and have to fight back.

The story is inspired by the English movie"Eden Lake" but it has been scripted very well by Sudeep Sharma , in Indian backdrop raising some burning issues in India in today's times. Very effectively it highlights how different is the mentality of people in rural areas from the the residents of metro cities though the geographical distance is not too much. Although the film took more than required time around 10 minutes to introduce the urban lifestyle of Arjun and Meera in the beginning but once they start their road journey the screenplay takes its pace and after that you will never feel bore rather you will get involved unknowingly with Arjun and Meera in their journey. The script is so engaging that after sometime you will start caring for the safety of Arjun and Meera. The climax is also superb and deserves rounds of applause for the way the character of Meera fights back with courage.

The screenplay has all the elements of an edge of the seat thriller as it maintains the tension till the end and also keeps throwing surprising twists in the regular intervals as a result in spite of being an uni-dimensional story it never feels monotonous or boring. But only one thing should have been done in a better way and that is the way Arjun involves himself in the danger. The writers could have think a better situation for that.
There is some other good points of the script that makes it a better watch than an average thriller and that is the social message it tries to deliver that too very silently without giving over the top dramatic dialoguebaazi, through some small references. Like there is a reference of how a toll tax collector gets killed by someone just to prove his power or how simply a policeman demonstrates that democracy is a meaningless word once you crossed the last mall of Gurgaon. There is reference how woman are unsafe even in big cities and how their hard work is considered as a special favor from their boss for being a girl.Also there is the brutal honor killing sequence where a couple is killed just because they have chosen their life partner from the same gotra. This small moments will surely force the audience to think about the current situation of our country. The dialogues penned by Sudeep Sharma is very realistic and effective.

As a director Navdeep Singh has hits the bulls eye. From choosing a good subject to presenting it in a proper way to the audience, he has done it very effectively.He has created such a realistic world that while watching the film the audience will find  themselves in the center of the action. Very efficiently he has created the contrast between the two different worlds.

The whole cast of the film is perfect in their roles. As the leading lady Anushka Sharma

is excellent. She is the hero of the film in every sense. There is no doubt it is the best character of her career to showcase her talent and she has given more than 100 percent to utilize this opportunity. Her transformation from a young educated professional in a big city to the helpless woman fighting for survival in an unknown territory is superb. In the climax for around 10 minutes there is hardly any dialogue but by her impressive eyes and body language Anushka Sharma has succeeded to convey the mindset of her character Meera, very clearly. Anushka Sharma's portrayal of Meera will be remembered as one of the finest performances done by the any Indian actress ever.

Among the other actors , Neil Bhoopalam is very impressive in a comparatively short role. He looks genuine as scared and wounded Arjun who is struggling for his own life and his

wife's safety. Darshan Kumar who was last seen in "Mary Kom" has played a totally different role in his second movie as the menace, ruthless Satbir who can kill his own sister effortlessly in the name of her families honor. Darshan Kumar shines very well in this negative role and his acting his credible enough that the audiences will hate him for his brutal act. Deepti Naval appears in a cameo in a role which gives a surprise element in the story and she is impressive in her small appearance. Among the supporting cast Ravi Jhankal is effective as Mamajee in Satbir's brutal gang.
The rest of the cast has provided good support in their small roles. The credit should be given to the casting director for casting such nice actors in the supporting roles.

The technical team has done a fine job to give this film a realistic look and feel. The cinematography by Arvind Kannabiran is very impressive. Most of the film has been shot in night and the light arrangement is wonderful. The editing by Jabeen Merchant is very sharp as required for fast paced thriller only the first 10 minutes portion in Delhi could have shortened a bit. Special mention should be given for the sound design for the film which is very authentic. Another special mention is deserved by the make up artiste and stylist of the actors. As the story is of just one night that too is very eventful so the make up artist have a huge responsibility to maintain the continuity of the look of the characters.

There is hardly any scope for music and the all the songs has been used in background and are just functional has not much impact on the film. The only song which works well is the song "Maati Ka Palang" in the climax.

On a whole it is hard hitting thriller which is brave enough to show the reality of today's burning India without compromising its brutality. Don't just go for entertainment rather watch this thought provoking movie and salute the brave attempt of the team. Also watch the film for the arresting performance by the leading lady of the film Anushka Sharma.