Movie Review – Dirty Politics

STORY: Anokhi Devi (Mallika Sherawat) is a popular dancer who engages in a relationship with Dina Nath (Om Puri) for political power. When election ticket doesn’t come her way, she threatens to bring out an objectionable CD containing something that can destroy Dina Nath’s career. Anokhi goes missing and the case moves to CBI for investigation.

REVIEW: A hybrid of political drama and murder mystery, Dirty Politics is a warped tale. Despite flaunting a convoy of seasoned actors, the film fails to hold up its promising premise. The script’s most potent part is the sex scandal but the writer introduces an array of meaningless sub-plots which dilutes it. Had the story systematically unraveled its myriad facets, it could’ve left a thumping impact.

There is no drama or suspense in the film. The only mystery that remains is why actors like Puri, Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher agreed to be a part of such muck. A mishmash of dismal performances, terrible editing and an unsurprising plot-line, the film fails to do justice to its core idea of dishing out a political drama where sex plays a powerful role.

Sex is instead used as a prop to titillate in this amateurish story. A top politician cannot keep his libido in control and allows himself to be used as a pawn by his keep whose ‘dirty’ ambitions include attaining political power. Sherawat’s skin show adds no value to the plot. Kher, Shah and Puri manage to better an otherwise dreadful narrative but with a plot this execrable, a better film cannot be whipped up.

Silly isn’t a term broad enough to encapsulate the zest of this movie. Stories like these demand a little more sensitivity but the director’s incoherence of understanding the theme make this a wasted attempt. What else can explain the rape sequence in the climax?

Expect to remain unmoved by this film which tries to unleash the morally corrupt face of Indian politics. The product we have at hand, is a juvenile tryst which focuses on a sexually charged up plot to garner good box office moolah.

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