SHE DON-Hindi Movie 'Shabri' Review
by Amrita Simon

'Shabri' is the story of a slum-dweller girl,working hard at an Atta-chakki for her family that is almost as poor as church mice.

An alcoholic father,a mother working herself almost to the bone making pickles and a young brother who loiters around mixing with the wrong kind of people, adds to the burden of the already heavy laden,weary and frustrated Shabri..

The ashen tinted film symbolizes the lack of any hope or color in Shabri's life. Her concern for her brother 'Bandhya'(Vijay) is expressed only through tight slaps and scraps over a pair of rubber slippers.

'Murad' (played by newcomer Raj Arjun) is a Mathka player with a heart.

From the very beginning, he is shown as a savior of sorts.His expressive eyes say it all.... his compassion and kindness.

Acutely aware of and almost hating what he does for a living, Murad is seen constantly discouraging Shabri's brother to have anything to do with anything illegal.

The only dramatic entry in the film is that of the Villain (Pradeep Rawat). He seems even more sinister than what he was in Ghajini, literally making the back of the hair on your head stand up.

Bandhya gets picked up by the police for a crime he is innocent of. Murad frantically tries to get him out but fails.

Shabri turns up at the Police station to set her brother free. While she waits outside the Cop-in-charge is shown slurping his meal in a disgusting way. The way he tears into the meat he is eating and sucks at the bones depicts what some corrupt and cruel cops are capable of doing.

As he leers and touches Shabri, her terrified young brother, his beating wounds visible, his voice quivering with terror, musters enough courage to tell the cop to lay off his sister or else.....

Later Bandhya is shown in a dark cell with a lone bulb swinging mid-air,with cops all around him and one of them undressing.

What you see later is not for the faint-hearted.

The Director, Lalit Marathe shows Bandya's torture and brutalization, in a way that has never, ever been seen on any Hindi Movie screen before.

Murad breaks the news to Shabri in silent scene that nevertheless conveys his own pain.

When Shabri sees her brother's young broken body, his torn chappals (the very pair she'd fight with him about) laying alongside, a representation of sorts, of the perverted, animal like cruelty he had to go through, something inside her snaps and she takes the law into her own hands.

Murad stands by her like a rock. The rest of the movie is about how because of their actions Murad and Shabri are on the run and literally have to 'hit the mattresses' with both the police and the Villain 'Rajdhar Bhau' hot in their pursuit.

In a juicy, author backed role, Isha Koppikar,(Shabri) gives the best performance of her career with her slum-dweller look (dark pancake,crumpled saree, et al) and gait down to a pat.

Almost always serious in every frame, one gets to see Shabri give a slight glimmer of a smile when she catches Murad looking at her as she dries her freshly washed hair.

Newcomer Raj Arjun (Murad) is the surprise package of the film .

Considering,this was his first film, he has given a beautifully restrained performance, expressing himself softly with words or sometimes with his eyes only. Any other actor in his place would have hammed or may have been tempted to but Raj gives a stellar performance in a role that should have been longer.

Zakir Hussain is good as the stony faced cop with a wry sense of humor.

As the main Villain, Pradeep Rawaat has out done himself. He is just too good. Unlike other Directors who show the Villain as just a very bad guy, Lalit Marathe has carved out many facets in his Villain that shows his cruelty, his pain and finally his stunned grief.

In fact the Villain is the best etched character of the film.

As a first time Director, Lalit Marathe has done a good job, paid attention to detail, made a good film on a novel concept and is worth watching out for.

Even though, in my opinion, the film could have done without the ashen hues and expanded the romantic angle between Murad and Shabri a little more, it is unquestionably a must watch for all those gangster film aficionados out there.

IRON MAIDEN

Assam witnessed a rock show by an Iron Maiden yesterday.

Media reports splashed images of a young girl in Assam, stoning an armed Indian Army Jawan for molesting her.

I watched, frozen in horror as the petite lioness repeatedly attacked the burly soldier. She carried on throwing rocks at the Jawan fearlessly to the slow rumblings of ‘Kill, Kill’ in the background.

I was terrified that the soldier might just whip his gun off his shoulder and shoot her, but obviously this possibility never crossed the mind of the little tigress (or if it did… it didn’t matter)

I felt disgusted and so proud at the same time.

Disgusted that a soldier from the Indian army could do this and pride at the young girl’s fierce reaction which forced the whole of India to sit up, take notice and make the army order an inquiry.

Even as she was bundled up and driven away in a jeep, she kept clutching on to a couple of rocks... (for future use maybe)

The women of north-east keep displaying an amazing amount of courage,grit, guts and sheer balls.....

Does anyone remember the demonstration (in July 2004) made by hundreds of women in front of the Head-quarters of Assam Rifles in Imphal?

It was to protest the torture, rape and custodial death of a woman named Manorama by soldiers of Paramilitary Assam Rifles.

During the protests, more than a dozen women stripped stark naked with banners reading ‘Indian Army Rape Us’ and ‘Indian Army Takes Our Flesh’.

Speaking of Iron Maidens, brings me to the toughest of them all – Irom Sharmilla.

This woman wants the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) scrapped.

This act gives army personnel (in areas proclaimed 'disturbed') special powers, to arrest, search without warrant, shoot at and even kill on suspicion in the name of curbing insurgency.

The Indian army has committed grave and gory human rights abuses wherever it has had special powers and immunity under the protection of AFSPA (namely J&K, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya).

To protest against this act, Irom Sharmilla has been on a fast from November 2000.

Since then she has been forcibly fed from a tube and has spent most of her time behind bars.


This is because every time she is released, she resumes her fast and gets re-arrested.

That means that for the past 8 years and 8 months this Iron Maiden has not eaten anything!! Not of her own free will!!

The only reason she is alive is because, she constantly has a tube up her nose from which regularly force fed liquid food !!

Those who have been operated upon must be aware of how painful it is to be intubated through the nose. I was for a few days and, and it chafed, hurt and was painful all the time esp while talking.

Imagine having one up your nose all the way down to your food pipe for 8 years!!!

She is in the Guinness Book of World Records for ‘The longest protest on a social cause by a single individual anywhere in the world.'

In her support, the relay hunger strike demanding to save the life of Irom Sharmilla entered the 235th day today.

It is shameful,that the Government has not addressed this atrocity.

Meanwhile, the Iron Maiden continues to starve for her fellow citizens.

Women of modern India, think about it the next time, your well manicured hand reaches for a sandwich.

MAID IN MUMBAI

OK! OK! I was wrong. I was frickin blind. I was so sure that Shiney was innocent, that the DNA report (confirming sexual contact between him and his maid) was like a slap in the face.

In his defence plea, Shiney has claimed that the sex with the maid was ‘consensual’ (yikes!) and there was nothing amiss about the nail marks found on his body, as such an “injury was possible during sex” (yuck!).

I feel soooo stupid now.

The thing is – Shiney had never been linked with anybody.

All that was written/said about him, was that he had the tendency to rub his co-workers the wrong way (no pun there) and that his marriage was in trouble.

Now who would think that an intelligent, good looking actor, from such a decent family, would throw it all away for a... maid?

I am forced to wonder… what hope do us ordinary wives have against the average hottie?!

I don’t know about you people, but I really feel sorry for his poor wife, Anupam.

That woman really put herself out there – valiantly defending her husband’s honor before the hungry microphones and flash bulbs.

How humiliating for her! How tough it is going to be.... braving the winks, the whispers, the nudges and sniggers.

That poor lady is not going to call for a press conference for a long long long time.

If only these men would stop and think about their families and kids before they unzip and throw it all away for a roll in the hay.

As for me… I am firing my maid!

Hurrah! The courts came through, once again for the terrified ICSE/CBSE bachchas and threw out the 90/10 percent seat sharing formula(at least I was right about that one!)

The government order was called....ahem 'Unconstitutional, Arbitrary and the Epitome of unfairness', among other things.

Now the government is busy wiping the egg off its face. (whatta disgrace!)

Will these politicians never learn?

Sab milkar bolo – Indian Judiciary ki Jai!

One thing that I find very funny, if these lions, (ok, cubs) in politics are brave enough to swear, to chop off the hands, of the enemies of the Hindus of this country, then..... why do they need their security upgraded?

Why do they need security at all?

Why does any threat, real or imagined, distress them so much?

Aha! It is very easy to give inflammatory, poisonous, hate mongering speeches from behind a cordon of security.

Now someone, who loves his countrymen so much, is so protective of them, and is brave enough to openly give hate speeches, should not be afraid of death threats, should he?

If the central government is really secular, it should seriously consider removing completely, the security of any politician, who gives any kind of hate speeches.

Phir dekhna – hamaare netaon ke mukh se sirf phool hi jhadenge :-)

Lijiye, gai bhains paani mein…

Only 10% seats in Junior colleges in Maharashtra for non SSC students.

The government has gone and passed a resolution okaying 90% seat reservation quota for SSC students, (knowing fully well the courts are going to throw it out).

Then why do it? Arre baba it’s obvious!

Our Politicians really care for and love the local board students and do not want them to be short changed in any way.

I mean look at the SSC Board… their exams are so tough, difficult to score in… with a such a vast syllabus. These helpless children study so hard and get no marks.

And these ICSE/CBSE students! bah! They don’t study at all… their syllabus is so simple, so small and very easy to score in.

How dare they get such high marks?

(Bahut bey insafi hai yeh!)

Obviously it is only just and fair that only 90% JC seats be kept for SSC boards.

Let these ICSE/CBSE boards be content with 10%.

Anybody who questions this, and calls the Government populist with an eye on the forthcoming assembly polls is a CYNIC and a STATE DROHI!

Certain Media reports say Shiney was groped in his cell. Very upsetting, that !!

Also some sections of the media are claiming that the victim is allegedly in love with Shiney.

Hmmm........ Makes me wonder.....

Hope this case does not end up like the Aarushi murder case

arrests where, by the time the father got bail, he had been tried by

the media, fired from his job and ostracized by his friends and peers.

Anybody notice the police is always ready to jump and arrest celebrities and ordinary citizens but maha reluctant to even question politicians.

Recently the body of a 7-8 year old girl was found in a Politician’s car, with injury marks on it.

The parents screamed Bloody murder and rape. But it took the cops more than a week to even file an FIR.

Now if the car has belonged to a celebrity, he would have been 'Andar' before one could shout Jack Robinson.

Samjhey? Samajne waale samaj gaye.

Jo na samjhe, woh _ _ _ _ _ hai.

Kya hai?

Anari hai. Aur kya?

Dirty vulgar minds............. think like me ;0)

Did he? Didn’t he? – of course he didn’t.

There is no way Shiney Ahuja raped his maid. How do I know?

I just do. Saw his wife Anupam’s press conference.

Apart from all the “I stand by my man” statements, she refused to say anything else, saying the matter is subjudice. (If you cannot say anything… why call for a press conference?) She said rape can be committed by a woman!!!

That one had me flummoxed! How does a woman rape a man?

Could some one tell me how and then er, help me get Brad Pitt in a room…alone?

Gotcha! Kidding Yaar! Mazaak kar ria hoon!

My 3 ½ year old kid, Johnathan, does not know Shiney’s name. But when the news channels flash his pictures, he points to the TV and yells.....

“Mamma – Naa jaane koi, Kaisee hai yeh zindagani….”

Funny Johnathan should say that because just two days before he was born, we were having dinner at the Marriott, Juhu and spotted Shiney enjoying a quiet coffee with his wife.

This was before 'Gangster'. 'Hazaron Khwaishe' had been released and I like everybody else had loved it.

So a heavily pregnant me waddled over to their table, introduced myself and said how I loved him in the movie… vagerah vagerah.

He politely stood up and pleasantly chatted with my husband and I, and wished me a very safe delivery.

I know this was a very brief interaction, but an actor as intense and sincere as him cannot do something soooo cheap. Not possible.

This is not some tharki pot bellied uncle who came on to the under aged maid.

This is a good guy, a good father and a bloody good looking actor.

He didn’t need to maul no maid. Any starlet would have willingly slept with him.

This daal seems kala men!

See ya!