Mardaani 3Director: Abhiraj MinawalaActors: Rani Mukerji, Mallika PrasadRating: 3 stars
It’s taken me rather long to draw the connection that since Rani (Mukerji) plays the lead in this franchise, Mardaani, the title comes from Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s poetic tribute to the rani of Jhansi, from 1857 rebellion: ‘Khoob ladi mardaani….’
That said, the film itself is fine counterpoint to macho-man rodeo savage heroes that we are more used to, onscreen, watching their hair fly in the air as they swing on harnesses like circus clowns.
While equally feisty, and very much an actioner still, Mardaani adds a suitably feminine energy with a heroine in the same part. The stakes, on the face of it, may not seem as high as hyper-masculine heroes affecting transnational politics, as it were.
The lead cop, Shivani Shivaji Roy (mark the middle-name), chiefly specialises in relatively more local crimes against women; trafficking of minors, in this case (and in the previous ones too).
But then again, someone only has to mention Epstein files, about powerful paedophiles, for the American President to go around invading another country, as we speak!
So, who’s to say female minors, pushed into prostitution, isn’t grave enough to alter the globe?
Be that as it may, the plot here, mercifully, gets slightly denser still. In the sense that we know little girls are getting picked up from the boondocks to serve as beggars on streets. But the villains are on the lookout for a particular type of girls, sampling/testing their blood alongside, making you wonder, what’s really at play, beyond the obvious.
As an audience, this assists you with staying hooked to what happens next. In addition to what’s going on, of course. The screenplay and dialogues are credited to Aayush Gupta (The Railway Men), with story attributed to Deepak Kingrani (Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai), Baljeet Singh Marwah, along with Aayush.
Their script, sufficiently detailed, plays out with a bunch of twists, where it’s hard to tell between the good guys, and the bad guys.
Some of it clearly contrived. Yeah, and I do have a few questions in that regard. But they border on spoilers. I do wish for you to watch the film. So, saving that for when/if I meet the abovementioned blokes sometime.
While the crimes depicted in the picture, under the larger begging syndicate/mafia, apparently, have been going for a while, Mardaani starts off with the unintended kidnapping of a li’l girl, in Bulandshahar, UP.
The action shifts to the nation’s capital, nearby, with chaos/confusion over ransom, swiftly executed in a packed Delhi metro station (by the newish director Abhiraj Minawala; old-time assistant with the producers, Yash Raj).
The missing kid happens to be an Indian ambassador’s daughter. Hence, the demand for state intervention through the special cop, Shivani, who’s had a fairly impossible career as a police officer, if you ask me.
What with starting out as an inspector in Mumbai’s crime branch (first part) to an SP in Rajasthan (sequel), and then with the CRPF, currently deputed for a special investigation by India’s home secretary.
There’s no need to look particularly incredulous. She’s a whiz alright, cracking complicated clues like easy-peasy puzzles in her head.
Physically, I don’t think petite Rani ever fit this part. Well, neither did lanky Bachchan, when he pulled off the fight-master ‘angry young man’.
What’s undeniable is her connect. I attribute a lot of it to the ’90s. Forget fad diets and longevity science, there’s something the stars from that decade ate, along with butter-chicken or maachh-bhaat, that the longevity of their careers seems infinite. It’d be hard for many 30-year-old actors to match Rani’s vigour and energy. She’s been around in the movies for 30 years! Here’s the thing, though. The first Mardaani came out in 2014, the year India’s politics changed. As did our screen-viewing experience, shortly after — with OTTs streaming content, almost entirely focussed on dark, crime thrillers. Many of them with female cops in the centre.
For instance, the Indian series I’m watching now, Daldal, almost right after Delhi Crime 3, and the one I intend to catch next, Kohrra 2, are all police procedurals, with female stars playing cops!
What remains Mardaani’s USP then? I suspect the fact that the main-character energies have equally emanated from freshly introduced villains, who scripted decent careers for themselves thereafter: Tahir Raj Bhasin (from one), Vishal Jethwa (two). Not gonna compare here. The main villain in Mardaani 3 is a woman (Mallika Prasad), who could well be a dark alter-ego of Rani herself — same light brown eyes, husky voice, slightly calm demeanour.
There’s a scene where this dark, female lord of flesh-trade turns around from a quilt in bed to reveal herself. I felt a slight jolt, as if experiencing Sadashiv Amrapurkar from Sadak, for a sec. I got goosebumps observing her over a couple of scenes after.
Yes, this can only happen in a dark hall. Nope, it wouldn’t, on a small screen, at home.
