Thackeray movie review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui rocks the character and rules our heart

I LOVE NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI. This man can carry any part given to him and with amazing prowess. The disclaimer with the producer Sanjay Raut’s voiceover says that the film is based on Balasaheb Thackeray and some events are modified for making it visually appealing. So let’s not go into the story, but the film as a whole. And is it well-made! The actors here are not merely mimicking the actual people, but playing them and owning the characters. Be it ministers or the lead himself, unlike the recent biopic The Accidental Prime Minister. Director Abhijit Panse knows what his vision is and walks towards it without deviating.

What’s it about? The film is based on the life of the sensational late leader Balasaheb Thackeray. It traces Balasaheb’s journey from deciding to form Shiv Sena till the day he places his political organisation on the map and makes a mark with winning the elections. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Balasaheb and Amrita Rao as Meena Thackeray, wife of Balasaheb. It begins with the tension in the environment on the day of the hearing of Babri case where Balasaheb is going to present his testimony.

The film introduces Balasaheb and directly takes you to a flashback story about why this man is standing in the witness box that day. Then the film gets into how Balasaheb realises that Maharashtrians are being side-lined, how the migrants have dominated them and he pledges to do something about the situation. He launches his own comic magazine and it becomes a hit in no time. Later he decides to form a political party which leads to his journey as a leader and all that happened till Manohar Joshi becomes the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 1995. That is where the film ends.

Yay: This one has many plus points. The first one is Nawaz himself. How does this man transform himself into different real life characters is a point someone needs to research about. His body language, posture, style of speaking, everything is well-practised and nicely performed. The film when goes into flashback first shows Balasaheb’s inner struggle, rage and catharsis which only he knows and then all the gathered rage is transmitted in his work once he decides to do something about it. This is a transition and the makers with Nawaz have executed it finely.

Everybody knows Balasaheb was a cartoonist, so to show his state of mind the director uses moving cartoons, innovative indeed. This brings me to the cinematography of the film. Sudeep Chatterjee uses the monochrome and sepia tones to show the time frames clearly through his lens. He creates a haunting scene where during the riots a crying toddler is shown sitting by the lane, when a bomb explodes next to him. The film doesn’t jumble but starts from a year and travels through everything that he witnessed till the end and is crystal clear.

But also there are sweet sequences of his father feeling proud when someone calls his son ‘Saheb’ for the first time. Balasaheb sending letters to wife Meena from jail, a mutual understanding that exists without any confession of love, bring out the tender moments in his life. Amrita Rao as Meena Thackeray is very soothing to watch, the patience on her face, her soft-tone looks effortless and natural and gets her noticed. Prosthetics expert Preetshil Singh deserves a mention for making Nawaz look like Balasaheb.

Nay: Though the film is good, the second half is a bit stretched and the pace becomes slow in between. The film completely ignores the dynamics Balasaheb shared with his son and there isn’t any mention. I expected to see at least a little bit of that. The prosthetic team has done amazing job in the transitions, but they are not explained, like when he started wearing his Rudraksh Mala around his wrist. And is a Sukhwinder Singh song a compulsion in every biopic or sports film?

Cine Blitz Verdict: The film is a replication of the life Balasaheb had led in that time frame. Though alleged to be an agenda film, the biopic is honest and credible. It may offend some, but watch it for the makers as their dedication is the winner here. And please don’t miss the part where the actor playing Sharad Pawar says, “I don’t like cricket”’ and then Google who was the BCCI president in 2005.

Rating: 3 stars