MISS TANAKPUR HAAZIR HO

Fox Star Studios India Pvt. Ltd., Crossword Films Pvt. Ltd. and NG Film Crafts’ Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho (UA) is a satire on khap panchayats and the judiciary in India.

Arjun (Rahul Bagga) is accused by the chief of Tanakpur village, Pradhan Sualal (Annu Kapoor), of raping his buffalo. The fact is that Sualal had caught Arjun and his (Sualal’s) much younger wife, Maya (Hrishitaa Bhatt), red-handed but rather than tell the world that his wife was having an extra-marital affair with Arjun, he accuses Arjun of a bizarre crime – that of having raped his buffalo which, incidentally, had been crowned Miss Tanakpur at a beauty contest of buffaloes.

The rape matter reaches the court because an unscrupulous police officer, Matang Singh (Om Puri), accepts bribe from Sualal and registers his rape complaint. Even while the matter is being decided by the court, the khap panchayat orders Arjun to marry the buffalo.

What happens then? Does Arjun marry Miss Tanakpur, the buffalo? What does Maya do? Does she tell the court or the world that Arjun had been falsely framed by her husband?

Vinod Kapri and Abhishek Sharma have written a story which is novel and interesting even though it is far-fetched. The humour and the comedy in the drama keep the audience entertained. Writers Vinod Kapri and Varun Gautam have penned a screenplay which is full of humour and comedy. The characters in the film are very interesting because of which the viewers feel involved in the drama and enjoy it. The first half has many light moments and the satire is pretty entertaining. However, it must be added that although the humour is quite mass-appealing, the basic premise of the plot has limited appeal, mainly for the classes only. After interval also, the drama remains entertaining and engrossing but it also appears over-stretched beyond plausible limits. The khap panchayat ordering Arjun to marry the buffalo and the actual baaraat and wedding taking place are too much for even the class audience to digest. In other words, the last part of the drama spoils the impact. Also, as Maya is shown to be a lady who is supposed to win the audience’s sympathy, her silence when her beloved, Arjun, is being roughed up in public and humiliated in court, before the khap panchayat and by the people, looks rather unbelievable. Dialogues, by Vinod Kapri and Varun Gautam, are superb and they make the film truly enjoyable for the viewers.

Annu Kapoor is extraordinary as Pradhan Sualal. He acts with effortless ease and entertains the audien­ce. His ‘Don’t take me otherwise’ dia­logue is a highlight and so are his other dialogues spoken in English. Om Puri shines as the spineless Matang Singh. He gets into the skin of the character of an unprincipled police officer. Ravi Kishan is endearing as Bhim Singh alias Bhima. Sanjay Mishra is outstanding as Shastri. He evokes laughter every time he comes on the screen. It would not be wrong to say that he is the highlight. Rahul Bagga acts sincerely. Hrishitaa Bhatt looks pretty and performs ably. Kamlesh Gill is first-rate as Arjun’s paternal aunt, providing many a light moment. Rajeev Gupta is effective as the judge. V.K. Sharma (as Arjun’s father) and Amita Udghata (as Arjun’s mother) lend fan­tastic support. Munmun is suitably restrained as Arjun’s sister, Lajjo. Brijend­ ra Kala leaves a wonderful mark as Arjun’s lawyer, Luttan Singh. Govind Pandey is also effective as Sualal’s lawyer, Bhanwar Singh. Anoop Trivedi makes his presence amply felt as Rambeer, the fat police officer with Matang Singh. Arjun Singh Faujdar shines as Arjun’s friend, Narayan. N.K. Pant (as veterinary doctor), Dev (as the doctor at the hospital) and Sushil Tyagi (as the SP) provide good support. Sachin Kathuria (as bus conductor) and Abhushan (as the old man in the bus) are very good. Ankur Chaudhry (as Arjun’s friend, Sattu), Vidya Bhushan (as the aged hakim), Ajay Verma (as the head constable), Sanjeev Kumar (as the constable), Moolchand Prajapati (as Harkaara) and Gurudev (as Munadi announcer) are adequate.

Vinod Kapri’s direction is lovely. Although Kapri makes his debut as director with this film, the narration is smooth. He has extracted excellent work from out of his actors and he adopts a style which does not let the audience get bored. Palaash Muchhal and Susmit Sen’s music is alright. Lyrics (Sanjeev Sharma, Sakshi Joshi and Vinay Bihari) are appropriate. Song picturisations (by Pappu-Maalu and Nishi Rastogi) are functional. Vinayak Netke’s background music is excellent and adds to the drama. Vishnu Dev’s action and stunts are adequate. Yogesh Jani’s camerawork is very effective. Bhupendra Singh’s production designing is appropriate. Editing (by Devendra Murdeshwar and Nishant Radhakrishnan) is superbly sharp and deserves distinction marks.

On the whole, Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho is, by and large, an entertaining film which will be liked by the class audience but its box-office prospects are dull because its promotion has been extremely low-key and satiri­cal films, as it is, have a very limited market in India.