Inkaar

Sudhir Mishra is a versatile person. He has directed thirteen films. My favorite Sudhir Mishra film is undoubtedly Hazaaron Khwaisein Aisi (2003) starring Kay Kay Menon, Shiney Ahuja and Chitrangda Singh. The same year had seen another well-made film by Sudhir Mishra – Chameli. Kareena Kapoor still seemed to carry the character she played in the recent Talaash. The second movie of Sudhir Mishra that makes compelling viewing is Iss Raat Ki Subaah Nahin (1996) starring Tara Deshpande and Nirmal Pandey. He has written some compelling stories and screenplays as well. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983) is surely his masterpiece. In more recent times I have liked Yeh Saali Zindagi (2011) which also has smouldering hot Chitrangda Singh.Inkaar has Arjun and Chitrangda in the lead roles. The film explores the theme of sexual harassment in the workplace. There is another Arjun Chitrangada story I have heard where Arjun found Chitrangada attractive enough to marry. In the epic Mahabharata, Arjun is exiled. He wanders into the kingdom of Manipur and is smitten by the charms of princess Chitrāngadā. I am quite sure that there was no charge of harassment against Arjun by the pricess. In this film though that’s not the case. Arjun, the protagonist of Inkaar is left defending himself against a case filed by Chitrangda, his protege in the agency because of a relationship gone sour.The setting is an ad agency. Rahul Verma (Arjun) the CEO is accused of sexually harassing his protégé Maya Luthra (Chitrangda) - the agency’s National Creative Director. The ad agencies are up in arms against Sudhir Mishra’s depiction of life in the advertising world. Is an ad agency any more likely to see an office romance? No. In films this is not the first time that agencies are shown to be a place where sparks have flown between colleagues. In 1982, Yeh Nazdeekiyan (starring Marc Zuber, Shabana and Parveen Babi) explored the theme of chemistry in the workplace. Inkaar explores harassment from the view of the male and the female. One person's flirtation is another person's harrassment unless it is consensual.This is not an educational film for those who need to know what constitutes harrassment in the workplace. Do not think of using this as a primer that will explain where flirtation ends and where harassment begins. What in the film is viewed as acceptable behavior will get anyone sued in most workplaces today. So no, this is by no means a training film. View it as story of two people whose office romance goes on hold leaving both people quite bitter. It has all the angles of he-said-she-said that comes through in office investigations with people taking sides and playing favorites. It is assumed that if men and women work in proximity, sooner or later hormones will win. Films have for long taken such a view. This view needs to get a little more nuanced. Else it tends to reinforce stereotypes about people in creative professions.The music by Shantanu Moitra is average. The lyrics by Swanand Kirkire are nice, but don’t stay long enough to make it memorable. There is some variation in the songs. The song “Darmiyan” sung by Swanand Kirkire captures the story in a poetic form. Shantanu Moitra has the tendency to get “inspired” by old classics. The track “Kuchh Bhi Ho Sakta Hai” sounds like a variation of Roadhouse Blues by Doors – at least in the opening bars. I loved the sufi music feel of the track “Maula Tu Maalik Hai”. The song pours in a bit of jazz into a qawalli composition – nice experimentation.Will this be one of the best films of Sudhir Mishra? Unlikely. However, it will be a film that sees Arjun Rampal and Chitrangda Singh carry off strong performances that keep the viewer engaged. Go see it.My rating 3 out of 5