Sherni [2021] - Movie Review

Leave it to Amit Masurkar to direct a movie which could only be characterized as an environmental thriller. Like his previous film Newton, Masurkar takes a very unconventional story material - here the story of a forest ranger's effort to catch a man-eating tiger, and the rural politics which transform into a circus.

There are a couple of nuances and instances which make Sherni into a compelling watch. Firstly the acting. Vidya Balan plays the role of a steely determined Forest Ranger dedicated to the duty transposed on her, and frustrated by her superiors' and other extenuating circumstances causing the focus of the mission to zig zag. Her only allies is Mr. Noorani, a nerdy Biology Professor played by Vijay Raaz, and Noorani's young followers called Forest Friends, environmentalists dedicated to protection of the jungle and the balance between environment and development.

The second instance is the slow burn. The majority of the first hour is intended for development and set up of the circumstances. Credit to Masurkar and the screenplay by Aasha Tiku for making the viewers understand the complicated rigmarole of the relationship of the villagers with the Forest, and how much that becomes a political linchpin in the narrative. But the story is patient enough to ensure a smooth progression, even as the script does take some digressions into the personal life of Vidya Balan's characters.

The satirical element of Sherni is on point, however. From showcasing the superior as a political sycophant, to a private hunter, colloquially named Pintu Bhaiya, as a blowhard who apparently can understand which tiger is a man-eater, just by looking into its eyes - its highly relatable, both the protagonists as well as the antagonists.

In a rather on-the-nose moment, Masurkar frames Bijendra Kala's superior officer in a manner that the hunting trophy mounted on the wall behind him appears to give him horns.

In a movie so focused on the hunt for a man-eating tiger, the villain is not the obvious man-eater, but a lesser and still obvious monster - humanity, with its schemes, manipulations and double crossing, and Masurkar brings forth this point without making all of the characters cartoonishly despicable.

Masurkar's love for processes and rules, which are being uprooted by patriarchy and privilege is very much prevalent here. Sherni is also a movie reveling in its subversion - for a movie expected to be a rallying cry about corruption and sexism, it is too relaxed in pace and too matter of fact in its delivery. And therein lies its beauty, both internally as well as aesthetically. I don't remember an Indian movie shot in the deep jungle at night-time being as beautiful to the eyes as Sherni is. There is a majestic restraint to the film, like its protagonist.