Movie Review: The Tashkent Files

After signing a peace agreement, which came to be known as the Tashkent Agreement on January 10, 1966 with Pakistan, India's then Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri died the following day. His death, officiously attributed to heart attack, has nevertheless been shrouded in mystery. Many conspiracy theories have emerged regarding it and the present film examines all of them one by one, trying to arrive at a larger truth behind them.

Raagini (Shweta Basu Prasad) is a journalist who believes in sensationalism rather than facts. She aspires to be a political journalist and is looking for a solid scoop which will help catapult her to fame. A mysterious source secretly plants evidence in her drawer which indicates foul play during Shastri's death. She writes an article based on that which creates a huge controversy. The Indian government sets up a committee to re-examine the late PM's death. What's more, she finds herself to be part of the committee, which is made up of elite historians, thinkers, ex-sleuths, ex-judges, philanthropists and politicians. She keeps getting clues, leading her to bigger breakthroughs at different intervals. The question is, is she getting closer to a big reveal or is she being played?

Vivek Agnihotri has made a film about different versions of truth. Both fact and fiction is used to bring about that point. History is said to be written by the victors and conflicting claims can emerge when we sift through different histories. The film is also a cautionary tale as to how media can be exploited by those in power for their own political gains. A disturbed Raagini asks her source in the end to name the agenda he was aiming at? To create an issue -- is the answer she gets. No one cares about truth when noise gets you more mileage -- is the underlying message of the film.

The film's structure is inspired by 12 Angry Men (1957), what with the committee members hotly debating every point, changing their point of view often, and voting for and against certain findings. It's a clash of personalities, of egos. The young reporter, who is a rookie to such gains, gets steamrolled, getting our sympathy. We wish the film was consigned just to the meeting place but the drama gets cluttered when the heroine is shown chasing elusive characters in different places. Instead of adding to the tension, such scenes deflate it. Some of the situations, like the one involving a voice synthesizer, feel somewhat ludicrous.

The acting, thanks to the melodramatic nature of the film, is loud and over the top, the dialogue sound bombastic at times. Veteran Mithun Chakraborty, is in fine fettle as the amoralistic politician and gets the best lines. Shweta Basu Prasad, the protagonist, shuttles from being vulnerable to being strong, not finding a middle ground.

Shastri's life is a much more interesting subject than his death. We wish someone makes a biopic on that, instead of speculating on his death. It should be stated that the film looks biased against a certain political party. Given the fact that elections are at hand, the film ideally should have been released post the voting...

from filmfares http://bit.ly/2UxBJX5