Lakshmi Movie Review: Well Meaning, Though Replusive

Four years back Larysa Kondracki had directed The Whistleblower <2010>, a thriller that narrated the dark and scary tale of human trafficking in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The film was critically acclaimed and its subject warranted that it found more audience for itself on home video than theaters.

Circa 2014 and Nagesh Kukunoor has come up with a tale on the same subject, though unlike its Hollywood counterpart which was told from a cop's point of view (who fought for the girls put into prostitution), Lakshmi is narrated with the 14 year old girl (who has been thrust into flesh trade) as the central protagonist.

Now a subject like this isn't entirely everyone's cup of tea, and that's primarily because the harsh realities of life are anyways on display at every nook and corner. Still, it is a reality to be spoken about and though one wonders whether a film could change the world that we live in, at least it is a step being taken in the right direction. To ensure that the messaging is right though, Kukunoor chooses to induce quite a few stark and dark episodes in the film. This means rather than proceedings being subtle, under-stated and implied, they are on your face, violent and explicit.

Hence, as a viewer, you are indeed repelled with what goes on screen. Yes, the purpose is solved though one does wonder for how long one can actually digest ongoing brutality on screen! As it is, the very sight of a 14 year old girl trapped in the business of prostitution is scary enough and to have heart breaking visuals to compliment the feel pull you away even further. Now that by itself turns out to be a Catch 22 situation for Kukunoor who does the job so well that it actually makes you look the other way!

However what lies underneath this story (that has some solid performance by Monali Thakur) is a flicker of hope that is thrown in. With the girl taking on her tormentors (Nagesh Kukunoor plays a baddie himself along with a very menacing Satish Kaushik) in the court of law, you do feel joyous and hopeful about a positive outcome. With a warm Ram Kapoor standing by her and ladies Shefali Shah and Flora Saini demonstrating shades that are realistic to the core, you know that even in the most adverse of situations, Lakshmi may just come out triumphant.

Still, to reach that point, one has to join Lakshmi in her ordeal, something that Monali does well in bringing true on screen. Her expressive face says it all and with the kind of petite frame that she holds, Monali looks the character too. Ditto for Nagesh who succeeds in shedding off the good man image and comes every bit as a lecherous guy who deserves to be thrown off from the last corner of the world. As for the senior actors like Satish Kaushik and Shefali Shah, they continue to demonstrate their hold over the cinematic medium and are convincing all over again. The girl who throws in a pleasant surprise though is Flora Saini.

Eventually, Lakshmi isn't one of those films which make for an entertaining weekend watch which makes you get over all your worries. Instead, it makes for a film that seeps you further into the harsh realities of the world, provided you indeed want to have a dekko in the underbelly of what lies beneath!