Murder in Mahim: A gripping drama that explores homophobia in depth

Throughout the series, Raj Acharya sheds light on the challenges facing the LGBTQIA+ community and how societal acceptance still lags.
Murder in Mahim, 12-05-2024, Crime drama/Thriller, 8 Episodes, 16+, OTT
  • Main Cast: Ashutosh Rana, Vijay Raaz, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Rajesh Khattar
  • Director: Raj Acharya
  • Producer: Tipping Point Films, Jigsaw Pictures Productions
  • Music Director: Not known
  • Cinematography: Not known
  • Rating: 3.5/5
  • Published in: Southfirst

Undoubtedly, as a culture, we have made significant progress in our understanding of homosexuality, but there is still a considerable distance to traverse.

While the removal of Article 377 was undoubtedly a significant victory, there is still a great deal of societal discrimination.

Based on Jerry Pinto’s novel of the same name, Murder In Mahim, focuses on a spat of murders, targeting young boys from the LGBTQIA+ community.

These murders send shock waves through the locality of Mahim, and the police team led by Shivajirao Jende (Vijay Raaz) has a huge task.

Synopsis

In his quest to find the criminal, Shivajirao finds support from a long-lost friend. This friend is Peter Fernandes (Ashutosh Rana).

Peter Fernandes is a retired crime journalist and shares a troubled history with Jende’s father.

As the inquiry continues, Peter struggles with conflicting emotions over his son’s sexual orientation.

Peter believes his son is homosexual.

Analysis

Shivani Raghuvanshi plays Firadus Rabbani, a member of Shivajirao’s force. She is a closeted homosexual herself.

The plot of the story alternates between a murder mystery and a social critique of homophobia as it goes along.

A strong aspect of Murder In Mahim is the father and son dynamics, whether it is the one between Peter and his son Sunil, or Shivajirao with his father.

The diametrically different views of Fernandes and his son regarding homosexuality give the show, some of its best moments.

Because of the resentment in Shivajirao’s connection with his father, he feels uneasy all the time.

They both have a distinct temperament. In certain situations, Shivajirao treats his son more like a father would.

A stellar cast

Murder In Mahim also does a good job of revealing society’s murky side.

For instance, the Mumbai local station has a sombre restroom that is meant to be a place of safety for this community; yet, instead of providing comfort, this increases worries about how acceptable they are in society.

The character of Shivani Raghuvanshi is another highlight of the show.

Firdaus Rabbani has been in a secret relationship with a girl for a long time. She finds it difficult to reveal her relationship to the public.

Performances

The filmmaker has done a good job of highlighting the inner struggle that coexists with her professional responsibilities but some pointless digressions cause the audiences to twitch.

Murder in Mahim is a compelling series that not only keeps you interested in learning who the murderer is but also features some powerful dialogues about acceptance.

A case in point is the subplot of a knife, which belongs to a character who has nothing to do with the murders. The middle episodes do suffer from convoluted plotting, though.

Regarding performances, Ashutosh Rana and Vijay Raaz are seasoned performers who don’t require an introduction.

They both deliver strong performances and fully embody their respective roles.

Furthermore, Shivani Raghuvanshi contributes significantly to her ability to compete with Vijay Raaz.

Verdict

Murder in Mahim is definitely for those who enjoy whodunits and have empathy for the LGBTQIA+ community.

(Views expressed here are personal)

Bheed: The Plight Of Migrant Workers Deserved A Better Film

The muddled treatment fails it!

Bheed (Hindi)

  • Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Dia Mirza, Pankaj Kapoor, Kritika Kamra, and Ashtoush Rana
  • Writer-Director: Anubav Sinha
  • Producer: Beneras Media works
  • Music: Anurag Saikia
  • Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes

Starting from 2018’s Mulk (Region or Country), Anubhav Sinha has repeatedly chosen issues that are important to society.

In Mulk, he successfully addressed the prejudices that Muslims are facing in our society, through the character of a respected Muslim patriarch played by the late Rishi Kapoor.

In Article 15 (2019), the topic was the horrors of caste discrimination. Ayushmann Khurrana played Ayan Ranjan, a police officer from society’s upper crust. He had no idea about the various caste divisions.

Article 15 was followed by an equally powerful Thappad (Slap) in 2020 which looked at the consequences of a slap by the husband in a momentary fit of anger.

Thappad made a powerful statement on how it isn’t okay for a husband to slap his wife.

All the above-mentioned films positioned Anubhav Sinha as a director with a strong progressive voice.

However, the director saw a downfall with Anek where he focused his lens on the strained relationship between the government and the separatist groups in the North East.

Despite the powerful subject, he floundered big time. Unfortunately, the same has happened with his latest – Bheed (Crowd).

There are passages in the film that keep the audiences completely hooked particularly the ones featuring Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Kapoor. But the film tries to address too many things at the same time. As a result, it never comes across as a comprehensive whole.

India’s pandemic exodus

Bheed begins with the shocking scene of the real-life incident of 16 migrant workers who were run over by a train. This sets the mood for the drama that follows. The film has been shot in black and white by cinematographer Soumik Mukherjee.

After the horrific death scene, we move to Surya Kumar Singh Tikas (Rajkummar Rao). Surya, a young cop, is appointed as in in-charge of a check-post at one of the state borders. This check-post has been closed due to Covid.

Surya’s girlfriend is an upper-class girl Renu Sharma (Bhumi Pednekar). She is a doctor who treats patients who are stranded at the check-post.

Aditya Shrivastava plays Surya’s subordinate who doesn’t like the latter much but has no other option other than to take orders from him.

On the other side of the barricade, you have the characters played by Dia Mirza and Pankaj Kapoor, among others.

Dia Mirza comes from a privileged class. She is a desperate mother who wants to cross the border to take her daughter back home. Her need is such that she doesn’t mind offering money to the in-charge officer.

Pankaj Kapoor plays watchman Balram Trivedi who also wants to return home from the city, much like his fellow friends and workers.

They arrive at the Tejpur border which is 1200 km from Delhi. However, the border has been sealed now.

There is also a young girl carrying her alcoholic father on a bicycle. Amidst all this, Kritika Kamra plays a TV journalist named Vidhi Tripati. She is an idealistic journalist with a lot of passion.

Revealing anything more wouldn’t be right as this is a story that has many layers to it.

The caste angle

Before getting into the shortcomings, it is necessary to highlight what works well for the movie.

It is successful in highlighting the plight of migrant workers. The scenes of families walking barefoot for miles, hungry kids crying for food and the inability of the mothers leaves a lump in your throat.

There are several other issues that the director tackles; chief among them is the issue of caste through Rajkummar Rao’s Surya Kumar Singh Tikas.

Surya is someone who hides his caste under the surname Singh because it is something that his father had done as well.

Surya Kumar feels happy to be the in-charge. But, at the same time, there is also a deep insecurity about his caste identity amidst the Sharmas and Tridevis.

Anubhav Sinha does a good job of fleshing out this character. Once again, Rajkummar Rao proves his versatility with his exceptional performance.

He is particularly good in a scene when he expresses his anguish and decides that he also wants to be a hero and not remain as part of the crowd (Bheed).

The prejudices related to Muslims

Another track worth mentioning in Bheed is that of Pankaj Kapoor’s Balram Trivedi. Though the character of Balram, Anubhav Sinha exposes the prejudices related to Muslims.

There is an important scene when Balram doesn’t allow his hungry companions to eat the food served by a Muslim man.

Balram is someone who is filled with bigotry. But fortunately, the character is not one-dimensional.

Pankaj Kapoor is a vastly experienced actor who has given many terrific performances. Here too, he packs a punch whenever he is on screen. His confrontation scenes with Rajkummar Rao deserve a particular mention.

The shortcomings

There are many issues that Anubhav Sinha tackles through Bheed. The intentions are worth applauding but the film tries to address/ highlight too many things at the same time. As a result, it feels cluttered.

The love track, for example, doesn’t make any sense. It feels more suited for a romantic drama than an issue-based film like this. It would have been far better if Surya and Renu Sharma were portrayed as strangers who meet in this difficult period.

There is also a forcefully inserted intimate scene between the duo. The conversations between Surya and Renu mostly don’t align with the genre of Bheed.

Bhumi is her usual feisty self but nothing is outstanding about her performance.

Kritika Kamra as an honest journalist has an impressive beginning. But, after a point, it is clear that the director has no idea about where to take the character.

The paradigm shift of journalism in those times is hardly touched upon.

Dia Mirza gets the most baked character in the ensemble. Her desperation to reach her daughter is painted in a rather insensitive manner.

A more nuanced characterisation was needed. Still, Dia does the best that she can do with this one-dimensional character.

Soumik Chatterjee’s black-and-white cinematography takes some time to get used to but it is an interesting experiment. There is no scope for songs in a film like Bheed but the composition of “Herali Ba” is quite powerful.

Verdict

Bheed is a perfect example of how good intentions don’t always translate into powerful films.

Pagglait: A Story Which Is Much More Than A Widow Who Can’t Cry

Umesh Bist’s Pagglait is set in the backdrop of a large Indian family but unlike Sooraj Barjatiya’s sugar overload Umesh focuses on the hypocrisies and the greed. There is no outright villain here, the circumstances make the characters do what they do. In brief Pagglait is a heartwarming winner which works on many accounts.

Sandhya played by Sanya Malhotra is a young widow who is unable to grieve the death of her husband Astik. A major reason for that is they never shared a close bond but things take a turn when she discovers a startling fact about him. It is revealed that Astik was in a relationship with a girl Akansha played by Sayani Gupta. They couldn’t marry as the girl’s parents didn’t approve of Astik. However the main conflict in the story comes when the family members are informed that Astik had left behind 50 lakh worth of insurance money for Sandhya alone and nothing for his parents who are hugely in debt. From here on an absurdist drama begins where the patriarchal figureheads are hell bent on keeping the money within the family. They devise various plans for that which includes trying to bribe the agent into changing the nominee name. Side by side you have Sandhya finding out more about Astik through the character of Sayani Gupta.

Pagglait touches upon many things starting from the hypocrisy of our culture. A good example of that is the character of Raghubir Yadav. He plays the role of an angry uncle who talks about Sandhya’s remarriage openly. He claims to be open minded but flinches every time her Muslim friend passes by.

In a very subtle manner Umesh shows how money is the only religion we follow. This is reflected in the schemes that the elders employ in order to keep the money within the family. Up until then there is no talk on remarriage but when they realize that Sandhya is the nominee of 50 lakh you have Rajesh Tailing’s character who wants to make Sandhya his daughter in law. The reason being he believes that the money will help his son in setting up a hotel.

The dynamics between Sanya’s and Sayani Gupta’s characters has also been explored well by Umesh Bist. Sandhya’s eagerness to know more about her husband and the bond that develops between these two comes out well.

Umesh Bist also deserves credit for not showing Sandhya as a tragic figure. There is nothing miserable or schmaltzy about the portrayal of Sandhya. Of course she is no Rani Laxmibai either. She is a regular woman leading a life of conformism who has an awakening in the midst of a tragedy.

Cinematographer Rafey Mehmood captures the Ganga ghat with all its beauty and complexity. Dialogues written by Umesh Bist are another major winner. They are both satirical and thought provoking. Arjit Singh’s music goes well with the mood of the film.

The film’s star cast lends even more weight to the film. Sanya Malhotra captures the journey off her character perfectly without missing a single beat. After last year’s Shakuntala Devi and Ludo this is another performance where the growth of the actress is visible. The surprise package of the film though is Ashutosh Rana. Known largely for his negative characters Ashutosh delivers a solid act as the morally conflicted father in – law. My favorite scene of Ashutosh is the scene with his wife where he expresses his anger on almost losing his morality. Sheeba Chadda is also good.

In totality Pagglait is well worth your time.