Dibakar Banerjee's 'Shanghai' is an intense political
thriller that has a tight script and commendable acting holding the plot
together all along. Banerjee's plots are rooted in reality and this one
explores the issue of illegal land acquisition.
An upcoming International Business Park (IBP) holds the promise of
transforming a small Indian town into Shanghai. On the eve of its
launch, a social activist Dr Ahmedi (Prosenjit Chatterjee), who is
protesting illegal land acquisition by the multi-national company, is
killed by a speeding truck. The professor's adherents believe that this
was a political conspiracy, devised and executed by the state's ruling
party.
Was it an accident or a premeditated murder attempt? Shalini Pearson
Sahay (Kalki Kochelin) fights a lone battle to unravel the murder
mystery and seeks the help of a shady porn filmmaker Jogi (Emraan
Hashmi). A high-ranking bureaucrat, T.A. Krishnan (Abhay Deol) is
brought in to investigate the case but the ministry doesn't really care
about the evidence or the findings.
The director manages to create real characters that can make you
sense and experience their frustration as they try to negotiate through a
maze where there's death and threat looming large at every turning. The
nexus between criminals and political parties becomes impossible to
penetrate and the search for justice seems completely futile.
Banerjee gets solid performances from his lead cast Abhay, Emraan and
Kalki. Prosenjit manages to impress even in his small role. With
'Shanghai' Dibakar Banerjee proves once again that he knows his craft
and is here to stay.
