Shabri Review

After four years, Shabri has ultimately been able to see the light of the day!

With the release of Shabri, one more film has been added to the list of movies made on the underworld. Films like Satya (1998) and Vaastav (1999) did well at the time as it had a realistic feel to it. Sarkar, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan also did average business at the box office.

Shabri, directed by Lalit Marathe stars Eesha Koppikar, Raj Arjun, Pradeep Rawat and Zakir Hussain in pivotal roles and is produced by Ram Gopal Varma. Though Shabri was being touted as a story of a woman gangster, the film is less of an underworld drama and more of a revenge plot with the underworld as the backdrop.

Shabri kills a cop who is responsible for the unjust death of her brother while in police custody and goes absconding. She then meets an underworld bookie Murad played by Raj Arjun. He helps her go underground, which enrages his boss and the head of his underworld gang Rajdhar Bhau (Pradeep Rawat). Murad in due course is killed by Bhau, which again drives Shabri to seek revenge.

Plus Points

Director Lalit Marathe has succeeded in conveying volumes through his scenes and expressions that he has derived out of his actors rather than literal dialogues.

It is usually the male who is the focus in an underworld story. However, this time around the spotlight is on the female lead Eesha Koppikar which is rather experimental.

Minuses

When a plot is overdone to the core and tried over and over again, the audience soon tends to lose interest. This is what happens to Shabari. It would have been refreshing to see the female protagonist take over the world and show more authority and power. Unfortunately, by the time Shabri gains authority, the film has almost reached the end. The narrative could have been a little more in depth and covered a larger part of Shabri"s life, thus getting the audience to 'connect" with the character.

The second half lacks the punch that exists in the first half of the film. One would wish that the story be faster paced and gripping, considering that it an action packed story on the underworld.

Performances

Shabri is undoubtedly the best performance of Eesha Koppikar till date. The actress who has got nothing but a few item numbers and 'not-so-great" roles to boast about surprises you with her ability to emote. Though Eesha did not have too many dialogues to deliver, she did excellently well through her expressions and body language. Raj Arjun and Pradeep Rawat have both shown that they can act well. Zakir Hussain gets repetitive in his erratic act.

Over All

Shabri is an average film which could have been made better.

Cast & Crew

Starring: Eesha Koppikar, Raj Arjun, Pradeep Rawat, Zakir Hussain
Director: Lalit Marathe
Producer: Ram Gopal varma
Story: Lalit Marathe
Music: Sandeep Chowta