Anurag
Kashyap's
Mukkabaaz
kicked
off
the
19th
edition
of
MAMI
Mumbai
Film
Festival
and
opened
with
resounding
chants
of
'Bharat
Mata
ki
Jai'
amidst
applause.
The
film
chronicles
the
story
of
a
boxer
from
Uttar
Pradesh,
Shravan
Singh,
enacted
by
Vineet
Kumar
Singh,
who
falls
in
love
with
a
Brahmin
girl.
Things
take
a
turn
when
he
lands
a
punch
on
head
of
boxing
federation
and
politician-gangster,
Bhagwan
Das,
played
by
Jimmy
Shergill.
The
film
then
sets
out
on
the
journey
of
the
underdog,
who
fights
a
corrupt
system
and
deep-rooted
casteism
to
pursue
his
boxing
dreams
and
win
over
the
love
of
his
life.
Before
the
premiere
at
the
iconic
Liberty
Cinema
here
last
night,
Kashyap
said
he
was
"nervous" and
thanked
producer
Aanand
L
Rai.
"I
am
dying
to
see
how
everybody
reacts
to
it
because
we
have
tried
to
make
the
film
under
the
radar.
The
one
man
I
want
to
thank
is
Aanand
Rai
and
Eros.
They
gave
me
total
freedom
to
do
what
I
wanted
to
do.
They
didn't
tell
me
anything,
except
'go
ahead.'
I
hope
I
don't
let
my
producers
and
exhibitors
down," he
said.
In
the
movie,
Kashyap
bravely
draws
references
to
some
of
the
biggest
headlines
of
the
past
few
years
-
from
mob
lynching
to
'gau
rakshaks',
with
the
opening
scene
itself
beginning
with
a
man
tied
to
tree,
supposedly
a
cow
trader,
beaten
up
by
men
who
ask
him
to
chant
'Jai
Shri
Ram'.
The
venue
was
packed
with
the
audience
hooting
and
clapping
at
regular
intervals
throughout
the
two-and-a-half
hour
runtime
of
the
film.
After
the
closing
credits
rolled,
Kashyap,
along
with
the
cast
and
crew,
went
onto
the
stage
to
thank
the
audience.
They
were
then
greeted
with
continuous
applause
and
even
chants
of
"Bharat
Mata
ki
Jai"
from
the
audience
-
in
reference
to
a
scene
from
the
film
when
Shravan
chants
the
same
while
beating
the
baddie.
The
movie
also
features
Zoya
Hussain,
Ravi
Kissan,
Sadhana
Singh
among
others.
Mukkabaaz
is
scheduled
to
release
theatrically
in
January.
With
Pti
inputs.