Inspired
by
a
true
story,
Manjhi
-
The
Mountain
Man
is
a
stirring
tale
of
an
unsung
hero,
Dashrath
Manjhi
(Nawazuddin
Siddiqui),
the
man
who
single
handedly
cut
a
mountain
to
pave
a
path
from
his
village
Gehlore
to
the
nearest
town,
Wazirganj
near
Gaya
in
Bihar.
It
is
a
tale
of
romance
and
revenge,
determination
and
grit,
often
compared
to
the
Mughul
Emperor
Shah
Jahan's
love
for
his
wife
Mumtaz
Mahal.
But
unlike
Shah
Jahan,
Dashrath
was
a
mere
casual
labourer
who
was
often
scoffed
at
as
'pagla',
an
obstinate
fool.
Cast:
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui,
Radhika
Apte,
Tigmanshu
Dhulia,
Pankaj
Tripathi,
Gaurav
Dwivedi,
Ashraf
Ul
Haque,
Jagat
Rawat
and
Deepa
Sahi;
Director:
Ketan
Mehta;
After
an
unfortunate
accident
in
1960
in
which
Dashrath
lost
his
wife,
Phaguniya
(Radhika
Apte),
he
plunges
into
his
mission
which,
like
the
Taj
Mahal,
took
him
nearly
22
years
to
complete.
Ketan
Mehta's
depiction
of
the
tale
begins
with
Dashrath
in
soiled
and
blood-soaked
attire
standing
on
an
elevated
highland
before
the
mighty
mountain
seething
with
anger
and
swearing
to
avenge
nature
for
being
the
cause
of
his
wife's
death.
The
story
unfolds
seamlessly,
in
a
non-linear
manner
revealing
Dashrath's
past,
present
along
with
his
dreams
and
fantasy.
The
screenplay
brilliantly
captures
the
socio-political
scenario
that
includes
the
caste
and
feudal
caste-system,
the
careless
and
corrupt
functioning
of
the
bureaucrats
and
the
callous
government.
And
as
the
drama
unfolds
with
stimulating
and
realistic
performances,
it
is
a
treat
to
watch
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
in
a
physically
strenuous
role
slipping
into
Dashrath's
cloak
with
ease.
He
does
go
overboard
in
a
few
scenes,
but
with
his
rugged
appearance
and
obviously
natural
histrionics,
he
steals
the
show
with
his
simplicity.
He
is
accompanied
by
Radhika
Apte
as
his
wife
Phaguniya,
who
is
the
raison
d'être
of
his
obsession.
She
brightens
up
the
screen
with
her
bubbly
demeanour
and
together
they
make
a
charming
pair.
Of
the
supporting
cast,
it
is
Ashraf
Ul
Haque
as
Dashrath's
father
Magru,
who
leaves
an
indelible
mark
as
an
actor.
Also,
the
producer
Deepa
Sahi
in
a
cameo
as
Indira
Gandhi,
is
striking.
And
the
rest
of
the
cast
are
simply
superb,
delivering
stereotypical
characters
to
perfection.
The
dialogues
are
everyday
speech,
packed
with
life's
lessons.
His
"Shandaar,
zabardast,
zindabad" becomes
a
signature
dialogue
that
is
recurrent
during
the
latter
part
of
the
narration.
At
times
this
feels
unnatural
and
staged.
On
a
lighter
note,
after
Dashrath
completed
his
project,
he
is
asked,
"What
message
would
you
like
to
give
the
future
generation".
He
promptly
responds
with,
"Bhagwan
ke
bharose
pe
mat
raho,
kya
pata
woh
aap
ke
bharose
mein
baitha
hai?"
(Which
simply
means,
"Don't
depend
on
god
to
complete
your
task,
who
knows,
he
may
be
depending
on
you
to
complete
the
task).
It
simply
elicits
chuckles.
Technicalities:
On
the
technical
front,
mounted
on
a
magnificent
scale
with
great
production
values,
each
scene
is
well-crafted
and
painstakingly
executed.
While
some
of
the
scenes
are
overtly
dramatic,
the
film
buoys
on
a
high
pitch
note.
The
background
score
is
haunting
and
the
songs,
"Gehlore
ki
goriha",
"O
rahi"
and
"Dum
kham"
merge
beautifully
into
the
narration.
Cinematographer
Rajeev
Jain's
visuals
are
artistic
and
each
frame
is
picture-perfect.
Given
the
fine
calibre
of
the
visuals,
some
of
the
computer-generated
images
seem
tackily
done.
They
do
not
mesh
well
with
the
final
flow.
Verdict:
Overall,
it
is
a
treat
to
watch
Manjhi
-
The
Mountain
Man.
It
is
a
great
film.
You
empathise
with
him,
but
unfortunately
you
don't
get
emotionally
involved.
Probably
the
roots
are
too
rural
or
there
is
something
missing.