Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya is robust in its direction, casting, performances, cinematography, locales and numerous convincing gunfights, but is a downer in two key departments – story and screenplay.
Dacoits in Hindi cinema:Â Among the first and what is considered a dacoit movie classic is the Dilip Kumar starrer Gunga Jumna (1961). The Awadhi dialect added authenticity to the drama. Legendary screenwriters Salim-Javed have quoted Gunga Jumna as an inspiration for their brother vs. brother Deewar (1975) screenplay.
In the wake of Ganga Jumna‘s monster success came Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), again shot in Chambal. Sunil Dutt, gifted and underrated actor both produced and starred in the movie.
Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960) was more about reform and forgiveness than about dacoits. Raj Kapoor reprised the simpleton role. The movie’s success can be attributed to the love story featuring the beautiful Padmini. The villanious turn by legendary actor Pran also works for the movie. Then who can forget the Shankar Jaikishan songs.
If one explores mainsteam cinema, there is no movie bigger than the Indian western Sholay (1975). Though the movie never explores the origins of a dacoit, Gabbar Singh is among the most iconic villians Hindi cinema has witnessed.
The best, cinematically, and yet unsurpassed of all Indian dacoit movies is Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen (1994). Telling a harrowing real-life inspired tale of how Phoolan Devi became a dacoit, and tracing her tough life journey, Kapur doesn’t play it safe. The result is a dark, unrelenting take on crime, child abuse, mass killings, humiliation, the aftermath of rape, gang politics, with no relief at the end either. Seema Biswas is simply extraordinary in the title role. Nirmal Pandey is enigmatic.
The last of the great dacoit movies, again based on real life is Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar. A fictionalized take on a real-life athlete turned dacoit, Irrfan Khan lords the title role, leading to him finally breaking through as an actor for the ages. The movie features good supporting acts by Mahie Gill, Vipin Sharma and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Chambal RevisitedÂ
A fictional take on the last days of dacoity in Chambal, Madhya Pradesh, Sonchiriya starts in 1975 with “honourable” dacoit Maan Singh’s (Manoj Bajpayee) gang looting jewellery from a wedding.
Vakil Singh (Ranvir Shorey) and Lakhna (Sushant Singh Rajput) are Maan Singh’s main subordinates. A surprise Special Task Force (STF) attack leads to an unending chase over many days through Chambal’s dusty ravines.
No central theme
Sonchiriya (golden bird) is an allusion to how India was referred to ages ago, this a tale of lost dreams, betrayals, caste wars and death.
The ugly side of patriarchy, victimized, brutalized females, how terrible it is to be a dacoit, are all depicted gustily here. But the film has no central theme and meanders in circles, moving from one gunfight to another, without making any knockout impact.
Nothing heart-rendingÂ
Though consistently watchable, Sonchiriya doesn’t get to our bones or let us feel for the characters. The relentless of the chase doesn’t get tiresome, there is some stray humour and couple of sharp action moments. The unfamiliar Bundelkandi dialect also takes away some bite, making us rely on subtitles.
Great performances
Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey, Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar are stellar in their roles. Ashutosh Rana steals the show as the revenge-seeking STF lead. Bajpayee holds the threads to the main plot and is superb in a brief role.
For the best dacoit movies of Hindi cinema, watch the harrowing, dark, genre-defining, Shekhar Kapoor’s Bandit Queen (1994) and the entertaining and effective Irrfan Khan starer, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar (2012).
