Movie Review: Sherni (Hindi)

Sherni, Amit Masurkar's well-rounded but downbeat follow-up to 2017's Newton, is a multi-layered drama centered around the pursuit of a tigress wreaking havoc and preying on forest-dwelling tribes who stray into its habitat. But this age-old conflict of contested spaces also draws parallels to its protagonist, a newly transferred divisional forest department officer Vidya Vincent (a controlled, minimalist performance from Vidya Balan), who is determined to capture the man-eating tigress alive and transport the wild animal and its two cubs to a nearby national park, but has to fight her way through roadblocks of entrenched sexism and bureaucratic machinery, not to mention opportunistic politicians, along the trail, eventually finding herself navigating a terrain that's no different from that of the female feline. Restrained and insightful in equal measure, Sherni abounds in dark humour, with Masurkar weaving a sharply constructed tale of development versus environment, portraying the effects of displacement, poorly-conceived policies, rampant deforestation, and the dangers of disrupting the ecosystem for unchecked commercialisation. It's also a story of an upright, low-ranking official who just wants to do her job well but constantly finds herself silenced and gradually grows disenchanted and disillusioned by what happens around her. Cinematographer Rakesh Haridas, coupled with Anish John's fantastic sound design, does a fine job of capturing a documentary-style realism to the unhurried pace with which the film unfolds. It refuses to settle for quick-fix solutions, while offering an empathetical excursion into the trials and tribulations of wildlife conservation. This Sherni may not roar, but it makes for a biting satire.