THE NEW WAVE OF POLITICAL FILMS

FROM THE ABROGATION OF ARTICLE 370 TO THE GODHRA TRAIN INCIDENT, HINDI FILMS ARE USING DEFINING, AND OFTEN DIVISIVE, INCIDENTS FROM THE IMMEDIATE PAST TO SPIN OPINIONATED POLITICAL NARRATIVES

- SUHANI SINGH

IN ADITYA JAMBHALE’S FEATURE directorial debut, Article 370, two women are front and centre in what’s shown as the government’s top secret mission to abrogate Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. One’s a gun-toting Kashmiri agent in the National Investigation Agency (played by Yami Gautam); another is a bureaucrat dressed in perfectly pleated saris in the Prime Minister’s Office (played by Priyamani). There’s no balancing work and family here, just two ladies putting the nation first. Until two men—namely the prime minister and the home minister—step in and steal the spotlight in the last 45 minutes. Produced by the makers of Uri: The Surgical Strike and Jio Studios, Article 370 stands out, for Jambhale and writers Aditya Dhar and Monal Thakkar place emphasis on diplomacy and legal talk rather than cashing in on action set-pieces. “I have always believed that if you present the information well, there is drama in it,” says Jambhale, an IT engineer-turned-filmmaker. "Sometimes, its impact is bigger than a blast and a firing." Five days since its release on February 23, the film had collected Rs 32.60 crore at the domestic box office.