Movie: Naam Shabana
Direction: Shivam Nair
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Akshay Kumar, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa
Music: Rochak Kohli
Cinematographer: Sudheer Palsane
Editor: Deepak Seju
Genre: Thriller, Action, Crime, Mystery
Rating: ∗∗∗
What is it about: This film is a spin-off prequel to the 2015 hit thriller “BABY”, with Taapsee Pannu reprising her role as “Shabana”. This film is directed by Shivam Nair.
Why it’s disappointing: One disappointment in this film was the back story of the character “Shabana” which was feeble and couldn’t hold the intensity what the character had displayed in the first movie. And they took their sweet time of 45 minutes to complete the back story making this film a bit of a drag. For someone to pick a line of work of this kind, the story narrated was not convincing. But then there’s cinema liberty and sometimes everyone tries to take advantage of it. And Neeraj Pandey took that liberty and got little sloppy this time.
I really wonder, why a thriller of this sort required songs. Which literally was bringing down the pace of the film. It seemed quite forced.
What to watch out for: Despite the lag, one thing which glues the film together is its lead, played by Taapsee Pannu. She was excellent and did a great job. A perfect justice to the makers who believed in her potential and made a film solely based on her character. And that’s the greatest compliment any actor could get.
And she was complimented with a great supporting cast. Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher and Danny Denzongpa, who reprised their respective roles. And Manoj Bajpayee did a commendable job.
Prithviraj Sukumaran, was given a meaty portion and he did that with great diligence.
The cinematography was exceptional by Sudheer Palsane, who gave an amazing tone to the film. And it was briskly edited by Deepak Seju. The background score was quite a gripping one, and it was perfectly enveloped by a crunching sound design.
Verdict: Shivam Nair, did a fine job in making a prequel. Which doesn’t disappoint at the end of the day. Manages to get through with right elements placed at regular intervals. Definitely worth a watch.
