Hurdang Movie Review: When you make a film with the background of reservation debate and want to be 'neutral' about it, at least get all the sides right. You cannot just compound on a socialist view that, in a normal society might be the right medicine, but never in a country with a complicated history about caste and hierarchies. In the closing moments of Hurdang, directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, a character in a voiceover says that it is reservations that brought about the biggest divide in the country. You can debate on that, but when a movie has that debate driven mostly through UC characters, are all the bases covered? Sunny Kaushal, Nushrratt Bharuccha to Come Up with New Love Song 'Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai'.

Hurdang is both a political drama and a love story, set in 1990 Allahabad. Daddu (Sunny Kaushal) aspires to get into IAS, but spends most of his time loitering around his hostel and being the brash acolyte for the opportunistic student leader, Loha Singh (Vijay Varma). Daddu is in a 10-year relationship with Jhulan (Nushrratt Bharuccha), who also aspires to get into IAS but at least tries to hit the books when not making out her boyfriend or trying to pick a fight with him

It is then that the Government decides to implement Mandal Commission proposals to increase reservation quota for the backward castes. Loha sees an opportunity here to increase his political mileage, and he poisons Daddu's mind to protest against the decision and bring in more students for their cause. Meanwhile, Jhulan's parents, who are unaware of her relationship, is trying to get her married off to the next available IAS officer. As Daddu begins to grow in the eyes of the political overlords, Loha feels threatened and he decides to push his acolyte out of his way.

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In Hurdang, the makers have made sure that everything in the film screams its period. It goes beyond the radio playing the hit songs of Tridev, Tezaab and Aashiqui, frequent comparisons to Amitabh Bachchan and the dressing style of the period. The fiery climax of the film draws parallels to the finale of the cult Anil Kapoor-Jackie Shroff film from that era. In case you missed the reference, the poster of the movie adorns a wall nearby reminds you of the inspiration. The one big difference here is that CGI flames here hardly makes you wince, unlike those that toasted the villain in the '90s movie. Theatrical Releases Of The Week: Varun Tej’s Ghani, Channing Tatum’s The Lost City, Chris Pine’s The Contractor & More.

What's more, even the love story scream '90s! The leading lady might be a bindaas girl, who makes her lover run around her little finger and is frank about discussing her periods, but she is awfully intimidated when her father brings in arranged marriage alliances. Sadly the love story is hardly affecting and it also bogs down the already weakly written political part of the movie, that refuses to show any other viewpoint apart from the 'affected' Thakurs. This despite the fact that that the heroine is told to be belonging to a lower caste. Hurdang fails to do justice even to the other side of the debate, when it shows that the driving point of the agitation is a man who was waiting to clear his IAS mains by copying from leaked papers.

Also, while Vijay Varma, Sunny Kaushal and Nushrratt Bharuccha are good in their roles, none of their characters manages to evince interest. You just can't help when the movie makes you hark back to the time when Haasil came out and Irrfan Khan's anti-hero still lingers in your mind, while you ponder over how Vijay Varma's Loha Singh is such a missed opportunity in making a memorable villain. Even the protagonists don't have ample verve to gain your sympathies. Daddu is a bully who is far from likeable while Jhulan could have easily solved half her problems if she could just talk to the right person and stop being so empty-headed (I am still thinking why she ever wanted to be with a guy like Daddu, who keeps her waiting while he goes to appease his mentor). The only character that managed to gain some sympathy is Jhulan's poor fiance, who gets roofied on his first night. Nushrratt Bharuccha Gives Glimpse of Her 'kind of Sunday'.

Yay!

- Actors Perform Decently Enough

Nay!

- The Writing is a Letdown

Final Thoughts

Hurdang, not helped at all by its quiet promotions and even quieter release, fails to deliver either a compelling love story or a socio-political drama. The film has released in theatres on April 8.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 08, 2022 10:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).