Early in Mulk, Aarti (Taapsee Pannu) asks her Muslim mother-in-law why it is important to decide the religion for kids yet to born in the world. A couple of scenes later, a Hindu woman tells her friend that she doesn't mind enjoying functions at a Muslim house, but won't eat from there. In the second half, Murad Ali Mohammed (Rishi Kapoor) asks Aarti how he can prove in court his love for the nation. It is these little conversations that make Mulk less of a film and more of a discussion of our inbuilt bigotry and prejudices. And a powerful discussion at that!

Directed by Anubhav Sinha, Mulk narrates the travails of Murad's joint family, living in Benares, after his nephew Shahid (Prateik Babbar) is involved in a terrorist attack. Even though Shahid is later killed in an encounter, his family feels the brunt of his foolhardiness. His father and Murad's younger brother, Bilal (Manoj Pahwa) gets arrested on the accusations of being an accomplice in the plot. The family gets ostracised by the Hindu neighbours in their mohalla and hounded by the media. Murad, an advocate himself, tries to defend his brother in court but the prosecution levels terrorism charges against him too. So he handles the responsibility of defending his family's integrity to Aarti, who is also a competent lawyer.

Mulk is not a perfect movie. It has quite a number of flaws, which we will get into later. However, like I said before, it makes a conversation that we need to be a part of, right now. Don't want to make this review a political statement, but considering how fragile the situation is in our country based on religious grounds, or that's what the higher-ups want to portray, a film like Mulk is the need of the hour.

The movie may be perceived as a courtroom drama, but its most-thoughtful scenes in Mulk lie outside the court. Some of these sequences I have mentioned in the first para. There is also a nonchalant discussion on terrorism that gives us the real meaning of the word 'jihad' - the word stands for 'struggle against bad habits' and not 'holy war' as is commonly perceived.

In a little scene in the second half, Murad calls back on a conversation with Shahid where they discuss the unwanted need to have a blockade for Urs. When he remembers Shahid's dissent in that conversation, Murad realises that he should have kept an eye on the boy. There is another little scene where, while Shahid claims he killed people for his religion and people, Bilal admits to the court that the boy had never properly learnt the Quran (thus was easily manipulated).

That's the thing I appreciate about Mulk - while the movie insists that a family or a religion cannot be placed in the same basket as the wrongdoer, it also doesn't absolve them of their callousness of not keeping a closer eye on potential wrongdoers. Despite the tendency of movies of this genre to do so, Mulk never shows one side as innocent and other the victim. The movie understates the fact that there are bad eggs in every religion, but one should not colour an entire community for the actions of a few. While it is wrong to say Islam is bad, Mulk also honestly points out that the actions and reactions of some members of the community are not bereft of guile.

Anubhav Sinha, who earlier directed Shah Rukh Khan's Ra.One and Sanjay Dutt's Dus, delivers his finest movie till date with Mulk. Away from the superhero shenanigans of Ra.One or the melodramatic romance of Tum Bin, Sinha returns to good form with what could be one of 2018's better efforts. Backed by some strong writing and dialogues, especially the ones delivered by Taapsee and Rishi in the final portions, Sinha makes Mulk a compelling view.

The first half of the movie is a setup to the courtroom drama that arrives in the second half. Though it avoids making any powerful statements, there are some fine moments here when Mulk shows the bonding of Murad's family and how their lives turn for the worse after Shahid's indictment. The buildup is really good in these portions. The second half is admittedly more powerful thanks to the courtroom sequences, but it also delves into some cliched territories.

The courtroom scenes are pure Bollywood-ish take, thanks to Ashutosh Rana's theatrical performance as the prosecution lawyer and some aspects of legal proceedings that never happen in real life. Like, how a crucial CCTV footage is never submitted to the defense for review beforehand the court commencement. The prosecution lawyer presents arguments that are too biased and lack any ground. But I believe he represents all those people who pass silly WhatsApp messages insulting a religion because they have an inherent hatred for the community. I love any good courtroom debate, but the theatricality and the one-dimensional character of Santosh Pandit take away some of the naturality of the proceedings. Even the judge (Kumud Mishra)'s final verdict feel more of a moral sermon rather than a verdict per se.

But then, the sequences also provide some discerning talks in the final moments of the film, asking the court (and in turn, the audience) how by perceiving a whole community in a negative light, we are tearing the very fabric of this country's unity. So yeah, I can forgive Anubhav Sinha for the infused artificiality in these scenes.

Mulk also works in the technical aspects as well. Ewan Mulligan's cinematography manages the usual-diya-laden view of Varanasi and gives the required grim tone for the film. Mulk has no need for songs, but the three in the film (Prasad Sashte, Anurag Saikia) are harmless. There is some slack in the proceedings, in the second half especially, but Ballu Saluja's editing puts a tighter rein on the narrative.

Finally the performances. What a year 2018 has been for the Kapoor's! Ranbir Kapoor has already delivered a great performance in Sanju earlier this year. His father, though, has given two bravura performances in 2018. While he was adorable in 102 Not Out, Rishi Kapoor's act in Mulk is par excellence. Tempting the potential to make every scene of his loud, Kapoor manages to strike a balance between dogged determination and frailty.

After watching her delivering an impactful (if a tad filmy) monologue in the climax, I wonder to myself - what made Taapsee be a part of the misogynistic  Judwaa 2? Mulk proves once again that she is one of the finest actresses we have. This is her second courtroom drama after Pink - another movie that made for a conversation-starter about women-empowerment. Mulk, however, gives Taapsee to get away from the shadow of Big B and show that even she can give effective hard-hitting statements with ease, like the Bollywood legend. Her scenes with both Kapoor and Pahwa give a lot of insights into the movie's soul.

Manoj Pahwa is often stereotyped by Bollywood with roles that make him that loud, crass Punjabi uncle. In Mulk, his character shows signs of that at the start, but later gives Pahwa the much-needed opportunity the emotional range of his acting. And he delivers with a tragic, touching panache. Rajat Kapoor has an interesting character as the investigating cop who killed Shahid. He is a Muslim himself but feels by severely punishing the culprit and his family, he can teach others in his community to not toe the line. While he does get sidelined in the second half, Rajat is excellent in every scene he is in. Neena Gupta and Praachee Shah Paandya are also really good, but they don't get much scope when the courtroom drama begins. Prateik Babbar has a small role in the film and he is adequate. However, some of the actors in the secondary feel very fake.

Yay!

- A powerful narrative, with impactful dialogues

- Rishi Kapoor and Taapsee Pannu's strong performances

- Supporting cast

- Sinha's confident direction

- Final 20 minutes

Nay!

- Theatricality in the courtroom could have been avoided

- Very Bollywoodish in the perception of media and the law

- Some of the supporting characters get sidelined

- Takes its time to get to the best parts

Final thoughts

It may rely on crowd-pleasing elements, but Mulk offers a powerful social commentary, that works as the need of the moment. It makes a compelling statement that a man's religion should not be his identity, but his actions and his proclivity. Backed by the terrific performances of Rishi Kapoor and Taapsee Pannu, Mulk is a must-watch.

Rating:
3.5 out of 5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 03, 2018 06:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).