‘Veda’ movie review: John Abraham’s socially conscious action entertainer fails to last long

John Abraham in a scene from ‘Veda’

If one were to take a census of popular Hindi cinema, Dalits and their issues would be a minority. So, it is refreshing to see an action entertainer woven around caste atrocities committed in the name of divine justice in remote areas. It is encouraging to see BR Ambedkar’s picture inside the house attached to something as ubiquitous but meaningful as a mirror.

Dalit law student Veda Bairwa (Sharvari) wants to punch above her social weight by joining a boxing club in her college. However, the so-called custodians of the social order find her fit only to clean the floors for aspirants belonging to the upper rungs in the caste hierarchy. She finds support from Abhimanyu, an ex-army officer grappling with a personal tragedy, who has returned to his husband’s village and is serving as a boxing coach in a local college.

Set in a bastion of patriarchy, where politicians try to appear progressive as long as the caste system around them is not in tatters, the pair find themselves in the crosshairs of a caste panchayat head, Jitendra Pratap Singh (Abhishek Banerjee). The father of one of the girls, Jitendra seems politically correct, but he is from the middle generation. His father (Ashish Vidyarthi in Ek Ladki) Strike-type turn) swears by an archaic tradition and his younger brother is a lumpen goon exercising authority. In short, a tot mirzapur While lost in Barmer, when Ved’s brother is found in a relationship with an upper caste girl, Jitendra loses his temper, and chaos ensues.

Director Nikhil Advani, ever the magician of romance, has portrayed a heartless world very carefully. A sad hero riding a beast in a worrying environment makes a poignant picture. The cantankerous hero who talks about constitutional rights and packs a brutal punch proves to be a courageous ally in this unequal battle for basic human dignity. Ved wants to approach the local court, but the court-martial officer thinks otherwise. The story is expected to unravel her journey.

However, Nikhil is unsure about how much of a social reality will be incorporated in John Abraham’s action film. Will it be too cerebral and out of reach for audiences who expect the film to be too much for the audience? Transporter Every time John presses the accelerator or loads his gun? So, Nikhil nourished the script with a regular high-protein diet and only varied the quality of the fibre intake. This meant long, sometimes winding action sequences with talk of symmetry. There are passages where the internal logic fails to hold, giving the impression that the makers want Veda to be trapped, chased and rescued like a video game algorithm.

The disclaimer states that the film is derived from real-life stories. That is true, but writer Aseem Arora has cooked the story in the furnace of Bollywood. However, the acting is excellent. John has mastered the art of the stare. In fact, someone in the film says about Abhimanyu, ‘He stares a lot’ (Lots of staring). When Vikram calls him a true atheist who stays silent, it fits perfectly with John. Sharvari is getting better with each outing, but a little more physical transformation could have helped. The action choreography is also impressive, but we keep looking for the bigger conflict to be addressed. We keep waiting for John to move from the driver’s seat to the backseat, but it keeps getting delayed. Finally, the silent atheist starts quoting from the Mahabharata.

When the mix isn’t smooth, it feels like a serious issue is being used just to pacify the regulars Spices The makers of the film are conscious that Abhimanyu should not come across as the protector of the Dalit girl. However, this calculation about how much ground should be given to the hero after the film is named after him disrupts the flow of the film. The film may have lost some of its edge during the time spent in the censor board’s vaults, but Nikhil and John also belong to the middle generation. They cannot give up the allure of item numbers, but do not want to appear politically incorrect either.

Veda is currently running in cinemas