‘Irada’ movie review: A socially relevant film with spectacular performances

Directed By: Aparnaa Singh
Produced By: Falguni Patel and Prince Soni
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Divya Dutta, Sharad Kelkar, Sagarika Ghatge
Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 3.5/5

Terrorism! A dreaded word highly discussed and portrayed efficiently in many movies, but what about eco-terrorism?  Do you have your facts in place for this term? Did you know that there is a cancer train in the state of Punjab?  These questions may not instantly ring a bell in your overtly curious mind, until you watch the movie ‘Irada‘, a gripping tale that tackles these issues with sensitivity.

Headed by a powerful starcast comprising of actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Divya Dutta, Sagarika Ghatge and Sharad Kelkar, this story deals with a socially relevant and unspoken topic of how the process of reverse boring results in eco-terrorism and cancer-stricken patients. So, let’s see how the story pans out. Check it out in ‘Irada’ movie review here…

Parabjeet Walia (Naseeruddin Shah), an ex-army man who is mourning over the loss of his only daughter Riya (Ruman Molla) to the dreaded disease of lung cancer. Not the one to let things lie low, he digs deeper into the real cause of her death and discovers that the process of reverse boring in one of the biggest industries PPFPL was the cause of contamination in water, ultimately resulting in cancer. Well, he isn’t the only one to seek revenge, but a journalist Simi (Sagarika Ghatge) too is on a vengeful path for the murder of her boyfriend, an RTI Activist.

Enter Paddy Sharma (Sharad Kelkar), the managing director of PPFPL and also the main fund provider for the Chief Minister of Punjab, Ramandeep Briatch (Divya Dutta), a corrupt woman. His industry which deals with the process of reverse boring suddenly is met by a series of bomb blasts and that leaves him completely disturbed and impatient to claim insurance money worth Rs 600 crores from the CM. But, CM has an interesting plan to close the case quickly.

An NIA Agent, Arjun Mishra (Arshad Warsi) is hired to catch the real culprit behind the bomb blasts. With moments of wit and sarcasm, the character of Arjun is a man with his morals intact and is intelligent too. His quest to discover the truth behind the bomb blasts and understand the entire process of eco-terrorism is what forms the crux of the story.

Now, let’s get down to the performances in the movie. Not a single person has performed below the mark, which is a big pro of this taut thriller which thrives on immensely powerful performances. The magical and super talented duo of ‘Ishqiya’ and ‘Dedh Ishqiya’, Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi are stupendous in their characters. Divya Dutta as the corrupt politician gets the perfect tonality required for her role. Sharad Kelkar as the antagonist is a surprise and we believe he was the perfect choice for the role of the unscrupulous business-tycoon. It was a delight to see the ‘Chak De! India’ actress, Sagarika Ghatge in a substantial role after such a long time and she did justice to her part.

It’s indeed amazing to see a first-time director Aparnaa Singh come up with an issue that’s unheard of in movies. She has tackled it with extreme care, and that is commendable. Kudos to that! The only glitch here is the climax, which seems a bit too convenient for such a well-researched subject.

Our verdict? You can definitely give this movie a watch.

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