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Siya, Review: We didn’t see ya

A man who has produced 12 films, including masterpieces like Masaan and Newton, over the last eight years, decides to make his directorial debut under his own banner, Drishyam Films (Drishyam means ‘scene’), at the age of 49. His name is Manish Mundra. All eyes are on him. What subject has he chosen? Who are the actors? How will be his treatment of the script, and so on. And then comes the invitation to attend the première of Siya. There was a show earlier, when I was in Georgia, and obviously, could not attend. Since the release was delayed by a few weeks, they decided to invite members of the press, who might not have seen the film then, to see it at the première. As the film unfolded, we discovered that it dealt with the plight of a rape, and captive, repeated gang-rape, victim, named Siya, and the police-legislator nexus that denied her justice. We saw Siya, Mr. Manish Mundra, we didn’t see ya, meaning we did not see much of the director’s touch.

In a very small town in Uttar Pradesh (UP) lives a girl named Siya Singh. She had to give-up her schooling after studying till the sixth grade due to family responsibilities. She practically does all the chores in her home, including going out to buy provisions and taking her handicapped brother to school on a cycle. Three ruffians try to accost her every time she passes by on her cycle, with rape on their minds. These include the son of the local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). One day, they almost have their way, but for the timely arrival on a scooter, of Mahendra Mallah, a lawyer, who works in NOIDA, and who is on a visit to the village. But the next time around, he is not there to save her. She is caught, dragged into a car, and taken away by the four devilish souls.

When she does not return home till late at night, the family, helped by Mahendra, tries to lodge a police complaint, called a First Information Report (FIR), about her disappearance, but the cops refuse. Such refusal is common in many parts of the country. In some instances, it is due to the fact that a written complaint would come on record and the custodians of law would have to investigate the case, which, some lazy police officers, are loathe to do. In other cases, they do not register the complaint if any prominent personality is involved as an accused, a personality who could create problems for them, or if they are already ‘on the take’ of such personalities.

Mahendra, who is neither related to Siya nor a close family friend, takes the initiative and forces the law machinery into action. Siya is found, several days after being kidnapped and kept as a sex slave of the MLA’s son and his friends. The MLA is furious, for elections are round the corner, and this time, he hopes to contest the seat of a Member of Parliament (MP), a national position, as against the local (state) post of MLA. He, however, acts to protect his son, and threatens the girl, her family, Mahendra and his family of dire consequences if they press charges or go to court.

Who wouldn’t sympathise with a young girl being subjected to what Siya was? And who would have anything but contempt for the politician, his son, the son’s buddies and the local police, who all gang-up to silence two families, in order to save their names, and remove obstacles to political designs? Question is, “Where is the novelty in this theme?” Haven’t we seen a slew of films on such themes before? Does the mere choice of a subject that resonates with a large part of the population of the country ensure that a good film will automatically come out of it? Certainly not. Yes, the film is realistic and could have been based on a real incident. Yet, again, where is the cinematic treatment that this subject, or any subject, deserves? Writers Haider Rizvi, Manish Mundra and Samaah have some explaining to do.

Dark, sombre atmosphere running through, the protagonists facing attack after attack, police atrocities mounting…yes, but why is there no effort to surprise the audience? Where are the twists? More of the same cannot be called twists. Once you see Mahendra driving a car for the first time, and the girl sitting in it, it is an ominous sign, and sure enough the director obliges. Some things, however, must be appreciated. The slow tracking shot of the girl’s house, showing various members of the family little by little, in positions that describe their persona; the circling of the boys’ hiding place by police cars, shot using drone-mounted cameras; the climactic shot, that leaves you with some hope amidst tons of despair; the casting of an older actor as Mahendra and the conscious attempt not to show any romantic link-up between them; Mahendra shown to be practicing as a Notary, not a criminal lawyer, which would have been the obvious choice; the case being initially heard by a woman judge, who makes scathing comments about the police (but these lead to nowhere, which is a big let-down). Siya is easily among the post pessimistic films made in recent memory.

Playing Siya (the name is a variant of the character from the Raamaayan, Seeta) is Pooja Pandey. Except for a couple of scenes with her brother, she does not get to show many emotions. Suffering and devastated, she maintains the semblance of a stoic look on her face, determined to try and get justice. Winning a lot of sympathy might even win her a few prizes, but it is largely a uni-dimensional role. Scoring better is Vineet Kumar Singh as Mahendra, a man who gambles with his life so that one girl from his village can bring her rapists to justice. As he said at the première, if 200 Mahendras rise when any girl in a small town or village is raped, this curse will go away forever. Quite obviously, that is better said than done.

Acting by the supporting cast is generally acceptable. These include Rudra Pratap Singh Chaudhary, Dev Chauhan, Madhvendra Jha, Anuradha Kalia, Shubham Kumar, Deepak Tiwari, Lajjawati Mishra, Nidhi Mishra, Yogesh Pandey, Ambarish Saxena, Rajshree Seem, Aradhya Sen, Aruna Soni and Rajnish Yadav. ‘Produced by’ credit is not Manish’s, it is Raghav Gupta. Cinematography by Rafey Mehmood and Subranshu Kumar Das and editing by Manendra Singh Lodhi are two credits that must get their due.

Siya is a very disturbing film, all of 117 minutes long. There is little relief or entertainment quotient in the movie. It does not tell you anything that you do not already know, but reconfirms that barbarism prevails in the 21st century India we live in. And going back to what Vineet said at the première, to save one Siya, we will need 200 Mahendras to rise in arms, to the refrains of ‘Maatee kahey kumbhaarsey, too kya raundey mohey?’

Rating: * ½

Trailer: https://youtu.be/fYhbW4I-Lwc