Sherdil Review - Tiger-Hearted Pankaj Tripathi Tries To Save A Cub-Sized Film By Srijit Mukherji

Pankaj Tripathi plays the lead role in Srijit Mukherji's film, Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga, which is inspired by the true event. The film may have a tiger theme at the centre, but it wanders into the old roots of socialism. Tripathi was seen fighting against the system for his own identity in Kaagaz, and for a change here, he fights for his village's identity in Sherdil. The Kaagaz, i.e., paper, remains the same while tiger hunting comes in as a new change. The rest, you already know, and if you don't, then please watch the film. It has to be either something new for you or you have to be a Pankaj Tripathi fan to make this thing work for you — if you think it can work for you.Inspired by true events, Srijit Mukherji has brought forth an insightful story about the adverse effects of urbanization, man-animal conflict, and poverty, leading to a bizarre practise in a village that resides on the edge of a forest. Gangaram (Pankaj Tripathi) is a Mukhiya of a small village who wants to make his village famous. But he doesn't have "a paper" or "a certificate" to prove the problems his village is facing. He adopts the infamous tiger practise and is willing to give up his life so that the families of his village will benefit from the government scheme money, which is promised to the family of any tiger attack victim by the government. In the forest, he meets Jim (Neeraj Kabi), who is a poacher, and what follows next is a series of unprecedented and interesting events.The film is literally saved by Pankaj Tripathi's performance. This man is popular for the side roles he has played, but in the lead role he is much better. Sadly, many people don't know that. He, as Gangaram, will force you to believe it if you are not among the ones who know it already. Sayani Gupta plays his wife convincingly, despite the lower screen space and cliched one-liners. I was expecting more from Neeraj Kabi, but maybe the character didn't allow him to, and so he looked underwhelming (to me). The supporting cast does not add anything important, but they are good company with a few funny scenes.Sherdil has a weak script that doesn't allow the tiger in its name to jump higher. This fight for identity by a small village man thing has been tried many times in Bollywood and regional cinema, and if I'm not wrong, Bollywood has failed most of the time, including this one. Take Joker (2012), for instance. In the same year, Marathi cinema made a fantastic film like "Bharatiya" on the same topic. You see the difference between Bollywood and regional cinema. Let's just scrap out the comparison scenario. Maybe it is not about the cinema industry. It's about the right script. Sherdil didn't get it, that's all. Director Srijit Mukherji's approach seemed a little loose towards the extremity of the subject. The same happened with Amit Masurkar's Sherni (2021) — the same man who made a classic like Newton (2017). I don't see what Srijit Mukherji could have done with this script, so it's not him to be blamed. The same film might have looked better 10-15 years ago when this topic was new, but now, the OTT and other films have made it difficult for the outdated topic to hold up. Sherdil could have played well with the emotions though, but it never really focuses on them while being busy with its satirical treatment. As a whole, Sherdil is a wannabe tiger film that comes with cub-sized content, and even Pankaj Tripathi's tiger-sized performance couldn't save it.