Siya Review - Manish Mundra's Artistic Intelligence Meets A Heart-Breaking Social Topic

Siya is Manish Mundra's directorial debut, who has produced many socially relevant films that are artistic and far away from mainstream commercial cinema. A true movie lover is familiar with his productions such as Ankhon Dekhi, Masaan, Dhanak, Waiting, Newton and Kadvi Hawa. Now he adds Pooja Pandey and Vineet Kumar Singh starrer Siya to the elite club. Siya is a mirror to society, an image that is unwatchable yet true and alive. The film breaks silence on a heartbreaking rape case, with a stunning and soul-breaking end to the narrative. You might have heard about some cases on the news channel and later forgotten them, but here's the recall to wake you up from corrupted sleep.Siya is somewhat inspired by the true events in our country. A low-class and ambitious girl, Siya (Pooja Pandey), is gang raped by four people who are family members of an MLA. Having nothing to lose but her family, she decides to take action against the criminals despite knowing their powerful background and corrupt police system. One of her relatives, played by Vineet Kumar Singh, who is a lawyer, supports her to get justice. But will that be enough? Can the movement against a vivacious system be won by the common people? Siya has some incredible answers that will leave you speechless by the end. The screenplay is very engaging and has some real hard-hitting moments to tear your heart into pieces. The impact is adamantine. You root for it and ask for justice just like the characters.The story, written by Manish Mundra, Haider Rizvi, and Samah's trio, is very painful but very true to the core. We do have such cases in the northern parts, which are away from urbanisation and modernised societies. Political conspiracies are handled easily without any pressure or fear, and even our police services bow down on their knees in front of them. Watching some news like this while living in an urban city with a cup of cold coffee in hand is easy, and passing judgments is even easier, but we can never feel the pain that these real people had to endure.Siya has been blessed with uncompromised performances by all the actors, especially a newcomer like Pooja Pandey. There is one scene where she crawls on the floor with two guys pulling her legs. She has given that shot so gracefully and without hesitation. She looks ugly when needed and looks good when required. Her physical efforts are visible, and that's why you feel that much needed sympathy for her character. Vineet Kumar Singh was brilliant as always. His lawyer is reliable and realistic, not dramatic or heroic at all. However, more dialogue would have helped a bit. Also, the supporting cast, which is too big to name here, does an excellent job in their roles.Siya doesn't have proper filmy songs, but poetic compositions. "Maati kahe Kumbhar se," and the end-credit song have a terrific situational impact. The words are soul-stirring and so meaningful that you feel like creating a new nostalgia that you will remember in a few years. We do lack such songs in today's 'remake era'. What a breathtaking cinematography Siya has! One needs to have a mature creative mind to understand the framework. Kudos to Rafey Mehmood and Subranshu Kumar Das for capturing some eye-pleasing and eye-opening frames.Coming to Manish Mundra's direction, this man is a creative genius. He has been a great producer over the years, and now we have a great director too. How matured he is when it comes to the understanding of cinema. Many experienced and well-known directors lack this kind of understanding of cinema. The bar has been set high by Manish in his debut, and hopefully he will continue making great films in the future as well. Siya is a must-see for artistic cinema lovers, while regular masala lovers can watch it to know what they are missing. Finally, something recommendable from Bollywood this year.