STORY
Sajini Shinde belongs to a traditional and conservative Marathi family from Ahmednagar. By profession, she is a Physics teacher at a reputed school in Pune. She has found a man, Siddhant, for an arranged marriage through a dating app. With her priorities in life placed in order, one big mistake ruins her forever when her colleagues insist to get drunk and enjoy her birthday party wild. All the mobiles come out to capture her moment and the video goes viral all over the social media. Her video reaches the school administration, young students, the society, and her family. She is shamed and expelled from the school. The family as well as her soon-to-be husband Siddhant are furious. Besides a couple of feminists, she has no support. And one day, she disappears.
REVIEW
“Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video” is really the title of the film. Reminds me of Saeed Akhtar Mirza‘s films that used to have long titles. Coming back to my assessment, this is a mystery film where two inspectors Bela and Ram investigate the disappearance and get stuck in the complexity of the case. The film grows so intense into the second half, that most of the characters begin to look like involved in kidnapping or killing her. Every arc gives a different and genuine understanding.
I was absolutely sold to the core of the story followed by a marvellous continuity. Because, let me tell you something, in the presentation of a story and between the lines of the continuity, the viewers must always keep themselves open for a broader theory of what that film wants you to sink into. Generally, the film is about the whereabouts of Sajini but moreover, from where I am looking at is a broader picture, that the film is about things that led to Sajini’s disappearance.
This film has made me listen to possibly the best dialogues written for any film of 2023. One of the parents asks the principal if she will send her daughter to a school where a teacher does a sandwich dance between two naked men in a foreign country. I’m afraid she has a point and almost every parent will question about their children’s future. And then there is Sajini’s colleague Shraddha who complains that the fun is acceptable if you are a film star but crime for a school teacher.
Was it even Sajini’s call? She wasn’t eager to get drunk. It was Shraddha who convinced her to enjoy it like that and also was she who uploaded her dancing video by mistake. We can throw the blame on Sajini’s guy who asked her to get modern. Didn’t he know his woman’s definition of being modern would come out of a book? Or was Sajini from a small town, who was trying to fit in and get accepted in modern ambitions, really that dumb to not understand what he approved her about enjoying?
Do you get my point? I am not playing with your mind but informing you that this is a thought-provoking story that is not limited to her disappearance but is too large for assessment. I can write at least 25 pages about what I have watched and how and why is the message of the film so important for all of us.
Almost every character was developed. The film had a lot to offer. There was dark humor, the continuity had pace, and the suspense was captivating. The film wasted no time in introducing to the inspectors. And speaking about the supporting characters, the film opposes obviousness and gives a more realistic portrayal. Sajini confesses that she loved Siddhant. But Siddhant was not a good guy at all. He was a sore loser who had a bad past with other women. And even after Sajini disappeared, his personality was questionable. And I really liked that in such a scenario, the writer and director of a Bollywood film chose to show that the ideal man of the leading character is not quintessential. Yes, there is every possibility that the chosen portfolio is not the right person.
Radhika Madan as Sajini was outstanding but unfortunately, the story didn’t allow her character to spend much time in the film. And by this thought, I bethink that this story had every potential to transform into a limited series. You can easily stretch it to six or eight episodes and give more breathing to some promising characters like colleague Shraddha, principal Kalyani, and brother Aakash, and run Sajini’s important life events in it. Radhika did a superb impression of a small-town simple-minded girl giving such a raw-scale mannerism while meeting her date or speaking with people. Notice when she doesn’t find Siddhant’s heist joke funny and hides her discomfort in her smile.
CLOSING REMARKS
Although, the film somehow met with a fair conclusion with Inspector Bela delivering a very important message. But from an artistic angle, the film’s final scene should have been Sajini’s video message. With that, the film would have served the purpose. Also, this suggested ending would have hit hard on the audience.
I believe “Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video” is a spectacular debate about freedom and its social conflicts. This film is where liberty questions slavery and selfishness become self-esteem. Everyone performed at an average scale but Nimrat Kaur as Inspector Bela deserves the praise. The direction of Mikhil Musale, and dialogues, and screenplay are the biggest pluses.
Food for thought. Can a woman have her own choice of freedom? Why? Why not? But which one? Good freedom or bad freedom? What is that? Can freedom be bad? And who will decide if that freedom is good or bad? We the society? Or you, the seeker of freedom? Can a woman distinguish good freedom or bad freedom? Hold on a second. can a woman even distinguish what is good or bad? If she can, why are people offended? And if she cannot, why do her parents want her to get married?
Does Sajini have the right to enjoy? Must she have gotten drunk and danced? Must she have avoided doing all this in fear of getting caught by a camera in the era of social media? Does being a teacher dissuade her from all this? If you are thinking about, when will I finish my review then my dear readers, my series of questions will never end because this is all about a woman, and that too, is in trouble. So where does the problem really lie? The problem lies in our minds.
RATING 8.2/10
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Sami Naik | Film Critic 