Revisiting Inglorious Past. Review on The Tashkent Files

The Tashkent Files is an intriguing film which throws open a plethora of unanswered questions related to Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri’s demise in mysterious circumstances. Most importantly, it highlights the ‘truth to suit political convenience’, ‘influential terrorism’ and role of ‘great powers’ in controlling world economies, etc from the larger perspective.

Few subtle references in support of, counter to specific ideologies do appear, but thankfully or perhaps cleverly did not seem endorsed by the narrative. Further, most of the findings are purely based on reports available on public domain. There are cinematic liberties used in the screenplay at quite a few places, which may be hard to believe. However, looking at the film objectively, the essence lies in reading between the lines, no matter whom we support. In fact, the climax says it all, on a ‘very practical’ note.

Background score by Rohit Sharma and Azaad gel well with the mood the film.

Performance wise, Pankaj Tripathi, Rajesh Sharma, Prakash Belawadi, Pallavi Joshi, Mandira Bedi, Vishwa Mohan Badola make an impact. Naseeruddin Shah deserved more screen space. Mithun Chakraborty’s character has multiple shades, and the veteran plays his part with ease & restrain. Shweta Basu Prasad is the backbone of the film. Despite being the youngest among all, she is remarkable in almost every scene. Shweta deserves author-backed roles here on as well.

To sum-up, director Vivek Agnihotri does a splendid job in bringing to light an important, yet forgotten incident in Indian history, topping it up well with contemporary thought processes and viewpoints.

Overall a decently entertaining film, worth a watch.