I’m not a big fan of gangster-cop movies, but I loved Sehar, mainly for its simplicity and honesty. There is no over-the-top dialogues, no unwanted bloodshed(or should I say tomato sauce!) and there are no songs to stop the pace of the movie. Its like a like watching a compelling gritty documentary on a gang of cops who decide to eliminate organised crime from Uttar Pradesh.
The movie, set in the 90s, begins with the murder of a gangster by another rival gangster Gajraj (Sushant Sharma). SSP Ajay Kumar(Arshad Warsi) is asked to investigate the murder. As he goes about investigating, he figures out that the crime world now headed by Gajraj is very well organized. A deep nexus runs between the gangsters, local politicians, the builders, the railway contractors, student union leaders and of course policemen. He also gets to know that Gajraj has a lot of well wishers in the political circles.
To counter this, he proposes a Special Task Force(STF), which has special powers and is answerable only to the SP. Initially there is resistance for such a force. But when the CM’s friend’s kin is kidnapped STF is given a go ahead with state wide power. The STF now goes about systematically eradicating crime. When they realise that the goons are using mobiles for their communication, they get a telecom professor Prof. Tiwari (Pankaj Kapur) to help them understand mobile communication technology. Tiwari soon becomes an important part of STF’s working and success. The rest of the movie tells us how STF is able to eradicate Gajraj and ruin his nexus.
There are also a couple of deviations in the movie – the short and sweet love between Anamika(Mahima Chaudhary) and Ajay and a story about Ajay’s father. These give us an insight of Ajay’s character and don’t affect the pace of the movie.
Writer and director Kabeer Kaushik has done a fine job in all departments. The editing is crisp and you never feel like taking a break. The background score is excellent and maintains the tempo of the movie.
In the acting department, the movie belongs to Arshad Warsi. He gives memorable performance and proves that he is truly an underrated actor. Sushant Sharma’s character is a little sketchy, but he does a good job of that. Pankaj Kapur and other are fine.
A movie definitely worth a watch, even if it has a documentary feel to it.