“The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty,” reads a famous quote by Eugene McCarthy. Unarguably true in every format, tribe, level, and circumstance, the decades-old statement finds validation in director Amit Masurkar’s setup in Sherni.
Newly appointed as a forest officer in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, Vidya Vincent (Vidya Balan) is not overly enthusiastic about her work. Besides possibly being miffed about her transfer, she is displeased with her husband’s (Mukul Chadda) indifference. Vidya is slow-moving but carries an air of decisiveness. The region under her purview is facing frequent tiger attacks, putting livestock and civilians in danger. Very early in the plot, we figure out how difficult it is to end this misery.
Sherni is no black-and-white human-versus-animal epic. With the animal being a mere catalyst to expose the surrounding chaos, it is, in essence, a human-versus-human spectacle—much like Masurkar’s crackling 2017 film Newton. If anyone in the film is as helpless as a tigress drifting into human society, it is Vidya herself. She is visibly uncomfortable amid a troop of vile politicians, misled civilians, a ruthless hunter (Sharat Saxena), a sexist superior (Neeraj Kabi), and so on. It doesn’t help that she is a woman—the ‘lady officer’ tag by default garners limited acceptance. Not only are her speeches cut off midway,but Vidya constantly finds herself silenced and in need of male supervision for every decision she makes.
The support she receives comes from zoology professor Noorani (Vijay Raaz, in great form), whose characterisation interested me the most. An educated Muslim family man, Noorani has several bones to pick. He is as much an expert with fauna as he is with the flavours of his biryani. Yet, he is a misfit in a place he has perhaps spent a good chunk of his life. Not someone to pull strings or succumb to the corrupt ways of bureaucracy, he would rather move to Mumbai for a better life.
In sharp contrast stands Vidya’s boss, Mr. Bansal (a fantastic Brijendra Kala), who is well-versed in the ways of the region. He is a people pleaser and confidently nonchalant about conversations that matter. Bansal is prepared to face the physical wrath of the opposition while also being an active cog in the political machine that only cares about the upcoming elections.
The village adjoining the forest isn’t devoid of compassionate people. In their small capacities, they support Vidya’s mission – not to let the tigress become a hunter’s plaything. It helps that Vidya seems approachable, and she brings a personal touch to her work. Vidya appreciates the young craftspeople who use bamboo and colour to express their creativity, thereby providing them with an alternative livelihood. She never raises her voice, and she’s kind to people who do not deserve her attention.
Masurkar’s leading lady is also a solitary woman in a numbingly patriarchal setup. At a get-together, she sips her whiskey far away from the chaos of her colleagues. She wouldn’t express her annoyance toward her frivolous college-sweetheart-turned-husband or her talkative mother-in-law (Ila Arun). The most vocal she gets is perhaps near the end, when she declares to her superior, “You are pathetic.” Balan does her part very well, reminding us why she should steer clear of cinema that wants her to play to the gallery.
Sherni, like several key films discussing the wildlife-human conflict, raises many underlined questions. Who does the land belong to? Particularly as we observe a landscape that intersperses jungle with farmland, it is clear how human settlements obstruct wildlife. The writers (Masurkar, Yashasvi Mishra, Aastha Tiku) cleverly employ allegories to raise our curiosity further. If there’s a kitten seeking shelter and food at Vidya’s residence, there are the cubs of the hunted tigress T12 seeking the same sympathy. Even a passing line from Vidya’s housekeeper—“Your grandmother lived here, your mother did, and now you”—is reflective when equated with the tigers’ right to their habitat.
Highly procedural, the film avoids a crowd-pleasing finale like Newton. Sherni doesn’t offer quick-fix solutions or high-voltage drama either. It presents a situation and quietly places the protagonist as a player in the system, but with limited power. She, too, has her tiny victories, but she is never a saviour. It’s her silence that gives Masurkar’s film an extra layer of believability. Vidya is the ringmaster in a circus that already has its set of people and animals basking in hoots and claps. We watch the show with wide eyes, sans any desire to participate in the ill-fated dramedy that their life is.
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
Sherni is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
