“NH10” is a gripping thriller, ripped from the headlines of modern day India. Meera (Anushka Sharma) and Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam), originally from Bangalore in South India, now live in Gurgaon in the North, a modern city bordering New Delhi. They are young professionals with a comfortable lifestyle. At a party with Arjun’s coworkers, Meera receives a call requesting her return to work. Meera leaves Arjun at the party to be driven home by a coworker and she heads out on her own. It is after midnight, and the streets are deserted.
Soon she is being followed by two men on a motorcycle. At a light, they speed ahead of her blocking her path forward, another car blocks her from the rear. When they try to force her out of the car, she steps on the gas and is able to get away. The next day, Meera and Arjun are at the police station, looking through pictures of possible suspects. When she is unable to identify anyone, the policeman says, “The city is like a growing child – its’ bound to act funny sometimes”. He questions why Arjun would let his wife drive alone at night, and suggests that Arjun buy her a gun.
Meera is still stressed out by the incident, when Arjun decides to take her away for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. To get there the couple must travel several hours on NH10, a lonely highway which passes thru the jungle. There is a traffic jam as they approach the toll booth on the outskirts of Gurgaon. Four young men shot the toll taker to death when he asked them to pay. This sets a foreboding mood of things to come.
The first half of the trip is uneventful, but when they decide to stop for something to eat, everything changes. Meera is using the washroom to smoke a cigarette, when a young woman bursts in pleading for her help. Meera doesn’t want to get involved and pushes her aside. Back at the table, there is a big commotion in the parking lot. The young woman’s husband is being beaten by her brother. As everyone else stands by, Arjun intervenes. The brother slaps him hard and warns him to stay away from his family’s business. The young woman, Pinky, and her husband are forced in a car and the men speed away.
This is where “NH10” becomes a very exciting movie. Arjun, his pride hurt, decides to follow them and teach the “villagers” a lesson. Meera pleads with him to not get involved, but he takes the gun he had bought for Meera’s protection and heads into the jungle.
Director Navdeep Singh makes us feel as if we are right there with Meera and Arjun. They watch in horror as Pinky’s brother, Satbir (Darshan Kumaar). brutally kills his sister and her husband to avenge his family’s honor. And so begins a roller coaster ride as the couple try to escape certain death. The pace is fast and exciting. Natural light adds to the feeling of reality as we move from daylight, to evening, to darkness. Music is used sparingly, and silence enhances certain tense moments.
The movie slowly uncovers layers of dysfunction in Indian society: from authorities, ordinary people standing by as others are abused, to outsiders trying to survive, as well as, enduring and deadly traditions. In a diverse country, one can clearly see many opposites: law and lawlessness, modern culture and ancient, urban and rural, male and female. As a village policeman explains to Meera, “Right where the last mall in the city ends, that is where the rule of democracy and constitution ends as well. How can the poor constitution reach where even water and electricity cannot.”
Anushka Sharma is one of the producers and the star of “NH10″. She gives an almost flawless portrayal of Meera, a young woman who is respected and competent at work, but unsettled by the violence she sees around her and hesitant to get involved. She genuinely depicts shock at sudden brutality, physically exhaustion, focus and alertness in danger, cleverness when betrayed, and finally emotion filled with anger and revenge.
Neil Bhoopalam as Arjun, is fine as a city dweller way out of his depth in rural India. A kind and good man, he is the only person to stand up to Pinky’s brutal brother, but not recognizing the danger he is in becomes his fatal flaw. Darshan Kumar, as Pinky’s brother Satbir, is convincingly impulsive, cold-blooded and cruel. Deepti Naval is chilling as the matriarch of a village who upholds ancient traditions even when they destroy her own family.
“NH10” is well-written by Sudip Sharma. I heartily recommend “NH10”, but beware that it has an Adult classification for violence, brutality and some bad language.
