57. Humble Politician Nograj; movie review

HUMBLE POLITICIAN NOGRAJ
Cert 12A
149 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex references, injury detail

For the second week in a row, one of the most impressive Indian releases in UK cinemas has been in the Kannada language.
Saad Khan's Humble Politician Nograj is genuinely funny, prompting six laughs from Mrs W and me and many more from the native speakers in the audience at Ilford Cineworld.
And in Danish Sait, it features a comic performance which is as good as any I can recall in an Indian movie for a long time.
But the real skill of this film is that it manages to strike out at a number of very serious subjects as well as be a jolly good giggle.
Sait plays Nograj, a local politician who is into every scam imaginable as he seeks to further his ambition of becoming a member of parliament.
Nograj makes scores of empty promises and then cries bitter foul when he is exposed by his detractors.
I suspect he is not only echoing corrupt politicians in India but also Donald Trump's tactics in the American election and his sensitivities since his victory.
Sait's Nograj reminds me of the sort of character who Sacha Baron Cohen might have created and his satire is laid as thick as treacle.
He shows no shame in sweeping away his opponents through bribing others to do the dirty on them or just telling downright lies.
And when things do go wrong he has his right hand man/lackey (Vijay Chendoor) or even his equally ambitious wife (Sumukhi Suresh) to blame.
Finally, it appears that he has met his match in an election rival (Roger Narayan) who really does have the future of the region and its people at heart.
How will he handle that? I really would not want to ruin the surprise.

Reasons to watch: funny, over-the-top political satire
Reasons to avoid: some may think the Nograj character is too exaggerated

Laughs: five from us - many more among the Kannada speakers
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7.5/10

The big question - Are Indian politicians really as corrupt as they are portrayed in movies?

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