User reviews

Motihari is a one-train town in the badlands of Bihar. As a sanctuary of evil it resembles a piece of pre-riots Bombay, without the smells and the early closing. As though in recognition that the underworld everywhere is essentially the same, debutant director E Nivas -- who began his career as spot boy under Ramgopal Varma and graduated to become his chief understudy -- has shot Shool in dank, washed-out colours, so that the red is drained to maroon and the blue to navy.

Hi Any influence, unconscious or otherwise, that Satya may have had on Shool and Varma on Nivas, however, ends there. Although cast in the typical Bollywood potboiler formula, its portrayal of the political milieu in the Hindi heartland is as authentic as it is rivetting. Shool offers enough on this score to be a tempting alternative to curling up with the latest of William Darlymple's prize-winning despatches, if not a sojourn itself to Bihar's back of beyond. Bacchu Yadav (Sayaji Shinde) is the MLA of Motihari for 15 years running but, more pertinently, is the lord of all he surveys in the district. The film itself begins with a midnight call informing Yadav that the ''high command'' has decided to give the ticket this time to his local political rival, a Thakur. The caller, before hanging up after confidentially confiding this information, darkly hints that the announcement will be made public only in the morning and that Yadav could do a lot by then. And does he! It's a simple expedient: he himself leads his goons to Thakur's home, wakes him up and makes some small talk before stabbing him through the heart.

The next shot cuts to a sylvan sunrise and a train steaming into a station. A young man, lugging two ancient trunks, and with wife and kid in tow, steps out into the dappled light and... well, a few sequences later, to a cutting knowledge of what life as an idealist police inspector means in Bihar.

Manoj Bajpai, as inspector Samar Pratap Singh, has risen to the expectation, pulling off a robust and salty performance. At times he tends to go overboard, as with the scene where he pleads with the mute crowd for a glass of water for his dying child, and the result is smirky and jejune. Otherwise, whether as a character out of his kilter or as a villain in a script he can't remember writing, Bajpai's acting is controlled and commendable, and he has an advantage here for so much of his personality resides in his eyes.

The scene-stealing performance, however, has come from Sayaji Shinde. Incidentally, Bacchu Yadav is the darker confiere of Bhiku Mhatre in Satya, played ironically enough by Bajpai. Yadav is a vain priss who reigns through terror and wouldn't be remotely liked by his dependants even if he were to declare a general amnesty and donate a mangalsutra to every family with an unmarried daughter. As though that weren't enough, he is truly reptilian in temperament: his eyes narrow in mock scrutiny of an unfortunate henchman, even as his smile has a pixie twist to it, making his next step unfathomable. It's a memorable performance of a feudal politician, dumb and dictatorial, his virility and maschismo shading into bullying, his sheer physicality flatulent and dangerous.

But Inspector Singh, the cop on the tear, is scarcely deterred by all this. Each transgression by Yadav and each new incident revealing the obsequiousness of his superiors, rather than making our hero lose scales from his eyes, makes him more amped up. His wife's -- played by Raveena Tandon who has done a subdued and convincing no-frills job --- remonstrations, as that of a trusted colleague, the only one, fall on deaf ears.

From now on, formula takes over. The climax is not predictable only in the excess of melodrama it contains. And you have music accompanying the whole scene which sounds like something the music director-trio --- Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy --- dreamed up after a Mexican meal. Understandably, the whole thing turns the movie into mush.

Trying for an infernal starkness, Nivas has achieved an infernal tackiness. In the earlier parts of the movie the camera whirls and swoons among bursts of fauvist light and that combined with the authenticity of the various characters' nuances. Their dialogue had managed to convey something feral and ominous. In the end one can only say that Shool is for the most part a slovenly film and its politics fuzzy, but there is a vitality to the fuzziness. Not something every Hindi movie can claim. And lastly, congrates to the director and the actors team for working in such not-so-commercial serious movies.

Other than Govind Nihalani's Ardh Satya, Shool is the only worthwhile spiritual successor to 1973's Zanjeer. In some ways it takes the template to even greater extremes. Shool's cop as played by Manoj Bajpai is not just angry, he is white hot furious. He displays an almost pathological level of intolerance for the rot in the system, even as he pays a heavy price for it. The story & screenplay are credited to Ramgopal Varma and E Niwas, both of whom never before or after achieved anything approaching this level of emotional intensity (I suspect Anurag Kashyap, who is credited for the dialog, had more actual contributions to the script). I know the world has its share of fans of RGV's gangster movies, but hell no, I will stand my ground that none of them are anywhere near the brilliance of Shool. Every scene and character are so well-written, and without any compromises. The direction is terrific, maintaining the grounded nature of the film's setting (or at least consistent to the universe's logic, it's not slavish to the cause of realism). Every scene right down to the item number has its logical place and doesn't look like it was bunged in from somewhere. This is a movie where you don';t divide the cast into lead and supporting actors because everyone is playing a character. Bajpai smolders in the lead making a whole new mold for Angry Young Man, Sayaji Shinde as the main antagonist sends a shiver down your spine (before he replayed those mannerisms ad nauseam in a thousand movies), Ganesh Yadav and Vineet Kumar offer are solid as Bajpai's colleagues. Even Raveena Tandon does a good job. The end is unrelentingly bleak in keeping with the movie's structure. See it now. If you've seen it once before, see it again.

Manoj bajpai,sayaji was brillant.movie was full of politacal aspects and its loopholes. Raveena and little sonu was also done her worl very well.

Shool is an excellent crime drama about corruption and murky politics in India. This plot isn't anything new, but what makes the movie work is the mind-blowing performance of Manoj Bajpai as an honest cop trying to do his job in a corrupt environment. With his work in this film, Bajpai has proven himself as a great character actor, at par with another cinema great, Shah Rukh Khan. Both these actors have proven that you don't need good looks to make good movies.

Aside from Bajpai, Shool is filled with wonderful performances, such as the de-glamorized Raveena Tandon's heart-breaking portrayal the police officer's wife, and Sayaji Shinde's genuinely scary villain!

A mature film intended for a mature audience, Shool is a film that shouldn't be missed by anyone looking for quality in the otherwise lackluster world of Indian cinema!

It is too real to be a movie. If you have been to that part of India, eastern UP and Bihar, you will feel as if the things happening to Samar Pratap Singh or others have, or may have, happened to you / your family / your friends. Particularly for me it seemed more near to my heart as My Dad, though he is not a police officer like Samar Pratap Singh, is idealistic like him, and faces problems like he faces. After watching this movie, the desire to become an IAS officer and start cleaning up the system becomes very high, it took some days to put it back under control.

E Niwas, a 23 yr old boy, probably in his directorial debut has given a marvellous movie.

It is story of an honest police officer, in fact an honest man who happens to be a police officer. His only fault is that he is honest, honest as per the real definition of being honest. Here it should be noted that in India in general and in those parts of India in particular, the definition of honesty is changed. In those parts, If a person demands his share from the bribe that his colleague has taken, he is normal, if he does not demand, he is honest. And if he does neither of these, he tries to stop his colleague from taking bribe, he is ..... there is no adjective to describe a person, probably people never felt the need, exactly as Eskimos did not feel the need to have a word for cactus.

The only unrealistic part in the movie is its end, where Samar, after having lost his wife and kid, goes on to kill Bachchoo Yadav the villain, a rowdy who becomes politician. But however unrealistic it be, it should have been that only. After all it is this unrealistic stuff that differentiates between a movie and a documentary. And Shool is a movie, not a documentary.

Let us all hope for the day, when after watching Shool, instead of the end, one will feel the other things were unrealistic.

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excellent story, close to daily life of Indian corrupt system, and a honest police officer against it, pushing the law and order over corrupt politicians and system. Strong script, gripping story, very tense, Manoj at his best performance, reading out the true close to reality story with his best acting. After shool many director try to copy the same story with a bit of change in script but nothing close to this true gem. give it a go, you wont be disappointed. i don't usually watch Indian movies because of the length of story, but this one i watched many times, and every time i watch i enjoy it more. Manoj is the best actor and at his best in Shool, Once true and honest police officer against the corrupt system from streets to Parliament, if you are into gangsters movie against law, this is your thing. don't be distracted by some user reviews, its not a popcorn flick with some un necessarily sex scene and funny fight which could be torture for some people like me.

Shool is one of the best cop movie made. Set in Bihar, this movie talks about a journey of a cop who is frustrated of being an honest cop and what all he has to sacrifice just because an honest cop and wants to do his job with integrity.

Story/Screenplay

Samar Pratap Singh who has been posted to Motihari (District in Bihar) as an Inspector sees that the town is owned by Bachoo Yadav MLA of that area. Bachoo Yadav's Gang and Political Affiliations makes Samar's life hell. His Difficulties never ends and the reason is Bachoo Yadav who is too big and will not spare Samar who is troubling his goons. Screenplay is smooth and does not mislead you. The story where Samar as father is vulnerable, as Husband is loving and as Cop is Honest. Same the menacing effect of Bachoo Yadav has been presented wonderfully.

Direction

Director E Niwas knew his job. He did excellent job in showing the realism. The setting and storytelling was powerful. Though this movie was not a thriller but the story is compelling and binds you throughout the movie. It has great memorable moments.

Performance

There could not be any one other than Manoj Bajpayee who could pull this off. He lived the chaara year of Samar Pratap Singh. Apparently he gave the name to the character. But the way he performed is Master Class. Even Mr. Amitabh Bachchon was impressed by his performance. Sayaji Shinde's first Hindi Movie playing a Bihari Politician makes you believe that he is that menacing politician. He is so devilish that he haunts even after movie ends. Raveena Tondon gave one of her best performance in this movie. Even though the movie belongs to Manoj Bajpayee but she makes sure that her performance is noticed. There is a small scene where Nawazuddin is also seen. Rajpal Yadav as coolie is very effective though he is there for 5 min onscreen.

Other Dialogue wise also the movie was too good. It had great dialogue, see the scene where Bachoo Yadav is insisting for water to be not used for electricity. Look at the last scene which is nothing but iconic. Editing of the movie is good which helps the story to move forward

Overall This is of the best cop movie ever made. Great story, extra ordinary performance. Must watch.

Good movie to watch for especially the manoj bajpayee best performance the movie is very well shot great movie and great direction.

Yes it is a good movie you should give it a try. But the music is so bad.

Should be seen. One of the few movies which touch of reality a bit in Bollywood. The norm in Bollywood being that reality goes out of the window the moment somebody starts writing a script. There are numerous examples of the rule. But revenue seems to be more important than good film making. That argument aside, Like I said this happens to be a better made movies. Powerful performances by Bajpai and Sayaji Shinde. The film has some funny moments balanced well into the whole script. I simply loved that "why the sun rises from the east" question and its answer. Good flowing speed and it doesn't bore you. Watch it. one of the highlight performances by Manoj Bajpai

This film has a perfect linear graph.. both characterization & performance throughout the film was surreal. Screenplay design etc.

A good movie for both audience & film philosophers.

Jai Hind.

Debutant director E Nivas bravely tells the story of a courageous police officer and his fight against the system for justice. Though the man-against-the-system story has been overused in Indian cinema, 'Shool' has a grittiness and honesty that makes that sets the tone apart. The movie doesn't merely show the battle but it delves into the psychology of the protagonist and his inner conflicts. The viewer can really connect to Samar Pratap Singh and his wife Manjiri.

Shot in washed out green-tinted colours and the use of the shaky camera and with the lack of overdone sets, 'Shool' looks very raw and authentic. The violence, though suggestive, implies very brutal and graphic mental images. The film starts with a telephone-call which is followed by a brutal murder and this already tells us what kind of a person Yadav (the antagonist played by Sayaji Shinde) is.

The performances are superb. Manoj Bajpai nails the part. The character seems to have been written for him and a lesser actor could have easily made a caricature out of this, but not Bajpai. He's simply excellent in displaying even the toughest expressions and this ranks among his best works. Sayaji Shinde is great. Even though his mannerisms are the same as other characters he's played, they perfectly suit Yadav's personality. Raveena Tandon takes the role of Manjiri after Juhi Chawla who had to walk out due to an accident which caused her to be hospitalized. 'Shool' couldn't have come at a better time for Ms. Tandon. After all the glamorous roles and comedies, the actress was looking for something different and in 'Shool' we see a deglamourized Raveena Tandon. Here she gives a very subtle, convincing and heartbreaking performance as Manjiri. The child actor is expressionless.

On the flip side, 'Shool' is quite predictable but one can't think of an alternative ending that would have made it better. Nonetheless, even though we know what will happen, the last scene is very effective, mostly due to Manoj Bajpai's performance and dialogue delivery. Anurag Kashyap's dialogues and E.Nivas's screenplay are good. Some scenes would have stood out more without the background score (which isn't that impressive). The songs are passable (and fit the situations) and of course there's the famous item number 'Main Aayi Hoon UP Bihar Lootney' filmed on a raunchy Shilpa Shetty. This is perhaps one of the few films where an item number actually works as it both fits the situation and tells more about the character of the actors (e.g. Sayaji acting all wild around Shilpa).

On the whole, 'Shool' is a great piece of Indian cinema. Although the story isn't new, it's presentation is and unlike others this one digs into both the protagonist's and antagonist's psychology.

Endless movies are made on 'One Cop against the whole bloody corrupt system'. Yet, no one has captured the reality as beautifully as Shool. Manoj Bajpai is the gem 💎 that shines throughout. Yet every character, especially the villain is a joy to watch.

If clout were unilateral as begeting more for more of clout imposed upon seekers of clout of inter-personal propriety, preservation of propriety for propriety beating at the cusp of delirium threatening to swallow scenic revolutions of dark alleys hidden in stymied reprisals of injustice becomes a natural imperative over stakeholders similar only over peculiar inclinations preserved at the cost of multi-dimensional risks embedded in the choice of such inconspicuous reprisals of sabotaged fortunes earned not with inheritance of fools but with frames of reference positioning sides of bravado as bravery in line of followers looking askance at leniencies over lenencies dispensed in return with every wisecrack dodged as dialogue or retortes. The perversion of pervaded insubordination of unwritten laws becomes a call for high-handed ask off values inculcated in shared self-belief to keep gangs of commodities kept for style inherent in upstaging rustic overtakes with stylized interpretations of siding with guns of demotions in high yields of fields of gold.

Manoj sir is absolutely brilliant. Thanks director for showing reality of our states. Superb screenplay. Manoj sir is perfect fit in the character. Must watch movie.

Watching this gem now, it was fully packed with emotions of the time, it depicts parts of history and corrupt society. I now see it was bold attempt by Ram Gopal Verma at that time to make such a movie, it did showed cruel reality and tried to uprise the watchers emotion to the point that whatever happened in the climax was what the watcher wants. Be ready to see the dark part of life in such places and what a honest cop stands for. It might get difficult to watch as many things shown in the movie are unsetteling but wait for the climax and you will see the motive of this movie and what is shool and aggression. Amazing acting by Manoj Bajpayee in his young angry cop role, it was quite different act from a bollywood police role. Also the villain and every other co actors did thenjob perfectly.

(1999) Shool (In Hindi with English subtitles) CRIME POLITICAL DRAMA

Co-written and directed by Eeshwar Nivas that opens with a murder taking place involving several people, all from the same family taking directions from a guy name Yadav Bachhu (Sayaji Shinde). The next scene has inspector, Samar Pratap Singh (Manoj Bajpai) transferred into a new department. It is not long before, Samar is experiencing some mistreatment. First from the baggage handler before the inspector who showed up siding with the baggage handler. When the baggage handler was asking too much money to carry two luggage's and it was at this point the inspector had no idea he was also a fellow inspector until he went to the police station. Samar reports his transfer and then demands that inspector to be reprimanded, and it happens. Samar and his family move to his new place with his wife, Manjari Singh (Raveena Tandon) and daughter, Sonu Singh(Baby Avi). And it is not long before when he is on duty, Samar and Yadav Bachhu cross paths, is when it is revealed he is a MP for the legislature, and is also a mob boss who happens to own the entire village. When Samar is instructed by his superior to pick up a couple of people of the Thakur gang, and he finds out that the aggressors were Sudhio Vinod (Nagesh Bhosle) and Lalan Singh (Yashpal Sharma), and he books them, without knowing who they are connected to. When Yadav Bachhu finds out about this, it is not long we find out that some of the inspectors are also bought and paid for by the MP. Particularly Inspector Hussein (Ganesh Yadav) who is so much indebted to Yadav, he unable to undue all that he has done especially when his young kid's life has been threatened. And it is also not long before Samar find out that his head superior, FIR also listens to Yadav as well. Placing him and his family in the worse possible scenario.

What is dumb about the entire set up is the fact, that Samara is out of duty, he promises his young daughter, Sonu that he was not going to lose his temper anymore. And the next thing you know, as soon as Yadav's brother in law, Lallan Singh says some very offensive remarks toward him, he then goes on a physical assault rant, costing the life of his daughter. You know here in America, do you know what they say about sticks and stones! That the first person who throws the first punch is supposed the person who gets charge for assault, but not in this case. Yuasav decides to do something much worse but frame, that is supposed to put Samar in prison. And then Samar does another dumb thing, by convincing his own wife, Manjari to take her own life, by convincing her she is nothing more but brings him more trouble, since he has to be concerned about her safety and well being as well. Which if that is the case then why doesn't Samara send his wife to live with his parents or some undisclosed location somewhere where both she and his daughter can be safe! The movie refuses to answer, as there may be something cultural about a wife's "loyalty" to her husband.. The message is dumb as well as the star's actions. If that was me, I'd like, move away from the village for a fresh start, at least so that both my wife and child still be alive, but to the star of this movie they are a burden. It is kind of crazy this film got over a 7.5 score on the database, to me this movie gets should be at the bottom.

When we see a Ram Gopal Verma movie, we expect a certain quality. This defies all of the expectation built over the years.

The performance of Manoj Bajpai is good. But the character development is very weak and story telling is pathetic. To begin with to portray a police officer who is sincere and short-tempered is not new. Add to that, the police officer is a DSP and lacks all possible traces of intelligence. No script can possibly support such a bad story.

None of the scenes look natural, especially the one where Manoj Bajpai loses his daughter after he is provoked into a skirmish by the goondas. Raveena has given a decent performance, but her role has not much to do with the story itself.

In the final scene Manoj Bajpai (who has been suspended from Police) walks into the police station in his khaki dress, shoots the corrupt officer, takes his pistol and heads off to the Legislative Assembly and breezes through all security and gets close to his villain. And what does he do?

He stands near the entrance and aims a shot at the villain, over and above the clamorous assembly members, when he could have walked 100 more meters and stood face to face and taken a shot. He misses as usual and commotion ensues. All the police are there with their pistols and MB has the villain under pistol and what does he do? Give a 20 minute lecture, during which he raises his pistol hand to be expressive. And what do police do? Listen to the lecture till finally MB shoots the villain and says Jai Hind.

I say do not watch this movie. Very bad script, very bad story telling. Then what use having a good performance?

The film deals about a village in bihar. How the protagonist samar as a police officer in that place deals with the evil don turned politician bachoo yadav. It deals about the life of honest cop played by manoj bajpayee. Both the actors manoj bajpyee and sayaji shinde given a mind blowing performance in the film. The films throughou the movie deals with the tolerance of an uncorrupted police officer, who is being targeted by the evil people around him. More like an RGV movie but still not an RGV movie, the director was able to convey the story what he was expected. The movie is said to be a real life story of police officer and a politician.