''Shorgul'' () is a 2016 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The ...

film, set against the backdrop of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots; it is directed by

Pranav Kumar Singh ''Shorgul'' () is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language political thriller film, set against the backdrop of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots; it is directed by Pranav Kumar Singh (P. Singh) The film is produced by 24 FPS film Pvt Ltd. The film stars Jim ...

(P. Singh) The film is produced by 24 FPS film Pvt Ltd. The film stars

Jimmy Sheirgill Jimmy Sheirgill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also credited as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. Sheirgill began his film career with the 1996 thriller ''Maachis''. His bre ...

, Suha Gezen,

Ashutosh Rana Ashutosh Ramnarayan Neekhra (born 10 November 1967), known professionally as Ashutosh Rana, is an Indian actor, producer, author and television personality. He has worked in Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi films. He has also worked ...

Narendra Jha Narendra Jha (21 January 1964 14 March 2018) was an Indian actor. He was known for his work in Bollywood productions; his most noted films being ''Haider'', '' Raees'', '' Ghayal Once Again'', '' Hamari Adhuri Kahani'', ''Mohenjodaro'', ''Sho ...

Anirudh Dave Aniruddh Dave (born 21 July 1986) is an Indian film and television actor. Aniruddh made his debut in Imagine TV's Raajkumar Aaryyan. Later he entered Sahara One's Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki to play the role of Deven. He played Rajveer in Mera N ...

Sanjay Suri Sanjay Suri (born 6 April 1971) is an Indian actor and film producer of Hindi cinema. He made his debut in the film '' Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999)''. He went on to star in many supporting roles, but finally got his big break with '' Jhankaar ...

Hiten Tejwani Hiten Tejwani is an Indian television actor known for his work in several fictional shows. Personal life Hiten Tejwani was born into a Sindhi family. Hiten Tejwani married his ''Kutumb'' and '' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' co-star Gaur ...

and

Eijaz Khan Eijaz Khan (born 28 August 1975) is an Indian film and television actor. He rose to fame by playing the lead roles in Balaji Telefilms serials ''Kkavyanjali'', and '' Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa''. He appeared in the leading role of Raidhan Raj Katara ...

in lead roles. The film was released on 1 July 2016. Upon release, the film received criticism and flopped.

Plot

In Maliabad, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, Chaudhary (

) is a local Jat politician. He is loved and respected by everyone for fighting for their cause. While on the opposite side Ranjit Om (

) is a new-generation MLA who wants to win the upcoming election at any cost. He is joined by an orthodox Maulana, who is banging doors to collect funds for a madrassa. Chaudhary's son Raghu (

) falls in love with a Muslim girl named Zainab (Suha Gezen) in college. Both love each other although Zainab is engaged to Saleem (Hiten Tejwani), a boy from her community. After threats from Saleem, Raghu starts evading her. Zainab forcefully invites Raghu to talk to her and their situation quickly escalates. Raghu is murdered with the help of Saleem, an act that sparks communal riots. Ranjit and Maulana use the isolated incident to create havoc for their narrow gains and the escalating situation leads to Saleem also being killed. After a political deal with Ranjit, Maulana throws Zainab out of the community. It is followed with the murder of Chaudhary by the henchmen of Ranjit, who shield Zainab till his last breath. Ranjit wins the elections after the heavy bloodshed but his bonhomie with Maulana will cost his life. Political powerplays once again leads the way, as Zainab will get her share of revenge by eliminating Ranjit.

Cast

as Chaudhary *

as Ranjit Om *

as Raghu, Chaudhary's son * Suha Gezen as Zainab *

as Alim Khan * Shashie Verma as Shiva *

as Saleem *

as Mithilesh Yadav * Neetu Pandey as Savitri *

as Mustaqeem *

Hrishitaa Bhatt Hrishitaa Bhatt (born 10 May 1981), also spelled as Hrishita Bhat, is an Indian actress and model. She debuted in the film ''Asoka'' (2001) opposite Shah Rukh Khan, but it was '' Haasil'' (2003) that brought her fame. Bhatt received critical acc ...

* Jay Shanker Pandey as Anwar *

Mahesh Chandra Deva Mahesh may refer to: * A title of Shiva, a Hindu deity * Mahesh (name), personal name * Mahesh, Serampore Mahesh is a residential area and historical part of the city of Serampore, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the site of a 14th-ce ...

as Om's man * Ahmad Khan in double role as minister and common man

Production

The shooting of the film started on 16 May 2015. Many scenes were shot in Lucknow. The film has been slated to release on 24 June 2016. The scenes of Godhra and cow references have been muted in Shorgul by CBFC. Shorgul got U/A certificate from the censor Board. A scene of the film was leaked online before the release in which actor

is giving hate speech similar to that of Hyderabad MIM Leader

Akbaruddin Owaisi Akbaruddin Owaisi (born 14 June 1970) is an Indian politician and leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party in Telangana. Since 2014, he has been Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), MLA of the Chandrayangutta (Assem ...

's December 2012 Adilabad Speech. Former IT Minister

Kapil Sibal Kapil Sibal (born 8 August 1948) is an Indian lawyer and politician. Sibal has represented several high-profile cases in the Supreme Court of India and is widely regarded as one of the famous lawyers of India. He is a Member of Parliament, in Ra ...

has penned down the Lyrics of the songs "Tere bina" and "Mast hawa" for this film.

has done a special song ''Mast Hawa'' in the film.

Soundtrack

Shorgul's Soundtrack Released In 13 June 2016 On

Zee Music Company Zee Music Co. (ZMC) is an Indian music company, a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. It carries its business activities mainly from New Delhi. The company has captured a major chunk of market share in Bollywood music in a short ...

. The First Song Of Album Is Tere Bina Sung By

Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Awards ...

Jonita Gandhi Jonita Gandhi is a Canadian playback singer of Indian descent. She has recorded songs predominantly in Hindi and Tamil languages with few in Punjabi, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Some of her most acclaim ...

, Awaaz Children's Choir, Which Was Composed By

Niladri Kumar Pandit Niladri Kumar is an Indian sitar player and music composer. Early life He was born to sitar player Kartick Kumar, a disciple of Ravi Shankar. He started learning sitar under his father at the age of four. Kumar gave his first public per ...

As The Guest Music Director And Song Written By

. The First Song Pulls Together For The First Time A Power Packed Combination That Marks

Sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

/Zitar Maestro

As Music Composer.

Has Penned The Lyrics And The Soulful Inimitable

Will Be Heard In A Unique Style With The Song, That Will Leave Everyone Singing Along With An Unforgettable Tune That Will Remain Etched In Their Hearts. What Makes This Most Special Is That This Song Marks The Debut Of A Choir Of Underprivileged Girls Who Have A Talent For Music. They Were Trained For 30 Days And Then Had A Chance to Sing On The Arijit Track. Awaaz, As We Call The In Their New Identity Have Crooned The Chorus Elements Of This Song. Except This Song, Whole Album Composed By

Lalit Pandit Lalit may refer to: * Lalit party, a left political party in Mauritius * Lalit (raga), a raga in Indian classical music * Lalit Suri, an Indian politician * Lalit Surajmal Kanodia, an Indian business entrepreneur See also * Jatin–Lalit, a Bollyw ...

Sameer Anjaan Shitala Pandey, better known as Sameer Anjaan, is an Indian lyricist, writing songs such as "Mujhe Raat Din Bas", predominantly in Hindi language films. He is a Guinness World Record holder for writing the most songs. He was awarded this hono ...

, Alok Rajan Jha Penned The Lyrics.

Release controversy

The scenes of Godhra and cow references have been muted in Shorgul by CBFC. Shorgul got U/A certificate from the censor Board. A PIL was filed by a VHP Leader in Allahabad High Court bench in Lucknow demanding to ban the release the film as many characters in the film are inspired from real politicians like character Ranjeet Om played by Jimmi Shergil in the movie is inspired by Sangeet Singh Som, Sanjay Suri's role of Mithilesh Yadav is based on

Akhilesh Yadav Akhilesh is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Akhilesh Das (1961–2017), educationist, professor, Indian politician and philanthropist * Akhilesh K. Gaharwar (born 1982), Indian academic and Professor at Texas A&M University * ...

, Narendra Jha's portrayal of Alim Khan is based on Azam Khan. CBFC snipped the words Godhra and Gau Ganga from the film. High Court rejected the PIL. Another PIL for copyright violation was filed by Chandigarh-based author Vijay Soudai against the makers of the film. The makers claimed that Shorgul has been banned in Muzaffarnagar. A

fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...

was issued by Khamman Peer Baba Committee against

Jimmy Shergill Jimmy Sheirgill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also credited as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. Sheirgill began his film career with the 1996 thriller ''Maachis''. His bre ...

and the makers. Sangeet Singh Som demanded a ban on the film.

Critical reception

Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in praised the individual performance in Shorgul. Mohar Basu of Times of India gave the film 2 out of 5 stars. Nabilah Hussain of Rediff.com gave the film 2 stars and stated that it failed to become a great film. Mid- Day gave the film 2 stars.

References

External links

* * * {{Facebook, ShorGulFilm, ''Shorgul''

2016 films 2010s political thriller films Indian political thriller films Films set in India Films based on the Mahabharata 2013 riots Muzaffarnagar riots, 2013 History of Uttar Pradesh (1947–present) Religiously motivated violence in India Riots and civil disorder in India Crime in Uttar Pradesh Sexual violence at riots and crowd disturbances