Assi Review {3.5/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Kani Kusruti
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Assi Movie Review Synopsis:
ASSI is the story of a lawyer fighting a tough case. Parima (Kani Kusruti) is a school teacher and lives in a city with her husband Vinay (Mohd Zeeshan Aayub) and son Dhruv (Advik Jaiswal). A colleague's retirement party is held at her school and lasts until late at night. Parima leaves the school and takes the metro to reach home. After getting off at the metro station, she is suddenly abducted by a group of friends and pushed into their car. For the next 2 hours, she is gangraped by them. Then, they throw her near a railway track and run away. They destroy all evidence as well. In the morning, Parima is found in an unconscious and injured state and she's immediately hospitalized. The cops (Rajendra Sethi), Sanjay (Jatin Goswami) and ASI Vanita begin their investigation. Vinay works with Kartik (Kumud Mishra) and the latter's good friend is Raavi (Taapsee Pannu), a lawyer. Raavi takes up the case. Despite being in a serious condition, Parima narrates what happened to them and in no time, the rapists are arrested. The case goes on trial and Parima realizes that getting justice might not be as easy. This is because the rapists have cooked up a story that their car was stolen on the night of the rape. They further claim that they were attending a marriage faraway and hence, there's no way that they could have been at the scene of the crime. Parima is unable to identify the rapists during the identification parade, which also goes against her in court. The DNA samples of the rapists don't match as well and hence, the rapists are granted bail. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Assi Movie Story Review:
Anubhav Sinha and Gaurav Solanki's story is absolutely shocking. Anubhav Sinha and Gaurav Solanki's screenplay is captivating. But the writing often wanders into subplots needlessly. Anubhav Sinha and Gaurav Solanki's dialogues are hard-hitting.
Anubhav Sinha's direction has its share of impact. He begins the film on a shocking note and it immediately grips the viewer. In fact, the first 20 minutes are extremely disturbing. Probably, no Hindi film has depicted the crime in such a brutal manner. However, Anubhav has ensured that it doesn’t come across as titillating; viewers would be disgusted by it and would feel the pain of the survivor. The makers also focus on the families of both sides. The manner in which Vinay handles the situation while taking care of his son is memorable. Parima also finds it difficult to resume work and the reason for it is astonishing to say the least. That’s not all. The focus is also on the female members of the rapists’ families and how they cope with it. The film begins with the information that a rape is reported every 20 minutes in our country. To add to the impact, this information is reminded to the viewer after every 20 minutes into the runtime and it further packs a punch. The finale is moving.
On the flipside, the treatment is inconsistent. While several portions carry Anubhav Sinha’s familiar stamp, that is, thoughtful, slightly niche, yet still appealing to a wider audience like ARTICLE 15 [2019] and THAPPAD [2020], a few stretches suddenly shift into a ‘film festival’ mode. Such scenes are often random and incoherent and dilute the impact heavily. Secondly, a lot of prominence is given to the character of Kartik. Though it has its moments, viewers would have preferred the focus to remain firmly on Raavi and Parima. The angle of a cop indulging in a bribe also doesn’t make the desired impact. These scenes distract from the core courtroom drama and are presented in an indie-styled manner that doesn’t blend seamlessly with the rest. Even THAPPAD had sub-plots but they all seemed seamless and the execution was slightly more mainstream. Ideally, ASSI needed a treatment along the lines of Anubhav Sinha’s MULK [2018] or Taapsee Pannu’s PINK [2016] – films that were serious and courtroom-driven, yet commercial, that heightened the impact.
Assi Movie Review Performances:
Taapsee Pannu gets back into the zone that she owns and as expected, delivers a fantastic performance. She’s especially exceptional in the climax. Kani Kusruti is the soul of the story. This is no easy role and she comes out with flying colours. Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub’s character is written in an unconventional manner – a husband who stays largely silent, yet stands firmly by his wife and tries, in his own way, to cope with the tragedy. Performance-wise, he’s first-rate. Kumud Mishra is dependable. Satyajit Sharma (Navratan; defence lawyer), Rajendra Sethi (senior cop), Jatin Goswami and the actor playing ASI Vanita leave a mark. Advik Jaiswal puts up a lovely act. Revathy (Vasudha; judge) and Manoj Pahwa lend able support. Vipul Gupta (Ballu), Sahil Sethi (Sameer), Abhishek Kaushal (Bunty), Tejender Singh (Ghool) and Abhishant Rana (Nikka) perform the roles of the rapists well. Tripti Thakur (Savita; Sameer's wife) and Akshara Padwal (Vidya; Sameer's daughter) are there for just two scenes and yet make their presence felt. Naseeruddin Shah, Supriya Pathak and Seema Pahwa are impressive in special appearances.
Assi movie music and other technical aspects:
Both the songs – 'Mann Hawa' and 'Maai Meri' – are forgettable. Ranjit Barot's background score is satisfactory.
Ewan Mulligan's cinematography is a bit edgy and it works well for this film. Nikhil S Kovale and Apurva Vijay Bhagat's production design and Vishakha Kullarrwar and Joe Mansoori's costumes are straight out of life. Riyaz and Habib's action is realistic. Amarjit Singh's editing is functional.
Assi Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, ASSI is a hard-hitting courtroom drama that unsettles and stays with you, powered by a gripping premise and solid performances, especially by Taapsee Pannu and Kani Kusruti. However, the uneven treatment and distracting subplots prevent it from reaching the heights it clearly aims for. At the box office, it should stay steady in multiplexes due to a relatively clear run, provided its target audience turns up.
