Sherni

'Sherni' is pretty much the typical studio-produced Bollywood flick from the 80s. Thus, it has a very campy look (the title is enough to hint that) and the story is the usual dacoit formula. A tyrannical Thakur (Kader Khan) oppresses his village. As a result, Durga's father (Pran) is sent to prison under false accusation. A week before his release, he escapes prison and becomes a bandit in order to fight the evil Thakur. The father fails to convince his family to go along as Durga opposes his choice of path. However, Thakur is too ruthless to spare Durga's family.

There are plenty of dishum-dishum action sequences and the songs were quite bad (except the Asha Bhosle number towards the end). However, Sridevi's presence and dancing skills make them worth watching. There is a scarecrow song that is so terrible that it's funny. The pairing of Sridevi and Shatrughan Sinha is hilarious. Sinha who's supposed to be a dashing young military trained (I assume) police officer but he just looks too old for the part and much older when standing next to La Devi. Pran does a decent job as Durga's dad.

Anyway, what makes 'Sherni' worth a watch is Sridevi. Even though her transformation from village belle to bandit queen is physically depicted through her wardrobe (e.g. the transformation from ghagra cholis to full black leather biker gear and a black leather bandanna), she makes her acting count and conveys that not only has Durga's outift changed, but so has her personality. She's no longer the naive village girl who had faith in the system but a ruthless bandit to the oppressors who's not afraid to take matters into her own hands in order to protect the villagers. Her convincing portrayal makes one care about the character and the final scene, where she glances at the locked door of what used to be her house tugs at the heartstrings.

Overall, 'Sherni' is campy entertainment. It helps having a remote control nearby so that one can fast-forward the non-Sridevi sequences. It's always fun to see La Devi dance, kick some butts and work a rifle.

This film could have been a marvel if it just had been treated well. Sadly, it's as embarrassing as most films of the sort. Sherni was one of the first of a weird trend of women-centric action films based on revenge, and it happens to be one of its worst examples. What was the idea behind this "revolutionary" concept? That if we have angry young men then why shouldn't we have angry young women? Women deserve to take center stage, obviously, so let's just give them exactly what the guys are doing. This concept could be interesting if the films weren't so bad. And in all these films, the woman is always this demure, pure creature who's been wronged and is not up on her feet seeking revenge. Some films of this sub-genre actually worked, like Khoon Bhari Maang, because it wasn't an action film after all and it had heart and a phenomenal Rekha; and, to a much lesser extent, Zakhmi Aurat, which started with silly action but ended up growing with a strong idea of revenge and a strong turn by Dimple Kapadia.

Sherni, however, doesn't work, and the absurdity of both the action and the script is staggering. It's just so poorly made you almost feel like having to look away to avoid the embarrassment. For a film to require constant suspension of disbelief, and not just in the technical aspect, but in the way the story is developed, is something else. One scene in which the leading lady's family is killed is so inaptly handled I couldn't believe someone in the production or editing department actually saw it and let it out this way. In another scene with her father lying on bed, the heroine is crying copious tears after a tragic incident and within less than a few seconds she raises her head in determination to signal the viewers of her prompt decision to seek revenge. It's so unbelievably bad, and I'm not even mentioning the police cars filled with dolls instead of actual humans for body doubles (yes! In one action you clearly see dolls within one of the police cars because stunt body doubles were probably too expensive). It's just the tip of the iceberg.

Sadly, it is Sridevi who had to bear all this, both as a character, but more an actress. I don't know if she had ever watched this film and what she could possibly have thought about it. She's a great dancer, a natural performer, and she had the action potential which was used better in other films, but this film doesn't give her a chance. To her credit, she starts off really well, and even when she transforms in a jiffy into a ruthless avenger, she does well in some scenes, but how effective can anyone be in such a poor film to begin with. Even she with her strong presence and undeniable acting chops couldn't save this weird bandit queen who's gone totally nuts. Many other names are wasted here, including Pran and Lalita Pawar. Shatrughan Sinha, despite his non-nonsense decency, looks too old for the part opposite a juvenile Sridevi. His part is very similar to his appearance in Khoon Bhari Maang, and while here it's a full-fledged character, it's much less effective, probably because of the film's poor quality itself.

Fun Sridevi role, where she gets to dress in leather, blow away the bad guys, and constantly hit people in the head with a rifle butt. The plot in a nutshell: an evil and corrupt Thakur is oppressing his village. Sridevi's father becomes a bandit in order to fight against the tyrannical Thakur, with unpleasant consequences for his family. In the meantime, a new tough guy moves into town, romances Sridevi, and may be more than he appears.

Basically this movie is an excuse for Sridevi to ride around on a horse, in full black leather biker gear, blasting villains with a rifle. The action scenes are surprisingly fun, the musical numbers are pretty good, and Sridevi, as always, is great.

Not a must-see, but definitely recommended.

The themes in this movie are classic Spaghetti Western. Sridevi as unusually gifted person from a class that isn't usually considered though, race prejudice, anti-hero bandits trying to set things right, corrupt officials that think they own the town, lots of guns, a quick draw...it's a Curry Western. Sridevi is a really great character in any genre. There are some odd spots. A make-up artist really had a lot of fun doing her father. Some interesting dance numbers, like when she fantasizes that a scarecrow is her boyfriend and starts dancing with him. About 1/2 way through there's one that makes no sense at all. It just happens, and it's a huge production. Guess they were behind on their Bollywood dance quota minutes. Usually there's a lot of Hinglish, were phrases that a Brit would have used to show superiority get thrown in with the Hindi. Like, (extended Hindi) I want this done immediately (more Hindi). It is conspicuously absent in this movie and I got a good laugh from the one time it is used. "(extended Hindi to some toughs) This is the first and last time I'm going to tell you. Now get out of here you bloody dogs!" In this movie that's the only linguistic survivor of the Raj. I think that's pretty funny.