Climate change, chemical contamination and other environmental hazards are talked about a lot these days. The bigwigs raising this issue include Al Gore and Leonardo Di Caprio, who have also made documentaries on pollution and climate change. Now, we have an eco-thriller film called Irada which is centered around the same subject. Directed by Aparnaa Singh, the flick will witness Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah sharing screen space for the third time after Ishqiya (2010) and Dedh Ishqiya (2014). And the reunion is worth watching.
Parabjeet Walia (Shah) is an ex-army man whose world comes down crashing following the death of his daughter due to lung cancer. Instead of ruing her loss, Walia embarks on a mission to decode the reason behind his daughter’s demise. During his investigation, he locks horns with influential industrialist Paddy Sharma (Sharad Kelkar) who is backed by chief minister Ramandeep Biatch (Divya Dutta). Sharma is ruthless and has no qualms reminding the CM of how she owes her position to him. Meanwhile, NIA officer Arjun Mishra (Arshad Warsi) is sent to investigate the truth. And there is a journalist Simi (Sagarika Ghatge) who wants to avenge the murder of her boyfriend in the hands of Sharma.
We dare not question the acting calibre of Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi. The former has once again stolen the show as a distraught father who will leave no stone unturned to expose Sharma. Beside this, Divya Dutta impresses us with her performance as the conniving politician. Well, kudos to Sharad Kelkar who has done a fabulous job as the antagonist in this film about eco-terrorism.
It is not a usual Bollywood masala film. It is dark and deals mainly with the perils of chemical contamination. If you are willing to let go your fascination with the song-and-dance films and want to watch something serious, go for it. But the second half the film is a bit long, and then it becomes challenging for you to hold yourself.
Anyways, all I can say is this film is worth watching.
