Shorgul

Plot

The film is based on the innocent friendship between a Hindu boy Raghu ( Anirudh Dave) and a Muslim girl Zainab (Suha Gezen) rapidly escalates into a political minefield, causing unrest and chaos in Uttar Pradesh.The film is set against the backdrop of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. It attempts to show the "truth" about these riots.

Cast

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 Narendra Jha is giving hate speech similar to that of Hyderabad MIM Leader Akbaruddin Owaisi's December 2012 Adilabad Speech. Former IT Minister Kapil Sibal has penned down the Lyrics of the songs "Tere bina” and “Mast hawa” for this film. Hrishitaa Bhatt has done a special song Mast Hawa in the film.

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 Som 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, 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 was issued by Khamman Peer Baba Committee against Jimmy Shergill 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. Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave the film 1.5 stars. Anna M.M. Vetticad of Firstpost termed the film loudy and tacky. Nabilah Hussain of Rediff.com gave the film 2 stars and stated that it failed to become a great film. Rohit Vats of Hindustan Tims gave the film 1 out of 5 star. Mid- Day gave the film 2 stars.