31st October Review

One Line Review: ‘31st October’ is not even half of what it could have been.

Positive Points: Strong subject of the film deserves a mention.

Negative Points: Boring narrative and least grasping characters lost the essence of the powerful subject line.

Plot: 31st October 1984 dawns like just another day for Davinder Singh (Vir Das) and his family. He helps his wife, Tejinder Kaur (Soha Ali Khan) in her household chores and drops by a local Gurdwara on his way to office. Everything seems normal, until Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gets assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

Aftermath, politicians break the country in terror. They influence masses to counter attack the entire Sikh community for this act. Busy streets of Delhi soon turn into a massacre land, where Sikh men and women are brutally stabbed and burnt alive. Meanwhile, Davinder comes back home and Tejinder returns from the market witnessing the dreaded condition.

Till the end of day, anti-Sikh riot worsens making this family house arrest. Now they fear of these anger driven masses attacking them at any given moment. Will they be able to find a safe way out? How will they manage to escape this fuming riot? Answers, the plot ahead.

Direction and Other Technical Aspects: No doubts, Marathi film industry is taking Indian cinema on stride. But God know why Marathi filmmakers miserably fail in Bollywood. National award winning director, Shivaji Lotan Patil is one such example. Even after having such a strong baseline, his direction didn’t justify the seriousness of the film.

Harry Sachdeva has written the plot flowing in sentiments. We do understand the grief, but it is equally important to project it on screen. The film that could have provoked strong emotions has somewhere lost its track.

Performances: Vir Das didn’t make an impact being a protagonist. In fact, supporting actors have good command compared to him. Soha Ali Khan delivered an average performance. She did tried to get her Punjabi accent right.

Deepraj Rana and Vineet Sharma played their supporting roles well.

Music: Songs of ‘31st October’ matched the subject of the film. But again, having Asha Bhosle and Sonu Nigam on board, expectations were high.

Final Verdict: 31st October – the date that holds strong significance in Indian history, failed to make its mark when turned into a film. All thanks, to its filmmakers!