Sherni Review; Vidya emerges real Sherni in film with incisive look on man animal conflict in jungle areas  

By Rajesh Ahuja


The sight of a Sherni'(tigress) on the prowl for her prey in a dense jungle can cause a fright to even the strong hearted.  A Sherni on the prowl in a dense jungles waits silently for hèr prey and pounces on it when the moment is right.
In the film Sherni, being streamed on Amazon Prime Video currently,   the woman  forest officer Vidya(Vidya Balan) too awaits an opportune moment to turn hhe tables on her adversaries in the establishment who act as stumbling blocks in her endeavor to address the problem of man animal conflict in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh.

A story set in the backdrop of man-animal conflict where a forest officer (Vidya Balan) must work through the brutal beasts of social barriers set by a patriarchal society and the languid attitude within her department, as she leads a team intending to capture an unsettled tigress, Sherni is a metaphor for the the strong willed forest officer who, when faced with stumbling blocks from within the system in averting a man animal conflict,  , wades through  the 'systemic jungle to make her way.

An officer of the Indian Forest Service posted in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh’, forest officer Vidya finds herself dealing with the tough job of tackling the fear of an unsettled tigress among the local people who are dependent upon the jungle for their livelihood.  Faced with the unenviable job of capturing the tigress , Vidya,  however,  finds herself faced with a lackadaisical attitudes of people in her department,  including her head(Brijendra Kala ) and vested interests of local politicians who are in favour of shooting down the tigress.  Sherni is the story of how Vidya wades through bureaucratic mindset and vested interests of local politicians to address the problem of man animal conflict.

Shot in backdrop of dense jungles of Madhya Pradesh, Sherni attempts to present a realistic picture of the man animal conflict in the villages adjacent to the jungles., Necessitating a balance between the survival of wildlife in the jungle and the sustenance of livelihood of the local people.

Sherni highlights the imbalance caused by the attempts by politicians to use the forests for their vested interests.

The film also seeks to draw attention to the lackadaisical attitude of the forest department in addressing the problem which makes things difficult for an honest forest officer like Vidya.

Considering that the film deals with a issue closer to real life, a major portion of the over two hours long film moves at a languid pace . However the film gathers pace in the latter half that deals with scenes of confrontation between the forest department and the tigress.

Nevertheless Sherni manages to put across its message quite effectively to the audience.

Amit Masurkar, who earlier directed the Rajkumar Rao starrer Newton, that sought to highlight voter apathy in tribal areas, again manages to hit a bull's eye with his latest film. The dialogues written by him are also impressive and bring outthe essence of the situation  that hinders the process of striking a balance in the area facing man animal conflict.

The film also boasts of excellent cinematography by Rakesh Haridas with the camera bringing out the breathtaking beauty of the verdant jungles in Madhya Pradesh.

Like any film on realistic issues, performances are the highlight of Sherni.

After a praise worthy act as the bindaas mathematician in Shakuntala Devi, Vidya Balan again comes up with a virtuoso act as forest officer Vidya who, like a tigress, wades through the various obstacles coming her way in striking a balance in an area of man animal conflict.

She brings a degree of finesse to her role of Vidya. It is difficult to imagine anyone else playing the part the way she does.

Brijendra kala is impressive as her senior in the department who is seen to show a lackadaisical attitude in dealing with the problem of man animal conflict.
Neeraj kabi impresses in a brief role as Dr nangia

The rest of the cast, including Sharad Saxena,  Mukul Chaddha, Vijay Raaz,  Ila Arun and Satyakam Anand lend able support.

Sherni is an incisive look at the problem of man animal conflict, the bureaucratic apathy and political opportunism that hinder it.

Vidya Balan is the Sherni(tigress) of the film with her virtuoso act as forest officer Vidya.

My Rating: 3/5  - one for direction,  one for cinematography and one for the virtuoso act by Vidya Balan