The timing of the political satire, Humble Politician Nograj, could not have been better as Karnataka is all set to go to elections.
The duo of Danish Sait and Saad Khan, presenting a full-length feature film on radio-YouTube character Nograj, deliver a lively film that rarely bores, except in few stretches, which is no mean feat. When corporator Nograj contests the Assembly polls, all issues that a Bengaluru citizen can immediately connect with — potholes, manholes, Bellandur lake, garbage, no parking signs on the streets, power cuts, flex banners — become a part of the plot.
But the satire, unfortunately, rarely rises above commonplace cribbing. It does not dare cross an invisible ‘Lakshman Rekha’ the writers seem to have imposed on themselves. The film could have also done without the comedy track making digs at a gay politician. It points to the fact that the comedy scene in India still suffers from homophobia, misogyny and racism.
However, the second half is stronger. Sait’s performance as Nograj, with his unique English, makes you root for him, though he is a corrupt politician. When an idealist do-gooder Arun Patil (Roger Narayan) is pitted against him, Patil seems to pale before the colourful Nograj. The in-your face satire suddenly seems like meta-fiction making the audience turn voters in the film, pushing them to reflect whom they root for.
The climax, thankfully, does not turn preachy, but does deliver a simple message — we get the leaders we vote for. The object of the satire, then, is suddenly the viewer rather than the characters on screen.
