Sanjay Ray
Director: Subhash Kapoor
Cast: Richa Chadha, Saurabh Shukla, Boloram Das, Manav Kaul, etc.
Loosely inspired by the real-life story of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati and her rise in the political milieu, Madam Chief Minister, starring Richa Chadha in the lead, is a political drama that aspires to reflect the dark underbelly of the politicians and the price they invariably have to pay to stay afloat in the power game, irrespective of their ideology and background.
While the movie follows the meteoric rise of Tara – considered to be from the backward class – to the post of the chief minister, it also delves into aspects like the caste system which dictates the course of Indian vote bank politics.
However, even with a storyline that had ingredients to make the audience engage and identify with, director Subhash Kapoor, somehow, could not seize the opportunity in the first half due to lack of any urgency in the process of storytelling. As a result, the narrative which harps on the belief that ‘power comes with a price’, lacked conviction.
Although some of the scenes in the first half offer a touch of novelty, they were very rare to come by.
Attempts to sway the audience by fancy dialogues hardly yield any desired response. It also fails to leave the right kind of message on gender bias and class divide.
Scenes where a top political leader lands up in a hotel with his gunmen to kill the incumbent chief minister were over dramatised and hardly appear realistic. Instead, it ends up trivialising the core plot even more.
It is only in the second half that the story picks up momentum. There is an element of surprise towards the fag end of the story which works for the movie. But then, it becomes a case of too little too late for Madam Chief Minister.
Richa Chadha, who is known for her power-packed performances, isn’t in her best form to start with but makes it up in the later part of the story.
Saurabh Shukla, Boloram Das, and Manav Kaul play their parts well.
