Lantrani review: Jitendra Kumar, Johnny Lever, and Jisshu U Sengupta shine bright in this dated anthology

3/5

Lantrani story: Tucked in rural India, Lantrani is a collection of three short-length films – Hud Hud Dabang, Dharna Mana Hai, and Sanitised Samachar – that highlight the subtle undertones of Indian democracy. Three stories serve three crises that are unknowingly intertwined by the flavour of this country.

Lantrani review: Lantrani is an honest effort. Set in rural small towns, each film brings out the quintessential flavour of India. Each character seems real and convincing and yet it is a constant reminder that you’ve seen something like this before. There is barely any novelty in them.

Gurvinder Singh’s Dharna Mana Hai is perhaps the most engaging of the lot. Nimisha Sajayan plays Gomti Devi – a woman sarpanch who faces insubordination from local men and goes for a silent protest in front of a government office. Jitendra Kumar, despite being typecast as a small-town Indian man with a resolution, is delightful to watch as her protesting husband, Debu. The episode ends with a subtle smile on Gomti’s face that brightens up the screen.

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Kaushik Ganguly surprises with his cast in Hud Hud Dabang. Funny man Johnny Lever plays the character of a retiring cop in a small village – somewhat an intense character that we have hardly seen him playing in his long career. He takes a prisoner, played delectably by Jisshu U Sengupta, to a lower court where the prisoner (or is he?) is humiliated by the judge (Masood Akhter) and other lawyers. While unwarranted beeps are thoroughly mismatched, the episode is dotted with lavish shots portraying the captivating landscape of Chattisgarh. Finally, the episode ends with a masterfully created melancholy note.

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Finally, Bhaskar Hazarika’s Sanitized Samachar – the weakest of the lot – offers a glimpse of the Pandemic period that seems dated. Led by Boloram Das, the story begins in a newsroom where regular work gets disrupted by Covid 19. It barely offers anything more than that.

Lantrani verdict: While Lantrani doesn’t offer anything new, it is still worth a watch for its simplicity and tales from the belly of a republic that we are proud of. It deals with problems that are nuanced and so elusively ingrained in our society that it surprises us.