NH10 might take time to pick up, but when it does, there's no looking back for it. The film is a taut thriller with an interesting background of honour killing and a disturbing glimpse into societies that are incredibly primitive and backwards in terms of morality, values and their twisted mentality. This of course infuses NH10 with several harrowing sequences of sadistic violence which are unbearable to watch but also gives it a sense of hard-hitting brutality that makes the portrayal of areas that are known to all as having quite a few problems of this sort very credible.
This is where our leading heroine and her annoyingly stubborn husband find themselves. And their story is handled with great tension, where the writing makes the viewers really care for them and wish for their survival under such impossible circumstances. The film doesn't have a dull moment in this sense, and its many twists and turns secure a good watch which is bound to keep anyone on the edge of their seats even if it doesn't necessarily always ring true. It is towards the end where a good twist, despite its cathartic nature, follows an age-old format.
Remember the many female revenge films with Rekha, Dimple Kapadia and the likes? Remember how the kindhearted Rekha in Khoon Bhari Maang finds new purpose in life and returns to take revenge on the one who pushed her to the crocodiles? And what about sweet, demure Madhuri Dixit transformed into a merciless avenger in Anjaam? It's amazing how NH10, even if just for a few moments, manages to pay tribute to this famous wave of female-centric action films which allowed so many leading ladies to "experiment".
But unlike most of these films, which were quite bad and ridiculous (those mentioned above are quite good actually), NH10 has the advantage of being quite good and in so being it makes great use of what could have been Ab Insaaf Hoga (1995, with Rekha) or Gumrah (1993, with Sridevi), which are not up to the mark. In this sense, it is closer to Ek Haseena Thi with Urmila Matondkar as it keeps the quality on. And it gives the leading lady, the talented Anushka Sharma to shine through as both the racy city girl and the modern Jhansi Rani.
And she does. NH10, with all its qualities, is Anushak Sharma's film, and she is thoroughly convincing in this self-produced star vehicle, performing naturally and capturing with conviction the development of the character. Neil Bhoopalam as her husband Arjun is also very strong although as a character he is quite irritating at times. The supporting cast playing the group of goons is excellent, and the spectacular Deepti Naval, manages to leave a mark with another five-minute role as she always does. Watch NH10, it's a cinematic experience.
