IANS Review: Gut-wrenching saga of '72 Hoorain' will blow your mind (IANS Rating: ****)

Mumbai, July 7 : Film: 72 Hoorain. Duration: 80 minutesCast: Pavan Malhotra, Aamir Bashir, Saru Maini, Rasheed Naz, Ashok Pathak and Namrata Dixit. Director: Sanjay Puran Singh ChauhanIANS Rating: ****

India is one of those countries in the world that is among the worst sufferers of terrorism spread in the name of religion. And everyone knows how religious fanaticism is being used to burn the social fabric of the country.

There have been films that showcase how terrorism deeply impacts our day-to-day life, but there are hardly any films that daringly question the practice of brainwashing youth into becoming terrorists and killing innocent people in the name of religion.

Director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan's '72 Hoorain' exposes the dirty game to trick people into becoming terrorists and turning them into killing machines.

The best part of the film is that it doesn't preach to convey its message and directly points fingers at the perpetrators of such terrorist syndicates and lays bare their fanatical agenda.

Anil Pandey's brilliant story and Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan's hard-hitting direction are the highlights of this unusual saga. Deeply seeped in the dark realities of religious fanaticism and terrorism, the story of the film is so captivating that the audiences will be hooked to the screens till its end.

Notably, the film does not point fingers against any particular community or accuses the entire community for the act of a few dreaded terrorists.

The film showcases how the act of terrorism is deeply connected to the religious sermons that are misused by dreaded terrorists to brainwash innocent people and turn them into killing machines.

The fact is that we have for long been ignoring the deep impact of such acts of terrorism perpetrated in the name of religion. This has made terrorists more brazen in their attacks and now they don't think twice before killing people.

The film excels in all departments -- from the story to screenplay, dialogues, direction, cinematography, to editing. Watching the movie, you get the feeling that you are not watching a drama unfold on screen, but watching the ghastly acts of terrorism unfold live and shake you up from within.

Enacting the roles of flag-bearers of terrorism in the film, Pavan Malhotra and Aamir Bashir have done commendable jobs and bring lot of conviction to their parts. No matter how much you praise these two brilliant actors, it is not going to be enough. The other actors also have done justice to their roles in the film. The brilliant and apt casting deserves to be praised.

Audiences are hardwired to watch films for entertainment. Hence, it is all the more necessary that such audiences also watch this film, for it exposes the nexus between religion and terrorism brilliantly, and brings the debate over religious fanaticism to the centrestage.

--IANS