Sangharsh
1999 · Directed by Tanuja Chandra
Original language: Hindi
- thriller
The story
A rookie CBI officer must enlist the help of an incarcerated criminal in order to catch a serial child killer, who has recently escaped police custody.
What it’s like
Dim tungsten interiors, sodium-lit streets and rain-slick night roads give this late-nineties Hindi thriller a sweaty, urgent look, with police stations and prison corridors shot in heavy shadow and close, restless framing. The score leans on tense synth-and-strings pulses that spike into melodrama, and the Bollywood songs break the dread with bursts of colour and movement before the tension tightens again. The vibe is grimly suspenseful, with a steady undercurrent of unease about a predator who targets children. Violence is present and occasionally sharp, and the crimes are dark and disturbing, though the film stays mostly off the gore and lets menace and implication do the work. The pacing is brisk and plot-driven, with a wary, uneasy partnership between two men who don't trust each other, and an emotional register that swings between grim intensity and sentimental release. It suits a late-night, lights-low viewing with someone who wants a propulsive crime story and doesn't mind melodrama. It is not gentle, and it is best for viewers who want serial-crime tension, a tough investigative edge, and a classic commercial Bollywood feel.
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