A disjointed drama

Jasmine Singh

If Smita Patil had not got her sister (Amrita Singh) married to her father-in-law Kulbushan Kharbanda in the popular Hindi film Waaris, the shareeks would have taken everything he owned. And, in Punjabi film Shareek, had the director not brought in four generations without any rhyme or reason, the shareeks could have nailed it. Director Navaniat Singh throws in a lot of characters, or say a lot of shareeks which serve no purpose. The film which starts on a heavy-duty note, drowns in uselessly long romance and then many characters who flit in and out of the frame. The story written by Dheeraj Kumar has many uncalled for situations. The film which could have been turned into a fantastic subject meanders into pointless paths. The only strong point in the film remains Jimmy Shergill, who keeps everything going. Jimmy, goes without saying, can live up to his character! 

Mukul Dev is another high point of the film, but his character also does not bring in much impact. He doesn’t come across as a vindictive shareek. Mahie Gill, a superb actress, why was she wasted in love and a twist? We rake our brains, why the two best actors of Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster, Jimmy Shergill and Mahie Gill, made a mistake with Shareek? Gugu Gill, the actor with a rich baritone voice and strong screen presence, has been made to go mellow, which doesn’t go down well. Then comes the Sadda Haq actor Kuljinder Sidhu. Why couldn’t the director have kept him alive for a little longer? His death in the film does nothing to the plot. Prince KJ, what happened to his onscreen bad image? As for Oshin Sai and Simar Gill, what purpose did their non-impactful presence serve?  Shareek has great music, if this can be called as a respite. The ending could have been a real clincher, had the director not drained us for almost two hours. We couldn’t even enjoy the end, and do you think the shareeks would have?

jasmine@tribunemail.com