NH 10 (2015)

India Eros Entertainment DVD

Text below written 2015-09-27


Intense and violent thriller with a lot of Hate bordering horror where a modern Delhi couple meets nasty killers
on the indian countryside. An Indian version of the US city folks meets psycho hillbillies, here - nice rich city
folks meet medieval and evil country people. The first half i didn't like, to cliché-ridden and with bad dialogue
and acting from Neil Bhoopalam - but after the intermission, when Anushka Sharma's rolefigure Meera has
to seek help and take on a rural village on her own, then the film picks up pace and turn bloodily fun.
After all, Anushka co-produced this film and the film is really all about her, and sweet Anushka delivers for sure.
OK, it takes some time to quit staring at her strangely augmented lips, but after a while you're into the film.

The modern Delhi couple Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) and Meera (Sharma) is going for a weekend trip and has
rented a house in the country. On their way they're staying at a reststop when a young woman is asking Meera
for help, a gang of violent men has attacked her, Pinky (played by Kanchan Sharma, but no relative to AS?)
and her husband and that they will be killed. Meera just shoves her away.

But something has happened before in the film. Meera has been attacked in her car in Delhi and narrowly
escaped the robbers and possibly rapists. When asking for travel directions from hostile locals she's behaving
very unpleasantly towards a dark skinned local farmer, and one feels unsure about liking her or not.
Or maybe it's normal for fair skinned upper class rich city people to treat poor country people like this?
After all, there's enormous social and economic differences in India, which don't exists in Scandinavia.
Well, she's stressed up and in a chaotic mood all since the incident in Delhi and don't want to get involved in
any local and possibly hazardous affairs, but .... Arjun do try to interfere in the beatings going on.
The leader, Satbir (Darshan Kumaar) tells him to stay away and that the girl is his sister.

On the road again everything goes smoothly until Arjun sees the black jeep with the men and their victims at
the side of the road. Arjun decides to interfere again and learn the gang a lesson. !???
Eeeeeeh, WTF? Here the script goes strange and Arjun acts weirdly and unbelievable, is this going to be a
masala film? Arjun creeps up and watches the gang of 6 angry men and horrified he watches a very NASTY
honor killing of the young couple, yuck. Soon they're being chased by the men and a battle of life and death
ensues. As i mentioned before, it's quite cliché-ridden and the chase in the wilderness felt somewhat boring.
BUT, after the intermission, when Meera has dumped her wounded husband and desperately tries to get
help from the local police or anybody else in the village - then the film really picks up the pace and intensity.


Meera is great in the role, a really really tough cookie when it matters the most. Female Violence at its best
Honor killings, yes, but this time based on caste reasons. When the police inspector asks Meera about her
caste and that ALL people in the village know about not just their own caste but also which caste everyone
else belongs to, she answers that she have no idea. A modern girl against an ancient backwards society.
anamorphic widescreen, 5.1 or 2.0 hindi with english subtitles, no dance numbers, songs with subs, no extra


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