Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video Movie Review
Sajini Shinde (Radhika Madan), a young, talented, much-admired physics teacher working in a posh Pune school gets the shock of her life when a video of her from Singapore, where she’s celebrating her birthday, gets leaked online. She’s drunk, wearing short clothes and is in a company of half-naked men. The conservative Pune society closes its door on her. She’s shamed both by her father (Subodh Bhave), as well as by her fiance (Soham Majumdar). The principal of her school (Bhagyashree), too sacks her. Depressed and feeling unloved by all, she leaves a note holding her father and fiance for her suicide and is reported missing. Inspectors Bela (Nimrat Kaur) and Ram (Chinmay Mandlekar) are told to wrap up the case on a priority basis by their superiors as they are under constant media pressure. As the cops investigate, they come to know that nothing is what it seems. Sajini’s father seems unaffected by her disappearance. He’s a stage and film actor and loses himself in the world of theatre, and doesn’t respond well to the questions of the police. Her fiance likewise is in hiding and has secrets of his own. Her younger brother seems to be a goon, while the principal too is hiding something. Worse, 15 years ago, her cousin, daughter of her father’s elder brother, too had gone missing under mysterious circumstances.
As the layers get unpeeled, we get to know that both Sajini’s father and boyfriend were dominating men. She was in an abusive relationship with both. Her fiance was a control freak as well as a voyeur who used to film their sex acts. He might have also been two-timing her with her best friend. Her father too was having an affair, and her mother, who knew about it, kept quiet. She never raised her voice against her husband’s abusive behaviour either. Inspector Bela starts empathising with the victim and thinks that she has genuinely ended her life because of the two men in her life. Things take a darker tone when she suspects that Sajini might have been a victim of honour killing. The truth, when it comes out, is far worse than anyone could have imagined.
The film asks pertinent questions about the appalling lack of sensitivity in our society. Women seemingly have no control over their bodies, over their lifestyles. Their choice of clothes, of sexual partners, of displaying any hint of libido is frowned upon. While boys can be boys, girls can’t be girls. The film is set in Pune, which is said to be highly conservative. While such a video might not have found traction in Mumbai, it’ll certainly raise eyebrows even today in smaller towns. Sajini has an abusive father and yet she chooses to be with her controlling fiance as she has normalised such behaviour. She doesn’t rebel, as in her eyes, there is nothing to rebel. Because her mother has never rebelled, never raised her voice. In fact, she hardly speaks, choosing to stay mum in front of the husband.
One can say that things are changing, and perhaps that’s true at the upper echelons of society. But at a grassroot level, there’s hardly any change. The principal of her school, who has seen her progress from being the best student to being the best teacher, shuns her in her hour of need. The system is only interested in solving the case of her disappearance because of media pressure. Mental wellness is something which isn't taken seriously in our society. Depression is a fragile thing and a person suffering from it might break at any given point if proper support isn’t provided. One might argue that a viral video is too small a thing to provoke someone to take their life. But we don’t know what’s happening in someone’s mind. Anything and everything can be a trigger point.
The film is well-written and well-acted. Both Radhika Madan, who showcases her fragility in her portrayal of a loving but troubled teacher and Nimrat Kaur, who plays a tough-as-nails cop, execute their roles to perfection. They are ably supported by Subodh Bhave, Chinmay Mandlekar, Bhagyashree and Soham Majumdar.
Watch the film for the inspired acting displayed by the entire cast and the important message, that of suicide prevention and metal wellness, that it conveys.
Trailer : Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video
Archika Khurana, October 27, 2023, 1:30 PM IST
Story: Sajini Shinde (Radhika Madan), a young physics teacher, goes missing after her explicit video is leaked online. The drama explores the events that occur before and after the fateful day.
Review: ‘Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video’ follows the story of a young physics teacher whose life takes a tragic turn when an explicit video of her dancing with half-naked men is leaked. She is simply just celebrating her birthday, but as the video becomes viral, she faces abject public humiliation and harsh scrutiny. The film takes a darker turn shortly after this event when she goes missing and is presumed dead. Investigator Bela (Nimrat Kaur), takes on the case and begins probing various aspects and suspects of the case, including Sajini's fiancé Siddhant (Soham Majumdar), school-affiliated staff members, and even her family members.
The film, written and directed by Mikhil Musale with a screenplay by Parinda Joshi, manages to address a highly relevant and sensitive topic with sincerity. It portrays the helplessness and despair that individuals face when their private lives are exposed in the public, particularly in the age of social media. However, the overuse of heavy and feminist lines such as 'Ye aurat ko hi humesha kyu justify karna padhta hai? (why do women always have to justify?),' have little impact after a point and appear randomly in the scenes.
The film emphasizes the importance of fact-checking and refraining from passing judgments or engaging in mindless gossip that can destroy lives.
One of the dialogues in the film, "Ek perfect beti, ek perfect mangetar, ek perfect teacher (an ideal daughter, loving fiancé, and a very passionate teacher)”, summarizes the character of an endearing girl next door Sajini played convincingly by Radhika Madan. However, as a diligent and no-nonsense investigating officer, it’s Nimrat Kaur who steals the show. The rest of the cast, including Soham Majumdar as Sajini’s fiancé, Bhagyashree as the school principal, Sumeet Vyas as Siddhant’s lawyer, Marathi actor Subodh Bhave as Sajini’s father play their parts well.
Musale builds enough tension and suspense throughout the film about Sajni’s whereabouts but the big reveal in the climax is somewhat underwhelming. For a film pegged as a suspense thriller, the screenplay and the writing could have been tighter. That said, the narrative does have its moments of thrill and unpredictability that keep the audience invested in the story.
However, to consistently and more effectively engage the audience, films such as these must strike a perfect balance between the intended message and storytelling. ‘Sajni Shinde ka Viral Video’ sparks a dialogue on a relevant subject with an interesting peg. With a sharper execution, this one could have exploded like a trending viral video.
