Vidya Balan at one point was considered to be a force to reckon with, especially after the back-to-back success of ‘The Dirty Picture’ (2011) and ‘Kahaani’ (2012). She then had a downward spiral as most of her films failed to entice and even succeed at the box office. But things got better for her with ‘Tumhari Sulu’ (2017), which was a decent success. ‘Mission Mangal’ (2019) had Vidya in a prominent role and it was a huge hit. Last year, she was seen in ‘Shakuntala Devi’ (2020), which was released on Amazon Prime. It overall received a favourable response from the audiences.
And now, Vidya Balan is back with another film with huge potential. Titled ‘Sherni’, it sees Vidya in the role of a forest officer. The film is about forest officials and others trailing a dangerous tigress. But at the same time, it also addresses misogyny and patriarchy. Interestingly, the makers have drawn parallels with Vidya’s character and that of the tigress, and how both have to battle several obstacles to move ahead in life. ‘Sherni’ is directed by Amit Masurkar, who had helmed 2017’s surprise success, ‘Newton’. He also became co-producer with this film. Apart from Vidya, it also stars Vijay Raaz, Neeraj Kabi, Ila Arun, Sharat Saxena, Mukul Chadda and Brijendra Kala.
‘Sherni’ sadly won’t be released in cinemas. Like ‘Shakuntala Devi’ (2020), it’ll premiere on Amazon Prime tomorrow, that is, on June 18th. By now, it has become clear that any film starring an A-lister gets great viewership on digital platforms. ‘Sherni’ won’t be an exception. Of course, it has to be a great film and only then will a section of people make the effort to watch the flick.
