Blind faith in the divine is always something people turn to when in need, yet sometimes that faith can be quite misplaced. Director Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak has shed light on this practice where the two children Chotu and Pari encounter a religious phoney Shira Mata on their life-changing journey to meet their idol and get Chotu’s eyesight back.
Shira Mata, played by the veteran actress Vibha Chibber, seems to be a hilarious take-off on a popular Indian self-styled God-woman who was recently in the news for her loud appearance, connections to Bollywood stars and even bigger claims of preaching the ways of God. By the looks of it, Dhanak also treads on the same path as previous satirical comedies Oh My God! and PK which tackled the sensitive and controversial topic of blatant misuse and commercialization of religion.
This short promo from the film depicts one such ‘pure and pice’ self-styled God-woman Shira Mata whom Chotu approaches to fulfil his wish to meet Shah Rukh Khan, while she asks him to wish for something more worthwhile. Dhanak has definitely unmasked the pretentious advocates of religion in a sharp and witty fashion. Fans have been loving the humorous character and tweeting about how it has totally hit the nail on the head!
Watch the video here to see Chotu’s encounter with Shira Mata:
Dhanak has been written and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, and stars Krrish Chhabria and Hetal Gada as the loveable siblings. The rest of the cast includes Vipin Sharma, Rajiv Laxman, Suresh Menon and Gulfam Khan amongst others. The film has been produced by Manish Mundra, Nagesh Kukunoor and Elahé Hiptoola and is currently playing in cinemas across India.
