Irsal

Slum settlements that dot multiple areas of the city have always had a mysterious allure to those looking from the outside. Irsal’s plot revolves around one such gangland story. Set in the Dandekar Pul area of Pune, the first thing you notice about the film is the dingy houses and narrow alleys.

Irsal revolves around Nandu (Vikram Suryakant), an industrious young man with a heart of gold, who, through a chain of unfortunate events, ends up under the wing of local money lender Bhausaheb Gharat (Shashank Shende). A clash between Bhausaheb and his rival – Dangat (Anil Nagarkar) for an electoral seat marks the beginning of a wild ride that sees Nandu spiraling deeper into the quagmire. In his struggle to cope with the scale of his rise, Nandu ends up recruiting younger boys into his gang, further propagating the circle of violence.

The pace of the film's first half is excruciatingly slow, with vital screen time wasted on a love story that goes nowhere. The narrative jumps around quite a bit before finding its feet in the second half. However, Irsal is packed with strong performances, chiefly from Shende and Nagarkar. Nagesh Naik’s depiction of the young gangster Sunny is worth appreciating too.

The plot and setting are definite strong suits of the film. With hard shifts in power dynamics and a fair bit of surprising twists, the story keeps you on your toes. While there are a few time jumps and side plots that are left unexplained, the main story still grips you and culminates in a finale that deserves a watch.
-- Review by Anub George