Thackeray Movie Review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui delivers towering performance in political drama

Thackeray belongs to the league of these political biopics that are being made in these recent times. It is based on the life of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The Sacred Games actor took everyone by surprise when the first look of the film was dropped. With the help of prosthetic makeup and his excellent craft of adopting the body language, Nawazuddin became the spitting image of the late political leader.

Thackeray’s story is a reflection of Balasaheb Thackeray’s eventful life. The leader quit his job as a caricaturist at the Free Press Journal to fight for the equal rights of the Maharashtrians in Mumbai. According to him, the Maharashtra was ruled by South Indians, Gujratis and every other outsider at that time. He took it upon himself to empower the Marathis and provide them livelihood and a better life in their own country. However, the 2-hour-film doesn’t do justice to contain the entire life of this controversial figure.

Director Abhijit Panse has tried to box the life of Balasaheb Thackerya in a feature film at which he succeeds upto a certain point. However, it’s nearly impossible to chronicle his life in such a short time frame. Hence, Thackeray lacks to bring all the nuances of the leader on the celluloid. It might also seem like an effort to whitewash some of the controversial chapters of Balasaheb Thackeray’s life through the film. It is often seen that while making a political film, directors struggle to draw a line between diplomacy and truth. Same happened with Abhijit Panse.

He kept a diplomatic outlook throughout the film while the truth seems to be taken a backseat. Undoubtedly, Thackeray will be loved by every fan of Balasaheb Thackeray. However, all the historical events in the film are carefully placed in the right chronological order which worked in the favour of Thackeray.

On the acting part, there’s nothing that Nawazuddin Siddiqui can’t do. From playing a warlord Ganesh Gaitonde in Sacred Games to a petty thief Taimur Talaash, Nawaz has time and again established himself as the most versatile actor Bollywood has ever seen.

The way Nawazuddin has played Balasaheb Thackeray in the film, it will make anyone sympathise with him. He expresses himself unapologetically, even when he expresses his dislike towards different ethnicity of the country. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s way of treating the character is genuine and honest in every way. Amrita Rao who played Meena Tai in the film looks splendid but didn’t have much to do.

Thackeray is a good feature film with a stellar actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead. However, for factual accuracies, we won’t give that much to this Abhijit Panse directorial.