Swara Bhaskar as the fearless, uninhibited and no nonsense Anarkali makes Anarkali Of Arrah a great watch! Yes, the backdrop and setup of the film with its double meaning and vulgar intonations can make one uncomfortable, but it is necessary to establish the very strong message of the film that whatever be the profession, social stature or economic context of a woman, No Means No still remains as relevant as it was in Pink!

Swara carries the entire film very ably on her extremely capable shoulders, and never appears loud or out of place in spite of the character she plays! She gets her accent, posture, presence completely perfect to become the woman she plays. She is wonderfully challenged by Sudhir Mishra as the antagonist, and its a pity that Bollywood has not explored this man so much! The rest of the ensemble cast also provides very credible support! I do wish though that the screenplay was far more even, so that in spite of such strong performances it did not lose its grip at times like it did, especially post interval. Also may be it was natural for me not to like the music, but it should have had better songs since so much of the narrative revolved around it!

But overall, in spite of its unsettling, rustic and ‘not in a comfort zone’ social context, it was a very important film to be made, and has enough fire power to make it an impactful watch! You rock Anarkali!