The date 08 / 09 / 2016 is as epochal as 11 / 09 / 2001(Osama bin Laden outfitAl-Qaeda’s Twin Tower attack) or for that matter 26 / 11 / 2008 (Pakistan terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Maximum City attack). It was on that day and date in 2016 the Centre announced the demonetisation of all ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes followed by the issuance of new ₹500 and ₹2,000 banknotes in exchange for demonetised currencies.

As has been its won’t, the Indian film industry, found a suitable script to spin racy thrillers to woo audiences on the theme of demonetisation as its kernel with film makers try to milk the most of everyday situations / events to woo and ‘entertain’ audiences.

Malayalam director Renjith was quick on the take to cash in on the filmic possibility the decision that had its own political and social ramifications, coming up with his 2017 Puthan Panam (New Currency), revolving round black money and demonetisation with Mammotty playing underworld don Nithyananda Shenoy, modelled on the infamous gangster from Kumbala near Kasaragod.

Then following suit was the 2018 breezy Punjabi romantic comedy about a runaway couple in Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua by director duo Ksshitij Chaudhary and Sandeep, while the 2019 Marathi film Chappad Phaad Ke by Sameer Joshi took a tongue-in-cheek parody potshots at morally upright, middle class Maharashtrian family’s ethical battle with consumerism and hypocrisy, when they find a cache of demonetised currencies.

Of course Bollywood was not wanting to let go of such a throbbing theme, with the pasha of
potboilers Anurag Kashyap coming up with 2020 Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai, which held a nuanced and subtle mirror at a bank employee weighed down by her jobless husband’s debts – and her own broken dreams, set against the backdrop of demonetisation.

Audiences, athirst for ‘entertainment’ have been satiated with several such films with spins of their own depending on from which State it was emanating. For example the 2017 Bengali movie Shunyota
by Suvendu Ghosh, given its Leftist leanings took to spotlighting on how demonetisation affected the common citizens with its triad of three tales.

Down South be it Tamil or Telugu film industry one saw Vijay’s Mersal (Tamil) taking potshots at government’s GST & demonisation policies, with Nikhil Siddharth starrer Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada (Telugu)joking about how he spent his entire time standing in queues to exchange old ₹1,000 notes.

Well, joining the scroll of such enterprising opportunistic film makers, who brought in their own filmi delineations to demonetisation decision affecting all walks of life, is the 2022 Kannada movie 1888 or IB88 (as the title subtly suggests by way you perceive it) by debutant film maker Sourabh Shukla.

A Computer Science product of The National Institute of Engineering, Mysuru, Sourabh Shukla, like the many other techies before him, driven by “sheer passion” as he claims with “no experience in film making earlier, neither have I assisted or worked in any capacity with any film industry professional” has sought to try his hand at film making.

While one has no qualms about the “self taught” “amateur” as he would describe himself aspirant wanting to make a mark in the dog-eat-dog world of films, what, however, roils one and finds wanting in the Indie filmmaker, is, that while the heart is in the right place, the convoluted film, that criss-crosses between timelines,leaves a lot to be desired, which renders 1888 a tad, been there done that,trite and tedious fare.

Stated to be shot in “Guerrilla style”, this almost roadie of a movie, follows the doings of an IB operative, in mufti as LIC agent Vikas on the hunt of those trying to convert their black “demonetised” money into white with several “conversion” agent at hand at a heavy premium.

An has been actress, Sandhya Shetty, in the menopause of her career, seeking redemption to be in the public eye by trying to don the new role of a politician even as she is at her wits end to convert her ill-gotten money “now demonetised” pulling all the strings possible of her connections to do so.

That she floats a people’s Jana Aadesha party scraping through the tumultuous time with the agenda of rooting out corruption after “receiving” “very good funding” (read between the lines) as the title card announces in the end is another matter. Her Man Friday – Prathap – becoming a game designer in a start up and active in crypto currency trading.

Completing the triangle is a karate-kicking high on drugs opportunist goon Prathap zipping about in his car who latches onto the “demonetised” money of the actress, who had asked her cronies to turn it into ashes, with whom the LIC agent cum IB operative also lugs on to unravel the nefarious network.

Narrated as first person account by LIC agent-IB operative Vikas, the film trundles on for nearly two hours, as motely of other IB operatives and baddies join in to give 1888 its feature run time as one fights insomnia trying to be invested in the narrative that fails to gather traction or your concentrated attention.

Leaving no stone unturned the doughty director also drags in the Darknet and Bitcoin business racket that saw embezzlements running into billions of dollars as the end credit educates us about as the film draws to a close leaving enough hints that a sequel could be on in the near future.

The film, in the end, reels out statistics that in 2019 India lost ₹1,35,138 crore ($18.5 billion) due to illegal trade done over Darknet, while Bitcons value touched a whopping ₹43.7 lakh (($65,000) in April 2021, while the Indian IB continued to face multiple challenges in the wake of new modus operandi of illegal trading and dealings, given a humongous manpower shortage of 8,000 people.

IB operative Vikas stands reflecting on the floor of an under construction building about his own life scouring the various nooks and crannies of the City – Shivajinagar, Kathriguppe, Whitefield in hot pursuit of offenders, while his friends have flown the coop to better their prospects to realise their dollar dreams.

Even as he turns philosophical and patriotic about his call to stay put back home, the cooler donning man receives the call from his druggie friend portending the possibility of another game afoot and adventure at hand from Vikas & Co.

Amidst all this incidental attempts the film faithfully captures the various vignettes of IT City Bengaluru and its landscapes especially the night time as the web of deceit and deception spans across snaring many players in the process all motivated with making a capital out of demonetisation – hook, line and sinker.

The film is woefully weighed in by mediocrity almost all its departments showing that the aspiring young Sourabh Shukla has indeed a long way to go before he takes up another ambitious enterprise hopefully having honed his cinematic craft and finetuned his understanding and idea of cinema and its idiom whilst doing so. While the cast comes across as amateurish the dialogues are simply terrible to say the least. Pradeep Dorai’s cinematographyvaliantly tries to provide the Guerilla feel to the film whilst Puneet Hathur’s background score is a tad on the loud on your ears.

Incidentally, the makers begin the film with an explanation about what is Guerilla Film and how “1888 is one primarily driven by passion and learning with whatever means at hand.” Indeed by the looks of it the film evidences that a lot of learning and skill acquisition needs to be undertaken by the team, especially young Sourabh Shukla, who having cut his teeth with shorts and this features, looks like sticking on in the field.

That the film makers have audaciously claimed that theirs being the “first ever film on demonetisation” in one of their posters rather puts them in poor light given that there were several films already made prior to their own on the subject.

For now though 1888/IB88 does not do much for Sourabh Shukla, who, along with his team, shows some sparks,expect behove him to burnish the rough edges of his understanding of filmmaking and patiently garner sufficient expertise to come with his sophomore flick in the near future.

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S VISWANATH is a veteran film critic who officiates as JURY at several National & International Film Festivals. He deputises as CHIEF CINEMA CURATOR/PROGRAMMER & CREATIVE ADVISOR for Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes). He also curates & advises on the selection of shorts & documentaries for Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF). Mr Viswanath is the author of “RANDOM REFLECTIONS: A Kaleidoscopic Musings on Kannada Cinema”.