Shool () is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Eeshwar Nivas. Written and produced by Ram Gopal Varma, it portrays the politician-criminal nexus and the criminalization of politics in Bihar and its effect on the life of an honest police officer. It stars Manoj Bajpayee as Inspector Samar Pratap Singh and Sayaji Shinde as the criminal-politician Bachhu Yadav, a character loosely based on politician turned criminal, Surajbhan Singh.
Parts of the film were shot in Motihari, Bihar. The climax of the film was entirely shot at the abandoned state Legislative Assembly in Bhopal. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, and was screened at the International Film Festival of India, and the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is considered as a cult film over the years. The rights to this film are owned by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment.
Plot
The film opens with a late night telephone call from Patna asking to speak to Bachchu Yadav, a MLA of the ruling political party in Bihar. His lackeys trace their boss to a prostitute's abode, where he receives the telephone and is informed that his party has selected another MLA for the ticket this time. He wastes no time, reaches the newly selected MLA candidate's home and pressures him to give up his nomination in lieu of money. When intimidation fails, his thugs stab the MLA-candidate under his supervision.
Meanwhile, Inspector Samar Pratap Singh arrives in Motihari, Bihar, where he has been transferred to, with his wife Manjari and daughter. At the railway station, he gets into a confrontation with a coolie. The two have a tiff on the payment of Rs. 30/- to be paid to the coolie for his services, which Singh refuses to pay, as he (rightfully) thinks he is being overcharged. As the situation goes to the verge of fisticuffs, a local police hawaldaar intervenes. Not knowing that Singh, too, is a police officer, the hawaldaar tries to manhandle Singh. Infuriated, Singh takes the matter to the police station to which he is posted. As Singh writes a complaint against the hawaldaar for harassing an innocent local (Singh), a sub-inspector, Hussain, intervenes. Hussain asks Singh to forgive the hawaldaar, to which Singh does not relent. Singh later learns that the Motihari police station runs according to Yadav's whims. Singh is an idealist who respects the constitution and the rule of law, and expects that everyone else should do the same. But no one follows the law in Motihari, especially the policemen who receive hafta (illicit weekly payments) from Yadav to do his bidding.
One day, the D.S.P. asks Singh to break up a fight between two rival gangs and arrest the people who attacked some of Yadav's men. Singh investigates and finds out that Yadav's men are the real culprits. Among them are Sudhir Vinod (Nagesh Bhosle) and Lallan Singh, so Singh arrests them instead. When the D.S.P. orders Singh to release them, he refuses, saying that he has already registered the case. This is the first time Singh's superior learns of his real character and expresses concern over his future. Sub-inspector Hussain, who shamelessly admits to subjection to Yadav, declares that Singh won't last long in his current job if he continues in his ways. Singh sadly learns the limit of his official prowess, when the court releases Yadav's men.
Yadav demonstrates his limited education when he speaks in the Bihar Legislative Assembly against the construction of a hydro-electric dam on the river Ganges, as it would be "stealing" electricity from the water to the disadvantage of the farmers; he misquotes the famous political slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan".
Singh finds himself alone in his fight and against the odds of a corrupt and rotten system. One day, while buying vegetables in the local market, he sees three young men sitting on a wall teasing passing girls by singing lewd Bhojpuri songs; when he confronts them, they react defiantly to Singh (who is in plainclothes). However, on learning that he is the S.H.O., two of them become defensive and tell him meekly that they are students of M.S. College, but the third declares proudly that he is the younger brother of Pranav Thakur, another influential politician, hoping that Singh will be impressed, but Singh retorts with a slap and forces him to apologise to the girls.
On his way home, Yadav decides to give an interview to a female journalist who boldly asks him if he is a murderer. Yadav, understandably, gets annoyed and tries to confuse and intimidate her, and upon failing to do so, simply asks her to get out of his car.