In a previous landmark film, Pink we had seen Taapsee Pannu play the accused while advocate Amitabh Bachchan fought her case. In a role reversal, we now have Taapsee playing a powerful role of a lawyer, Aarti Mohammed. At the beginning of the nearly fifty-second teaser of Mulk we hear Taapsee deliver a line that goes, “Aap deshdrohi hai, ye aarop hai aap pe aur aapke parivaar pe” (You and your family have been accused of betraying the country.) The accused is Murad Ali Mohammed played by Rishi Kapoor, who is seen shutting the doors of his home to the noisy media.

Evidently based on a series of true events in which a Muslim family based in Varanasi is accused of treason, the tone of the teaser is grim and a necessity in our increasingly hate-filled times. Towards the end of the teaser, Taapsee delivers a powerful dialogue on the concept of country and boundaries and what actually divides two nations. ”Ek mulk kagaz pe nakshon ke lakeeron se nahi batta, sir. Mulk batta hai rang se, bhasha se, dharam se, zaat se.” (A country doesn’t get divided into fractions if you draw a few lines on a paper; it gets divided on the basis of colour, language, religion, and caste).

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Rajat Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, and Prateik Babbar also play key roles in this Anubhav Sinha directorial, which touches some sensitive points. Speaking about the film, Taapsee had shared, “This is a film which we all have done with our hearts because of the topic it deals with. It’s purely a passion-driven project for each and every member of the cast and crew.”

The first look posters of the upcoming film are also out and they introduced us to Aarti Mohammed (Taapsee Pannu), the accomplished defence lawyer and Murad Ali Mohammed (played by Rishi Kapoor) who is the accused.

Set for an August 3 release, the teaser definitely stokes interest…