\'Serious Men\' review: Ancient prejudice posing as a post-liberal narrative

Serious Men Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Aakshath Das, Indira Tiwari, Nassar, Sanjay Narvekar, Shweta Basu Prasad Direction: Sudhir Mishra Sudhir Mishra, director of the beloved Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, has been shooting duds for a while. As a desperate father on a dogged pursuit of his and his son’s life amounting to something, he and little Aakshath Das hold the film together and are supported by a very strong ensemble of actors, including Indira Tiwari, Nassar, Sanjay Narvekar and Shweta Basu Prasad. The film’s story is one part satire on significant men who posture, and lesser men who imitate that posturing, and one part political pamphlet about merit being supreme, about merit trumping all, irrespective of opportunity. Though the satire of Serious Men is primarily pivoted on upper caste Acharya and how he fools the world with gibberish and his nonsensical research, the film never interrogates him.