The complexities of life served with honesty; some work while others fail
REVIEW: ‘Ajeeb Daastaans’, because the title suggests, is closely invested within the ‘huge reveal’ or rendering shock worth to all its tales—and there are 4 of them—and the anthology opens with the primary snippet ‘Majnu’ by Shashank Khaitan. A a lot youthful and sexually liberated Lipakshi (Fatima Sana Shaikh) is married to emotionally and bodily unavailable native goon Babloo bhaiya. She is a lonely princess—of political nature—caught eternally in her majestic mansion. Till an MBA graduate, Raj Kumar (Armaan Ralhan) reveals up at their doorstep and Lipakshi will get right into a steamy affair with him. Theirs is a whirlwind romance however one that might liberate the 2: he from all that his father has performed for an ungrateful Babloo, and Lipakshi, from Babloo himself. Clearly, Shashank Khaitan wished to spotlight the grim actuality that represent comfort marriages and political liaisons however his characters and their emotional join (or the dearth of it) doesn’t come off as real. Jaideep Ahlawat is frying penises of males for hitting on a spouse he doesn’t care about, Fatima Sana Shaikh is head over heels in love with a person she—fairly evidently—has no actual on-screen chemistry with. Khaitan’s ‘Majnu’ is a rushed story of affection and revenge with no rounded characters and little visible and cinematic attraction. It’s cack-handed and lacks gravitas in anyway.
The second story by Raj Mehta—titled ‘Khilauna’— is a significant deviation from its predecessor and delves deep into socio-economic considerations which have been prevalent in the neighborhood for ages. Two orphaned but expedient sisters are upset over the brand new neighbourhood secretary for disconnecting electrical energy which that they had sourced by unlawful means. The soon-to-be-daddy has eyes on Meenal (Nushrat Bharucha) and the girl is aware of it. The youthful and chirpy sister Binny (Inayat Verma) is that little monster in disguise that carries out on a regular basis scams with Meenal like a professional. Meenal needs a manner in to the secretary’s home in order that she will be able to finally persuade him to rethink her repeated pleas for electrical energy. Her boyfriend Sushil (Abhishek Banerjee) from the laundry store is sceptical in regards to the plan. “Kya hello kar lega? Uske gharme biwi hain. Dekhta hai toh dekhne de,” Meenal assures him. Raj Mehta has an attention-grabbing tackle India’s class distinction and the mistreatment and unstated stress that’s rampant between haves and have-nots. Not like the primary story, this one takes its personal candy time to ascertain the distinctiveness of every character. If Meenal is sly and an unabashed opportunist, then Binny is her in a position second-in-command. Sushil, on the othr handis a love-struck pet and represents that class of males who undergo their oppressors. The climax, which is once more served as a ‘startling revelation’, is one which’s nicely thought out and offers the viewers one thing to ponder upon.
Neeraj Ghaywan’s ‘Geeli Pucchi’ is an entire knockout on this anthology. Ghaywan, by expert writing and even intelligent route, brings forth the plight of a girl residing in an unfair world: first, for being a girl in a male-dominated manufacturing unit, then for being Dalit after which for selecting to undaunted. Ghaywan will need to have identified he’s creating one thing terribly impactful, which is a strong actor like Konkona Sen Sharma is entrusted with the battered-but-not-broken Bharti Mandal. Ghyan marries the loneliness of Bharti with a seemingly chirpy and upbeat Priya Sharma (Aditi Rao Hydari) whose privileged life and upbringing is a stark distinction to the lifetime of hardships Bharti endures. Loses out on the promotion to Priya for not ‘understanding excel’, her pet isn’t allowed to poop on ‘their’ facet of the colony and she or he isn’t even seen or acknowledged as a girl. It doesn’t assist both that Bharti is pining for her former lover.
What actually stands out on this story is that there are not any messiahs or saviours in Bharti’s story: the identical Dalit lady who’s handled harshly for A) being a girl, and B) for being a Dalit. Ghaywan’s Meela is a robust, feisty girl with shades of gray to her persona. She doesn’t hanker after the one who breaks her coronary heart, as a substitute, employs deceit and manipulation to grab what ought to have been hers within the first place. This sort of daring depiction of a girl from a marginalised group may have gone horribly fallacious however the storytelling is so organically gripping that in the direction of the tip you nearly need Bharti to destroy Priya. Not for being conniving, no. However for snubbing her for being, nicely, her.
There are only a few actresses who can emote their inside turmoil with simply their face muscular tissues the best way Konkona can. ‘Geeli Pucchi’ is not any totally different. Aditi Rao Hydari has her personal battles because the privileged child who doesn’t know love: each actually and figuratively. The actress, together with her ever-so-charming manner and childlike innocence, portrays a distinct type of image for battle: patriarchy, lack of awareness of her sexual id and what not. This story strikes from one evident societal subject to a different with sheer smoothness and earlier than you understand it, you’ve gotten seen all of it in a matter of near half-hour.
The ultimate act is by debutant director Kayoze Irani who transports you into the world of affection ballads and kooky artwork and artists all of the whereas preserving you in contact with the cruel realities of life and love. Natasha (Shefali Shah) is in a dysfunctional marriage and has a deaf daughter. The husband (Tota Roy Chowdhury) is working exhausting to offer for his specially-abled daughter and perhaps provide you with a technology-based answer. However the couple fights and argues about missed dinners and WhatsApp chats, amongst different repairable points of their marriage. She tells Kabir (Manav Kaul), a deaf painter, she had ‘one severe relationship and it’s over’.
‘Ankahi’—the title of this monitor—occurs over a interval of some days and practicality be damned for what’s about to unfold! The fantastic music on the background and that unmissable voice of Prateek Kuhad takes you again to 90s Bollywood when love was easier, and its presentation, visually charming.
It’s not straightforward to marry the mundanity of life with an Utopian world however Irani does it with aplomb. ‘Ankahi’ trusts that its viewers are clever to learn between the traces and so Irani—very bravely—leaves rather a lot on us to interpret. Now we don’t find out about you, however we shut our laptops with an enormous, broad smile on our faces.
