The first thing that hits you as the movie starts is the profusion of gaalis. Agreed, the setting is in the Hindi heartland of rural India; agreed also that the period depicted is a stressful one. Still, having members of both genders addressing each other with references to mother and sister, that takes some time to get used to. And the way a daughter in law addresses her mother in law, the mother her sons, the sons their mother, the villagers each other, well its certainly shock and awe. And it elicits more than a respectable share of wolf whistles and hoot calls. The crust is crispy indeed.
As you start acquiescing to them and the gaalis hit less severely on your psyche, you begin to appreciate the wit laced with sarcasm. While the scene with news reader presenting results of an opinion poll for a trite issue has you nodding your head in appreciation, the frame that captures a chance conversation that is overheard by a wannabe reporter and presented as headline news leaves you in splits. There is no subject that’s a holy cow in this movie, a swipe being taken at politicians, bureaucrats, social institutions, and the holiest of holy cows, the media – local, national and international. We are given a ringside view into the business of news manufacturing, and boy, wouldn’t it have been shocking if it weren’t so funny! A juicy mantle indeed.
As the caustic sarcasm begins to wear thin, you start to look for the core, the soul of the movie. And this is where the movie disappoints. With cynicism at every institution know to man, the movie leaves you wondering where to lay your sheet anchor – family, friends, leaders and even parents and siblings portrayed to be fickle as shifting sands. As Dicaprio puts it in the movie Inception, “Everyone wants a catharsis.” This movie denies this very catharsis to its protagonist; and loses its way in the labyrinth of cynicism.
The movie is a must watch, only as long as you choose not to believe in its message.
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