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The three leads casually create a lifetime of chemistry in the way they both tease and care deeply for each other. Even if their personalities are somewhat muted, their playful moments are infectious, which adds impact to the dramatic scenes. They seamlessly play the startling contrast between these friends' joyful play times and the darkly intense conflict. Wondering why everyone is so relentlessly cruel to him, Sumu asks, "Am I the only person like this?"

There's a clear message about the dangers of morality enforced by the majority, which makes many segments of society frighteningly vulnerable to abuse. A particularly violent sequence is horrifying even if it is somewhat under-defined, vividly depicting how the disapproving chattering classes can spur each other to inflict all kinds of brutality, which will only escalate unless someone speaks up for the victim. This is a remarkably personal and provocative drama that offers a glimpse of a rarely depicted culture, and it has a lot to say to everyone else as well.

themes, violence

13.Jun.19

Siddiqui and Malhotra are superb as people who are mismatched on several levels, but still notice each other. Their pairing might be far-fetched, but that's the point. And both actors add weight to the internal journeys, so this is much more about their individual experience than a romance. Indeed, the love story is so underplayed that it's almost not on-screen at all, aside from a few telling moments. Meanwhile, Jaffar steals the film with a sassy, witty performance as a formidable matriarch. And Kulkarni is also memorable as the maid Miloni has never quite noticed until now.

These kinds of class-conscious touches elevate the film into something remarkable. Batra sets these scenes beautifully, with sharply telling camerawork and understated acting that hones in on thoughts and feelings rather than plot points. Indeed, the details of the story seem almost irrelevant, simply because the trajectory of these characters is so well-known from other movies. Batra is poking fun at that as well, cleverly giving the audience exactly the ending we want.

themes, language

20.Jun.19

Performances are understated, matching the film's tone and largely relying on quiet glances. Kanjilal is a likeable central figure, clearly troubled by the issues Indra is raising with his mother, struggling with the feelings his memories are stirring. By contrast, Chatterjee is much more prickly and contradictory, struggling against her inner anger in the way she deals with both her husband and son. Her makeup over two decades is far too subtle, which makes her complaints about the ravages of age seem a little comical.

The story is beautifully fleshed out with lively side characters like Rudra, Aditi and the family maid (Banerjee), each of whom has a nice internal life of his or her own. That it takes Dutta's screenplay rather a long time to get to the point might feel somewhat melodramatic to Western audiences, who will have figured out the secret very early on but have probably never explored the theme from this perspective. And the way the characters react gives the film an unexpectedly potent kick of hopefulness.

themes

16.Jun.19