You cannot afford to miss this!
Genre :- Courtroom Crime Drama / Social Thriller.
Runtime :- 2 hours 20 mins.
Cast :- Amitabh Bachchan (Deepak Sehgal), Piyush Mishra, Tapsee Panuu (Minal), Andrea Tariang (Andrea), Kirti Kulhari (Falak), Angad Bedi (Rajveer), Dhritiman Chatterjee (Judge).
Director: Aniruddha Roy Choudhury. (Roy)
Plot - Two parties. One accusing the other of molestation and the other, soliciting. Which one of them is lying?
Well, the trailer is pretty confusing, right? And I won't break much of it either. The mysterious, the better.
Sorry not sorry.
- It's portrayal of a system involved with the influential people in pestering the innocent is something we would all have seen, heard of or experienced closely at some point in time and can empathise with.
- Have you ever being judged by the society for clothes you wear? The time you return home from work? Your gestures and friendly attitude? Friends that you have, friends from the opposite sex for that matter? Whether you drink or smoke? Attend parties? You are an independent woman living on your own in a rented apartment and not with your family?
Mostly, Yes.
- Doing the above makes you a woman of questionable character in the eyes of our Oh-So-Liberal society.
Because, you are a woman and "acche ghar ki ladkio ko yeh sab shobha nahi deta" *slow claps*
▶ Direction :- The Direction is top class. Roy takes inspiration from Sujoy Ghosh (Kahaani) for the story telling. But for a debut feature film, Roy has nailed it. One of the best parts about this film is the fact that it visually never shows you the actual incident, up until the end credits. The story is based on the happenings. Therefore, you are forced to vividly visualize and read between the lines of the characters and this helps in building the mystery well.
▶ Editing and Cinematography :- Editing is fast-paced and crisp. Not at any point, is the movie dull. The Cinematography is enigmatic and gives a pleasant experience.
▶ Script :- The beauty of Pink is that it is highly relatable. This could happen to you or any of your friend and that’s why it’s so enthralling. Every single detail right from the prying neighbors, the sniggering co-workers to the indifferent cops, has been taken care of. The movie has been beautifully written by Ritesh Shah and not one, but many social beliefs that the society holds against modern women have been addressed through this movie.
- The setting of the film is in Delhi and before you start to have a problem with that, let's not forget all the cases in the past few years in Delhi that has eventually made it the sexual harassment capital of our country.
- The script rightly raises the point of harassment against North Eastern girls. Andrea's character is from Meghalaya and she admits to being fed by eve-teasing and discrimination many a times because of her being a North-Eastern.
- It is a smack in the face of those who question the way modern women choose to live and the way they dress. And also to the women who misguide people by donning the coat of Feminism, 'This is how it should be done'. Murugadoss, are you listening?
▶ Music :- The background score by Shantanu Moitra is a piano note that keeps ticking, as though almost racing with our thoughts. The movie features one beautiful song that runs in the background and blends in, perfectly.
▶ The Highs :-
➡ There are certain moments in the movie which certainly would bring tears to your eyes. There is a scene, where after the incident, Minal (Tapsee) is commented upon as the girl involved in 'Surajkund Kand', she just puts the hood of her sweatshirt on her head instead of retaliating, Amitabh Bachchan removes the hood.
➡ There’s a wonderful moment when Falak (Kriti) is ready to apologise to Rajveer. But a conversation with him enrages her so much that she screams at him defiantly. After all, this is a man who believes that ‘aisi ladkiyon ke saath aisa hi hota hai’.
➡ I walked out of Pink shaken to my soul. Not because this film is telling us anything new. But because the trauma these three women go through is exactly what Indian women, urban and rural, face on a daily basis. But Pink makes it surreal that your flesh crawls.
➡ The courtroom scenes are cut to cut without any unnecessary scenes about interrogations and finding the proofs, or any songs for that matter; without reducing the scenes to a slapstick punch (Like was seen in Rustom) and keeping it interesting for the viewers.
➡ A much- needed jolt to their senses, this film embraces realism wherever required and furnishes a story that is divinely appropriate and fabulously timed, just to convey an important message of consent that :
When a woman says NO, it means NO. (Be it your wife or girlfriend.)
▶ The Lows :- The 150-minute drama does, of course, have its share of flaws, but not substantial enough to affect your viewing or enjoyment.
➡ We find a lack of detailing in Bachchan's character, as to why is his wife dying or how he tackles the bipolar disorder.
➡The courtroom scenes don't always sample realism, but that can be forgiven as a cinematic liberty is taken into consideration by Roy and writer Ritesh Shah.
➡The political clout which the male group were relying on fails to advance inside the court and we don't see them blackmailing the girls once the trial starts. Strange.
➡ Also, we don't fathom the idea of Bachchan sporting a gas mask every morning he goes to jog. *Thinks*
Maybe because it's the overtly polluted Delhi? Yesss! Smart.
➡ But, one doesn't have time to pinpoint these petty flaws in the film because of the remarkable performances by the cast and the strength of a well-written script.
➡ Performances :-
▶ Speaking of Bachchan, no compliment is big enough for him. At the age of 73, he continues to exude the same fire that was the signature of his 'Angry Young Man' avatar in the '70s and '80s. Not many actors can just stand and gaze and still make it look like a visual spectacle. And the moment he unleashes his famous baritone it multiplies his screen presence tenfold. The way he exclaims "Etcetera Etcetera Etcetera" is sure shot to give you goosebumps.
▶ Piyush Mishra, who plays the role of the prosecution lawyer, is at the top of his game. His performance will make you hate him so much that you’ll chuckle and clap every time Big B gets on to him with his Class-1 comebacks. And we meant that as a compliment to him.
- The lead trio's perfect chemistry is the anchor of this film, as is their appearance and attitude. They come across as real-life friends and real-life middle-class working women living in south Delhi. Full points for that.
▶ Tapsee as Minal, the accused, is so fierce; her facial expressions speaks more than her dialogues. Good going, girl.
▶ Kriti Kulhari as Minal's friend Falak, does a convincing job as the ordinary working woman, who is co-erced to admit a crime which she hasn't even done.
▶ Andrea Tariang as Andrea, does a
brilliant job as the North-Eastern friend. I am glad that this time, Bollywood who has a problem with this part of our nation, has actually cast a Meghalayan actress for the role, unlike what they did in Mary Kom - where they wanted a bigger star. Bleh!
▶ Angad Bedi as Rajveer, the one with the political influence, is so comfortably bad, you want to kill him with your bare hands.
▶ Mamta Malik as the investigating officer Sarla Premchand, gets her act and haryanvi accent spot on.
▶Veteran Dhritiman Chatterjee as the judge is superb.
▶ A special mention to an excellent performance by Vijay Varma as Rajveer’s friend Ankit, who makes you loathe him for his air of masculine entitlement.
Also, the supporting cast is marvellous. There is not a single soul in the movie that doesn't hit the right cord.
↪ Right from the loving, caring landlord who won’t evict them despite threats from a nosy neighbor.
↪ To an estranged boyfriend who says he can either be truthful or liberal.
↪ The 3 overtly arrogant men, deeply preaching misogyny and male chauvinistic mentality.
↪ A cop who wants to refrain them from filing a complaint.
↪ And the lawyer who goes to any extent, asks irrelevant questions and seeks intimate details, to humiliate and deter the dignity of our women
The movie has it all.
▶ Verdict :- "Pink" is gritty, relevant, and a well-executed film that demands immediate viewing for it will be quoted in numerous occasions as we leap forward with a backward mind. *Sighs*
▶ Watch or Not ?
Definitely. Absolutely. PLEASE !
In order to clear all that dust from our society's spectacles, this film is a must watch.
▶ Ratings :- 4.5/5
🙏❤ PRIZMI TRIPATHI ❤🙏
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