Gehraiyaan

If you are expecting an over-dramatic service to universally accepted stereotypes or masala, please understand that you might not be the intended audience for this movie, and that is okay. There are no tongue-in-cheek quips or punchlines in this one.

This is a movie about the intricacies of modern-day relationships in a world of businesses and ethics. Startups and investor funding. One-income couples and power play in relationships. Generational wealth. Mental health and addictions. Family secrets and how hard they are to bottle up, especially when kids grow up.

I never write reviews, but I had to or this movie. I commend Shakun Batra for the honesty he maintained throughout this movie. This is not a manual to life. He is not telling you what is wrong or what is right. He is only showing you people in different scenarios and how differently they act if certain variables change. Or better yet, how internal and external pressure influences us.

Deepika has no problem portraying silent angst and a pensive protagonist at the receiving end of fates' short stick. I think that was already established from the trailer. Her role as Alisha was very believable. Her character development into near manic for rightful reasons was somehow portrayed with enough anxiety and just the right amount of grace that you almost empathize with her. Kudos to her for choosing such a morally grey character and playing it with such conviction while emoting the required uncertainty that the character always had in her aura.

Siddharth always wows me whenever he is on screen. This is primarily because of how much he embodies such brazen characters when I see him fumbling (in an endearing way) during the recent promotion interviews. He was very convincing as Zain. A US returnee, a go-getter, a hustler of sorts with a deep understanding of the loopholes in finance and business who badly wants to establish his name in stone in India. In fact, all seems to be going in his favour until it isn't. There we begin to see how well he portrays a man falling apart while keeping up the facade of 'I've got it all under control.' His growing chemistry with Deepika was nicely captured.

Ananya Pandey, Finally a role where she is not all floss and candy. Frankly, It was a breath of fresh air seeing her in such a relatable role. Not as an upper-class Indian but as a woman who was madly in love. At the same time, she had unshakeable feelings about his intentions and actions and how her subsequent actions dictated the happenings of the plot without her even knowing.

In a movie where all the characters are different shades of grey, so was Dhairya's character Karan. Was he loving or dismissive and selfish at times? He played all those human complexities quite well. For a character that was supposed to garner maximum sympathy from the audience, the real-life plot and portrayal just showed him as another spike on the wheel.

Special shout out to Naseeruddin and Rajat for their commendable performances as well! Bringing the non-judgemental and judgemental views respectively to the story as needed.

CON: We could have done without the multiple wave shots. We get it, depth. I swear we get it no need to remind us 100 times!

This movie has a high rewatch value, and I look forward to this type of cinema as we continue to evolve as an audience.

The weakest part of Gehraiyaan, I thought, was its abrupt transition into a crime thriller. This was always destined to be an emotional drama, and the unexpected jump in pace startled me, and not in a very reassuring way. That aside, the drama bits are fantastically done. The contemporary struggles and feelings of two lived-in couples are splendidly captured. The leads, to my surprise, have incredible chemistry. What also helps is the character texturing. It's a family affair (pun intended!) alright, and leaving some dots deliberately disconnected for that end reveal made that climactic exchange between the characters of Deepika Padukone and Naseeruddin Shah a lot more impactful. Padukone also depicts breakdowns and anxiety attacks as they are, in a remarkable performance. Also liked how they ended it with effective throwbacks to phrases like "small world" and "the past always catches up." While the songs, visuals, and some of the dialogue carry the feel of regular Bolly fare, I'm glad they don't weigh the film's engagement factor down.

The movie Gehraiyaan has no depth in the writing. Shakun Batra's failed to deliver a compelling movie like Kapoor & Sons (2016), here his direction is just mediocre. The first half is a half-baked romantic drama and when in the second half the film takes a different turn, it falls flat. Deepika Padukone delivers a good performance and Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday & Dhairya Karwa were average in their roles.

Direction 2/5 Acting 2.5/5 Dialogues 2/5 Story 2/5 Screenplay 1.5/5.

Its journey of 148 minutes (including 16 minutes of pre and post credits) which finally takes you nowhere , neither its realistic nor it's entertaining to disappoint me further its not even as dark as I thought it would be . If you can sail through the first ninety minutes which will surely test your patience and intelligence then you will be rewarded for the last 40 minutes but when it concludes it feels like the writer could not handle the force he had unleashed in third act and leaves the end very conveniently where it does . Movie does try to add something with very last scene but then its credit leaves you with a movie which you would forget sooner than the time you had spent anticipating watching it after coming across the trailer or promotions .

In the first two acts of this movie most scene sequences are cut abruptly when it moves from one to another and it's noticeable . What seemed to be good cinematography from trailer isn't so in the movie , with mediocre scenes and the wave you see in trailer is the only wave you will see across the movie . Performance of Deepika Padukone is commendable but I feel it fails to be memorable given the weak and forgettable script . Naseeruddin Shah and Rajat Kapoor do their job with perfection in the limited time they are allotted and for other actors you can judge them with your perspective and taste as you go on a hectic journey but for me they were not that enchanting . Back stories and past of each character which seem much more interesting than what is going on in the present are never explored except small flashbacks and in dialogues.

Only thing that would leave a long impact on you is the song Gehraiyaan by Lothika except that everything else is unnecessary noise which you won't regret even if you don't watch this movie .

Special Mention : Movie explores the theme of infidelity ,depression and trauma but never gives real weight to either of these topics and lets it just flow like meaningless waves instead of depth.

Honestly expected so much as the film had Deepika padukone in the lead & is directed by Shakun batra who made Kapoor and sons. Gehraiyan begins on a decent note but loses the plot almost immediately.

There is no build up to things and events start happening for effect(can't reveal more as that would give spoilers). Story does not go anywhere and the affair scenes become repetitive. Relationship complexities, traumatic past dont evoke any emotion as they are wayward. Too much focus on one character.

The sub plot of financial, corporate issues makes it worse. Just when you think story is headed somewhere, comes a turn which is so bizarre you can't wrap your head around it. Last act is illogical.

Songs, deepika's acting are nice. The Look of film is good but what use is all that when film fails overall!

It is all way too convinient, and ending is so abrupt. Seriously disappointed!.