Laapataa Ladies

Such a beautiful way of story telling. Humour with a message hidden in it. Amir Khan productions should be a school for aspiring film makers. The way the characters are portrayed strike a chord with the societal norms. Ravi Kishan who is playing the cop is the soul of the film. Other actors too have played their part very well. The set up in the 90s is wonderfully displayed on the screen. Characters listening radios, cyber cafe etc etc. The movie sends a strong message for woman empowerment and the upliftment of women in the society. The women still being considered as some sort of slave in the society when artificial Intelligence is surpassing human intelligence.

Today, I went to the theatre to experience Kiran Rao's new movie, "Laapataa Ladies." I was stunned when I watched the movie. The performances, storytelling, humor, and social messages were outstanding. Initially, I wasn't very interested in seeing her new movie, considering Kiran Rao had directed only one movie in her career, "Dhobi Ghat." However, knowing that she is Aamir Khan's ex-wife and has been a co-director, writer, and producer of many good films, I decided to give it a try.

Let's talk about the movie. The cast is entirely new; actors and actresses are all new faces to me. But they gave their best in the movie, especially Pratibha Ranta and Ravi Kishan. The social message part of the movie was really good, highlighting how women were treated like servants or slaves. They showed various issues, including agricultural problems, that exist in India.

The movie is set in the 20s era when mobile phones were just introduced in India, and the only game was the snake game on Nokia mobiles, so there was no internet, no Gen Z, and no adult scenes. It was a purely cinematic experience. The girl who stole my heart is Nitanshi Goel. She is so cute, man. I loved her. She is now added to my crush list.

Anyway, you should watch this movie if you want to see some good wholesome social drama. This movie will absolutely win your heart. I give this movie 4.5/5. Lastly, I want to share something that happened in the theatre. A guy who was working at INOX, where I watched the movie, asked me, "Sir, boi ta kemon laaglo ar etake apni koto star deben out of 5." I told him the same rating that I gave in this review.

Laapata Ladies is a sort of film that is very rare these days. A satire that is an eye-opener for the audience and needs everyone's attention. With unknown cast, limited budget and great script, it's a movie for all age-groups, every gender and is bound to go a long way.

This Kiran Rao's tragicomedy of two brides in rural India who accidentally get swapped during a train journey while returning from their wedding. Their misadventures after this strange event will make you laugh and the same time think about the social taboos a women has to go through in our society.

Ravi Kishan playing the cop investigating this case is a delight to watch. Very subtly and hilariously he gives movie the much needed comic side that perfectly balances the emotional cause for which the movie was made. Probably one of his best performance till date.

Newcomers Sparsh Shrivastava (Deepak), Nitanshi Goel (Phool) & Pratibha Ranta (Jaya), they all justified their casting by giving some of the memorable performances. Hats off to all of them.

Wow. What a rewarding experience. Laapataa Ladies is an amazing nostalgic trip to the days of Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's cinema of simplicity, morals, values and the common man. This is the kind of movie that makes its audience care for and invest in its characters. This is the kind of movie that makes its audience believe that there is goodness in the world. This is the kind of movie that makes its audience want to watch movies for its relevant and real content, its natural and realistic performances, its gentle lessons on morality and humanity with a drizzle of subtle humor. Unfortunately this is also the kind of movie most audiences wont watch in theater because they consider it OTT material. But this is the kind of movie that will make its audience come out of the theater with a smile on their face, a contented heart and a serene soul. This is what "a small movie with a big heart" really means.

Every aspect of the movie is stellar. The story is simple yet complex as it very delicately manages to comment upon multiple social issues without preaching about them. The humor is satirical but not sarcastic. The story is fresh and gives enough room for all its characters to breathe, take appropriate shape and find their respective arcs. Each character has been written with care and given the required attention. The two titular Laapataa Ladies, the devastated husband in the village searching for his wife, his mother who has even forgotten what she really likes, his shy sister in law with a hidden talent that even she isnt aware of, the sour grandmother who also seeks a friend to talk to, the disillusioned but helpful Manju Mai at the station, the lovable chai serving kid Chottu, the somewhat corrupt police officer with his simple minded but good hearted constable and the female constable who came through sports quota etc etc. All characters in the movie have been created with a lot of love and honesty and they have also been played brilliantly with an equal dose of love and honesty.

Ravi Kishan as the police inspector is the only really well known name in the cast and he delivers a mighty and nuanced performance. Nitanshi Goel and Pratibha Ranta as the Laapataa ladies showcase what natural and realistic acting should actually look and feel like. Satendra Soni is a somewhat familiar face but now he deserves his name to be remembered also. Geeta Agrawal Sharma has rightfully become the Go-To actress for the "good mother of a struggling, poor household" role after great performances in 12th Fail, OMG2 and a small but nice appearance in Fighter. Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam, Rachana Gupta, Durgesh Kumar and many others have given heartfelt performances that deserve attention and applause.

It may seem like the world is overflowing with negative vibes, bad people, unfortunate situations but just like a lotus grows in muddy, murky waters, the inherent goodness and kindness that exists in people sparkles in Laapataa Ladies. This is something that cant be captured on camera with big budgets, bigger stars, flashy costumes, state of the art VFX etc. It requires heart and that is what Laapataa Ladies has in abundance. Kudos to Kiran Rao for capturing the best and worst of human nature with such a delicate and warm touch. This is a movie that deserves to be experienced in its natural environment, a movie theater. It will not give you the adrenaline highs of a big budget blockbuster but that lovely smile on your face, that feeling of content and happiness that this movie gifts you will last much longer than you could ever expect. Must Watch Cinema.

Amazing movie... loved the storyline & characters Special mention for Nitanshi Goel ,an actress that I was not familiar with but put in a powerful showing of her emotions as Phool, the way I felt pity for her and wanted to protect her the entire time and then felt proud of her in the last scene .. impressive! So I am sure we will see her in more mainstream movies in the future.

Ravi Kishan puts in a very strong performance as Manohar and really makes the audience stunned with the plight of his character and the unfair rigged system that he gets up against in the end.

Every character was amazing. Definitely worth a watch for the whole family.