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.
