papukamakshi

I loved the close-ups. Amitabh Bachchan's aging, watery eyes, his perfect dentures, and his lopsided hanging mouth convey a wealth of emotion and life experience. So also the close-ups of Deepika Padukone's subdued indulgence towards her crotchety father, and Irrfan Khan's obvious exasperation as well as his ill-disguised mirth at his own harmless mischief.

The writer has meticulously followed through with details that are dangled here and there—a grown woman forever dressed in a nightgown, for example, or the image of the sitar—the film opens with sitar music, returns as Amitabh Bachchan plays the instrument, and fleetingly shows up as a visual image in the portrait of the woman, presumably Piku's deceased mother of whom we hear so much.

There is much to love in this beautiful film for every one of us who has known what it is to see a beloved elder grow gradually impossibly dependent on us. That is the story part, which is really strong. If I were a very young girl, I would have sat my mother down and told her the story, leaving out nothing of the enchanting and memorable episodes that follow one another, lighting up our imagination with the luminosity this film achieves in the shots of Delhi traffic or the Varanasi skyline.

Piku works exceedingly well as a film. The interiors of all the homes we see tell their own stories. People are dressed for the part. They eat food that we can almost smell and taste, and even feel the frustration of the characters when the first bite of the crisply fried fish lacks salt.

All of the characters deliver their punch lines with perfect timing. I am going to enjoy for a long long time that episode where Syed and Piku have a disagreement about why he said "hmmm." That is great comic stuff, just one of the many hilarious moments I hope to recall every time we talk about this jewel of a film.

I saw it twice within the space of a week. I might go again, because the DVD version is not likely to do this film justice.

Everything about "Margarita with a Straw" is worthy of note. I loved the storyline, the treatment of it, the portrayal by the actors of their respective characters, and the development of the theme of physical disability and how individuals cope and live their lives to the fullest. When the film ended, I did feel a lump in my throat, especially when I read the dedication by Shonali Bose.

I personally understood a few things better about cerebral palsy after I saw this film, and that has made an impression on me. Yet, when it was all done, I had a feeling that I had seen a fine documentary rather than a feature film. The flat realism of the narration distanced me from the destinies of the characters, and the jagged pacing of the screenplay hindered a deep involvement with the emotions of the very attractive characters.

I wondered, too, why the main characters had to experience a full hand of exceptional circumstances—being affected by cerebral palsy, she is bisexual, her romantic partner is blind, and her mother is in a serious situation. These loaded circumstances of the main character's life made the film's focus thin. As for the acting, kudos to just about everyone.

I was pleasantly surprised that the tiresome Hindi film style of portraying a person with disablities was entirely dropped, and the director wisely avoided histrionics. I am glad I saw it, even if I don't rate the film as great cinema.