Film Review: PIKU

The film will keep you rolling with laughter and shedding a tear or two

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan
Written by: Juhi Chaturvedi
Director: Shoojit Sircar

The Movie

Piku (Deepika Padukone) is probably in her early thirties and lives with her cranky 70-year-old father Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) in Delhi. She’s partner with Syed Afroz (Jishu Sengupta) at Minerva Designers.

Bhaskor Banerjee suffers from chronic constipation and the movie revolves around it. BB feels that his daughter’s life should be with him and his motions rather than her setting up her own life. He does his best to discourage young men who may be interested in wooing her into marriage. He insists that women should lead an independent life and not be shackled by a husband. He doesn’t seem to mind if she’s shackled by her father, though.

My Perception

Yeah, I was revolted when I saw the promos and decided not to see the film. But then, at least three people told me that it’s a film not to be missed. And for the reason that I loved Vicky Donor. So, went to PVR Cinemas Sion with Venkat for the 11.30 pm show last night.

Amitabh Bachchan is a veteran actor, no doubt. In his role as the cranky and stubborn Bhaskor Banerjee, he has surpassed himself. Watching him walk and talk was a joy. As you sit through the film, you can’t help laugh at his antics and find him endearing despite his irritating nature. A special kudos to Senior Bachchan on his scintillating performance!

Deepika Padukone is excellent as Piku. Her expressions change from sadness to anger to joy to tears within seconds, keeping the audience enthralled. Her relationship with her father is so beautifully portrayed. She adores him despite his idiosyncrasies. Amazing performance!

Irrfan (yeah, that’s how is name is mentioned in the titles) is a great actor. His performance as the owner of a taxi service is commendable. He’s so able to relate to Piku’s pain as she deals with her recalcitrant parent, who is completely dependent on her.

The rest of the characters are well chalked out and play their roles to perfection.

Just imagine creating a film about “motion se hi emotion” without a strong storyline! Writer Juhi Chaturvedi and Director Shoojit Sircar must surely have had a lot of guts to come up with such a theme. But believe me when I say that they have come up aces with this one. The film has the right balance of humour and emotions to strum your heartstrings.

It must have taken some kind of gumption to have dialogue after dialogue describing the various forms of stools that a person can have. Piku is so used to them that it never strikes her when she talks about excrete descriptively at the dining table.

VERDICT: A truly well made film of just two hours. It will keep you rolling with laughter and shedding a tear or two.

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super

Film Review: NEW YORK

Cast: John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Irrfan

Director: Kabir Khan

What the film is about: Omar Aijaz (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is a cab owner in Philadelphia. The FBI traces a consignment of AK-47s and explosives to his cab storage area and Omar is detained. While questioning him, Omar recalls his life ten years ago when he had been a fresher from India and joined the New York State University. There he had befriended Sameer Sheikh alias Sam (John Abraham) and Maya (Katrina Kaif). Omar falls for Maya but moves away when he finds out that she is in love with Sam. After ten years, the FBI wants Omar to help them nail Sam as a terrorist. Even as Omar insists that he has not been in touch with either of his friends since seven years, FBI Inspector Roshan (Irrfan - yeah, that's what the title says) finds a way for him to get back into their lives. Whether Sam is really a terrorist and whether Omar is of any help to the FBI goes on to form the rest of the story.

What we liked about New York: Neil's acting and Irrfan's dialogue delivery - not necessarily in that order. Neil is very expressive, especially his eyes and he has done his role with great subtlety with the nuances just perfectly turning out. Irrfan's style is his own and the dialogues seem to just slip out with the right bite and satire. John and Katrina had performed well and there is not much else to say about it. The camera work and sound effects were perfect. We have to mention the editing here. It was just right - not one extra scene or an extra dialogue and more importantly, not an extra song to drag the picture along.

What we did not like about New York: This is not a fault with the film itself. But we were startled when we realised that it was a terrorist flick. We were going to the multiplexes after more than three months and wanted to be entertained - with just some fun. And believing that the film is from the Yash Raj House, we expected just that. But the dark film came as quite a shock and not the best we would have chosen for a pleasant Saturday evening.

Rating: ***

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super