‘Pagglait’ review: A small town film with big heart

The story of ‘Pagglait’ is rather like its protagonist Sandhya. Each refuse to behave the best way they're anticipated to.

You'll assume the story of a just-married younger lady who's widowed proper on the onset can be sombre drama; all of the extra as a result of the societal subjugation she tackles is the principle focus of the plot.

The movie, nevertheless, refuses to mourn, identical to Sandhya. Taking a refreshing however practical method to the aftermath of loss, writer-director Umesh Bist unfolds his satire with light fingers. Like its heroine, the movie’s temper stays irreverent, unaffected by the grim actuality that backdrops the narrative.

Sanya Malhotra performs the small-town widow Sandhya with unbelievable authenticity. She is alone in her room, amidst a home filled with grieving family members. Because the digital camera pans on her for the primary time, she is seen sifting by means of social media, studying out condolence messages despatched to her following the demise of her husband, Astik. She lets out a yawn over the ‘copy paste’ messages and moments later, when requested if she desires a cup of tea, nonchalantly replies she would like a cola.

Sandhya’s perspective leaves some members of the family puzzled and others miffed. A relative, Ghanashyam (Jameel Khan), who habitually quotes Shakespeare, helpfully suggests she is affected by PTSD. Her mom (Natasha Rastogi) tries to push back the evil eye on the sly, at the same time as Sandhya chooses to sneak off together with her finest buddy Nazia (Shruti Sharma) for a fast feast of Indian roadside snacks whereas Astik’s youthful brother performs the grim activity of finishing one more needed ritual within the wake of his sibling’s demise.

A household coping with the lack of a cherished one, who additionally occurred to be the only real bread earner of the home, is lovingly approached by Bist. As every layer of the story is steadily peeled again, so are the feelings of every member who finds themselves caught in several phases of the grief cycle.

Bist’s storytelling delves into what drives Sandhya’s psychological indifference at Astik’s demise with out turning the movie into bleak fare. But, ‘Pagglait’ isn’t flippant in its method both. The movie makes its remark about repression of girls with out being too loud about it, particularly within the climax. Actually, the tip might appear predictable when it comes, nevertheless it works for this story.

The flaw within the narrative maybe lies in its necessity to justify Sandhya’s actions. Merely by no means being near Astik throughout his lifetime might have been sufficient for Sandhya to take the step she does after his demise. There was no want to usher in sub-plots to drive the purpose residence.

It's evident {that a} mourning family in a small city milieu will see the prolonged household converge, which in flip would imply a surfeit of characters and their respective biases. The issue is that not all characters or sub-plots are correctly fleshed out. Because of this, actors of the calibre of Rajesh Tailang, Ananya Khare and Jameel Khan stay underneath utilised.

Nonetheless, these actors handle to go away an influence regardless of the restricted footage they get. Actually, the movie is enriched by effective performances from your complete solid, high lined by Malhotra in one in all her finest acts but.

‘Pagglait’ is a honest try, at entertaining in addition to at imparting its touch upon girls’s empowerment with out getting too fussy about it. — With inputs from Bindu Rai, Leisure Editor

‘Pagglait’ is streaming now on Netflix.