Okay, a review after like 2 years? Forgive me if this does not appear in the length and text of what you are used to on my blog. Some oiling is necessary, and it is probably an unforced error that Laapataa Ladies should be disserviced by my fingers.
I had an evening free (a luxury I know is going to end come August), and so chose to utilize this opportunity to get out and do something in Mumbai. There were three movies I wanted to watch (Laapataa Ladies, Crew, and Madgaon Express). I chose the one I had seen the trailer for, and had laughed. It seemed like an indie film which deserved all the love and encouragement movie-goers can give. Also, the premise was an interesting one. Laapataa Ladies it was. I had also heard positive reviews from more than a couple of friends. I stay in Dadar East and the nearest multiplex is Palladium in Parel. No kaali-peeli would go there. Had to fork out 350 bucks for a cab. The ticket itself was just 150.
Anyway, for all its luxury the PVR Icon seats were like Shivneri seats for me: not at all comfortable.
I expected the movie to be a comedy in the line of Malamaal Weekly. But that it was not. The humour was more contextual and subtle. The mannerisms, language, the interaction between social mores and the state, between young love and upending expectations, and the jokes - sucker punches because of an alien setting - all contributed to an excellent experience of a feel-good movie. A slice of life where the slice has an unexpected shot of 18-year-old scotch in it. The spectators savoured it, and the helpless characters couldn't handle it.
The actors have all done a fine job. They bring that rustic and village-weary look, of being helpless against nature and the powers-that-be, of being hopeful nevertheless. Sparsh Srivastav is a fine Deepu. Of course, a special shout out to Ravi Kishan as the corrupt but good-at-heart (?) policeman. The people were the kind I only see in statistics or movies like these. Like one expects this in India, but these places are Kanha and Bhopal and Khajuraho. These are places like Surajmukhi, Murti, Patela. Names you don’t hear, names you don’t care to know unless you are setting your story in these 'imaginary' places. The movie, however, does not exoticise the same for our enjoyment. I think that deserves praise. The entire opening sequence of the groom getting the bride home via multiple means of transport. The songs in the region's dialects. All of them add to the charm of the movie.
Coming to the feminism part. Of course, coming to it. Well, yes it is a feminist movie. The fact that I went to the movie without expecting the important role the ghoongat will play metaphorically, and without expecting it to be ‘a movie with a message against patriarchy’ meant that as I drew that conclusion it was a surprise. It was a positive surprise, and the messaging was obvious after a while, but it was not shoehorned into the movie. It was nice to be gently let into it. The question of whether you needed a male authority figure (the policeman) to also contribute towards saving the female lead, brought back similar arguments made during Pink, with Amitabh Bachchan doing the same in that movie. In this case, considering the setting and the point where the script was, I think it did not seem out of place. Could it have been written in any other way? Sure, yes, but this is the story of a small village in the middle of nowhere steeped in patriarchy. Can this be interpreted in a way that men themselves also need to step up to destroy the patriarchy? – Maybe.
My favourite shot was when at the end, Phool takes the ghoonghat, instinctively, to draw it over her head, but stops midway and walks beside her husband unveiled.
Heh, both Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were thanked in the movie. But not Chhattisgarh. Though in the movie, there is a line about how Chhattisgarh was also a part of Madhya Pradesh.
I did not expect it to be directed by Kiran Rao. Or being an Aamir Khan Productions (I had not read that part beforehand). I thought it was a small unknown indie production completely. But yeah, I don’t know how to feel about that. I watched it to spite those random nationalistic military movies like Fighter and whatnot. So that such small niche nice movies get patronage. Khair, at least the message will reach: enough with the guns blazing all-the-same movies. Give us more such content.
Please watch it if you can still, in theatres. And do not miss it when it comes to streaming (Netflix as per the opening credits).
Rating: 4 beards/ 5
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