Piku review: Move over Queen, Deepika Padukone is Bollywood's new feminist heroine

Having already watched and being discomfited by Finding Fanny last year, the thought of seeing another modest-budget Deepika Padukone film a couple of road trip comedy didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. It’s rare for expectations to be smashed to aggregation and even rarer for a screenland film to try and do this with such a lot confidence. Shoojit Sircar’s Piku has arrived smack within the twilight of the years. This film options the most effective ending to a screenland show in a very long-standing, and therefore the the} stuff that happens before it's also quite pretty too.
So here we've Piku Banerjee (Deepika Padukone), a Bengali creator UN agency lives in Delhi together with her father, Bhashkor (Big B). Pappy could be a raging hypochondriac and constantly constipated , and also, naturally, extremely irritable. Everything in his life, and additionally somehow everything within the lifetime of individuals around him, depends upon his gut movements (or the dearth thereof). It doesn’t take a lot of for his antics to drive individuals insane. therefore it becomes a task once Bhaskor plans to travel from Delhi to his native Calcutta, and naturally Pappy declares traveling by flight might be problematic for his gut.
The solution? Piku must accompany Pappy on a cross-country road trip, beside genus Rana, a cab company owner turned driver (Irrfan), Pappy’s Pot and Potty assistant Budhan (Balendra Singh), and even a throne-like pot seat.



It’s improbably straightforward to dig this moving-picture show at the onset, not simply because of fun performances from Padukone, Bachchan and Irrfan, however as a result of it’s therefore darn straightforward to relate thereto. there's a Bhashkor in each family – the stubborn, bad-tempered recent man with the temper of a baby and a heart of gold. and large B portrays the character to a T - he’s a well-meaning chap, simply somewhat forward in his manner and cranky as a result of his ill health. His utter lack of sympathy for those on the incorrect finish of his self-assertiveness is uproarious, as is his unreserved innocence concerning his prickly nature. You can’t stand the guy’s eccentricities, however you can’t facilitate love him.
There’s plenty happening in Piku, and author Juhi Chaturvedi’s sturdy script plus Sircar’s solid direction somehow makes it all cohesive. The film explores fascinating themes – what do you do once the parent becomes tough to handle and is completely hooked in to|keen about|captivated with|obsessed with|passionate about|addicted to|addicted to|obsessed on|smitten by} you? however do you react once the parent is clearly upset about not having the ability to be freelance, and becomes passive aggressive to assuage his frustration? wherever do you draw a line between the parent being simply tough and being a burden? what proportion are you able to sacrifice to form a comparatively thankless invalid parent happy? Is it noble to think about moving out of the house and giving your invalid parent within the care of somebody else so will|you'll|you'll be able to} target your career and social life? What can the parent do if he thinks he’s being a burden to his children? Piku doesn’t have the solution to any or all these queries, however it's daring enough to require you thru them and cause you to think.
The film additionally makes the most effective case for ladies authorization since Queen. within the film, Piku is single, however features a casual sex life, and this truth is established terribly subtly. it's not a ‘character trait’. It's simply another traditional factor that this traditional lady will. And to high it all, even her father is liberal enough to not create a fuss over that. He expresses the occasional well-meaning concern, however he’s not the regressive honour killer that's therefore current in each in and outdoors our cinema. once was the last time you saw a Bollywood film wherever the daddy suggests to his girl that obtaining married shortly is just for those with low IQ? Last I checked, Sonakshi Sinha needed to be ‘blessed for marriage’ by seeing Ajay Devgn’s schlong. during this film, the Bechdel check is effortlessly kicked within the loopy in an exceedingly terrific ‘will they won’t they’ scene between Piku and amphibian genus that warrants a large approval for each Chaturvedi and Sircar.
Most significantly, Piku glides over all of those industrial themes with breezy lightness and consistent, well-timed comedy. this is often a road trip moving-picture show in any case, and it’s got hysterical, rapid-fire collage of cuts of the rear and forth between the trio of Piku, Bhaskkor and amphibian genus. The itsy-bitsy little bit of comedy is handled superbly by shuffling laughs and tears along sort of a pack of cards, creating Piku one amongst the additional showing emotion honest films to possess return from the business.