Finally, with Piku, my prayers have been answered.
For an unabashed fan of the vintage Amitabh Bachchan of the 70s and 80s, that is me, last 10 years have not been much rewarding. Apart from the occasional Paa and Cheeni Kum, I have been watching this colossal talent being wasted in trite, melodramatic patriarch roles and over-the-top dialogues - more of the same, actually.
I have longed to see Amitabh Bachchan stepping out of this enforced centrality and gravitas of his "Big B image" more often, exerting himself out of the comfort zone which has been thrust on him. For all these years, I have been waiting for him to do something irreverent, funny, delightfully enjoyable and ordinary, which many of us remember him doing with so much aplomb in films like Chupke Chupke.
That is why I say - finally, with Piku, my prayers been answered.
Piku is the latest directorial offering from Shoojit Sirkar wherein AB plays a cranky, old, overbearing, and severely constipated father - B Banerjee - to a totally stressed out, young entrepreneur Piku, played by Deepika Padukone.
Theirs is an edgy relationship with lots of demands from Banerjee and lots of reprimanding from Piku, with Banerjee's constipation playing more than a bit role. Choudhary, played by Irrfan, inadvertently gets caught in this crossfire but adroitly assuages the situation, adding an interesting dimension to the story.
The story, frankly, does not count for much but it is the interaction and relationship between the characters that 'drives' the movie. Shoojit has to be applauded that he has taken a wisp of an idea and developed it into a genuinely funny film.
Deepika has played the central role of Piku with aplomb, never exceeding and never falling short of the required emotion. Irrfan is already established in an orbit wherein his acting prowess need not be discussed. He shines through and through with his usual subtlety. For me, though, the takeaway is Amitabh Bachchan in his effortless (what am I saying!) and charming portrayal of an old Bengali gentleman who loves his life and his daughter very much, in that order, but finally learns to let go.
A must watch. Specially for old fogeys like me, who are still hooked on to AB of the yore. And for the younger lot. To discover why.
For an unabashed fan of the vintage Amitabh Bachchan of the 70s and 80s, that is me, last 10 years have not been much rewarding. Apart from the occasional Paa and Cheeni Kum, I have been watching this colossal talent being wasted in trite, melodramatic patriarch roles and over-the-top dialogues - more of the same, actually.
I have longed to see Amitabh Bachchan stepping out of this enforced centrality and gravitas of his "Big B image" more often, exerting himself out of the comfort zone which has been thrust on him. For all these years, I have been waiting for him to do something irreverent, funny, delightfully enjoyable and ordinary, which many of us remember him doing with so much aplomb in films like Chupke Chupke.
That is why I say - finally, with Piku, my prayers been answered.
Theirs is an edgy relationship with lots of demands from Banerjee and lots of reprimanding from Piku, with Banerjee's constipation playing more than a bit role. Choudhary, played by Irrfan, inadvertently gets caught in this crossfire but adroitly assuages the situation, adding an interesting dimension to the story.
The story, frankly, does not count for much but it is the interaction and relationship between the characters that 'drives' the movie. Shoojit has to be applauded that he has taken a wisp of an idea and developed it into a genuinely funny film.
Deepika has played the central role of Piku with aplomb, never exceeding and never falling short of the required emotion. Irrfan is already established in an orbit wherein his acting prowess need not be discussed. He shines through and through with his usual subtlety. For me, though, the takeaway is Amitabh Bachchan in his effortless (what am I saying!) and charming portrayal of an old Bengali gentleman who loves his life and his daughter very much, in that order, but finally learns to let go.
A must watch. Specially for old fogeys like me, who are still hooked on to AB of the yore. And for the younger lot. To discover why.
(Star cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan, Deepika Padukone, Jisshu Sengupta, Moushumi Chatterjee, Raghuvir Yadav)
