WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
In the heat of a moment, anyone could be capable of anything. Taking action when it is required, especially in harsh circumstances, is foremost in one’s mind. Yet, when the dust settles and the weight of responsibility becomes apparent, are you ready to face the possible consequences of the encounter. Best friends and upstanding working professionals Minal (Taapsee Pannu), Falak (Kirti Kulhari), and Andrea (Andrea Tariang) return home after what has become an unexpectedly frightening and complicated night out. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, three men–Raunak (Raashul Tandon), Vishwa (Tushar Pandey), and Ankit (Vijay Varma)–frantically drive a heavily bleeding compatriot, Rajveer (Angad Bedi), to the local hospital. His attacker–Minal. Soon, getting back at her is all the men desire.
Under constant threat via calls directly to them or indirectly through their rental property’s unassuming landlord, the girls strive to figure out exactly how to put an end to the harassment. Initially unwilling to file a police report as they don’t truly know who to trust, a sudden act of physical intimidation occurs, forcing a report to be made. Coming up with as many fabricated events as they can, Rajveer, along with his accomplices, make every effort to paint Minal and her friends as prostitutes while using his own higher-up connections to have Minal charged with attempted murder. At a crossroads and feeling desperate, only the surprising intervention of a former top lawyer, Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan), shines a ray of hope on the situation, with the ensuing courtroom battle commencing with one simple, yet multi-faceted, goal–justice.
Next, my Mind:
With his newest Hindi film effort, director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury delivers an incredibly formidable, decidedly convincing, purposefully evocative, and socially conscious dramatic narrative that will surely turn heads with its galvanizing exploration of sexual assault contained within a culture already rife with debates and shifts in how women are seen, treated, and/or considered within its society. All of this tension and upheaval is so accurately portrayed, enacted, and painfully realistic throughout the film, that viewers will be drawn in fully, perhaps not even realizing that the incident sparking the entire proceedings is never actually witnessed during the film itself. The utilization of building agitation, suspense, and uncertainty is what gives this film its bite, along with the characters themselves who experience it.
Pannu’s striking performance as Minal is well beyond just regular notice, as she so effectively and passionately executes the character’s nuances and multitude of emotionally-charged sequences with intensity and truthful vulnerability. Along with equally grounded and fervent efforts from Kulhari and Tariang as her loyal, just as emotionally invested friends Falak and Andrea, the three together genuinely, often achingly, navigate the troubled waters of gender inequality, mistreatment, misjudgment of character, and other lies about them so many would be quicker to believe than grant benefit of doubt. Bachchan, as always, commands the screen, especially in the courtroom sequences, with his trademark authority, impassioned delivery, and dominant presence, all of which he unleashes in Sehgal’s character in and out of court to a “T”.
Supporting, but totally vital, turns from Bedi as the arrogant, privileged Rajveer, the “victim”, who’s anything but both inside and out, Tandon, Pandey, and Varma as his close, but equally misguided, “followers”, plus Piyush Mishra as the head prosecutor, Dhritiman Chatterjee as the Judge, Mamta Malik as a wayward police woman, and Mamta Shankar as Sehgal’s ailing wife all round out the cast with wonderful performances in their own rights. In total, “Pink” will easily stand as one of 2016’s best Bollywood dramatic gems that is not only an example of Indian cinema quality, but also that even the hardest themes are not out of bounds, nor is the genre afraid to present them as not only entertainment, but ideal food for thought.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
