“Pink” (Hindi) Film Review

We should have got the hint when Shoojit Sircar took  backseat and produced  “Pink” directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhary. Sircar took more time to add labels which helped the film reach more audiences – he roped in half a dozen new names and made PVR Pictures, the largest Multiplex partner, and ensured the trailer released well before the festival season as early as in July. The film delivers making the wait worth it. "Pink" is the most important film of our times – and makes a statement on everything that comes within its sweep and  audacity. The title “Pink” is a euphemism for the color usually associated with feminity and all the vulnerabilities and stigmas affecting it; it’s a color for all the stereotypes that girls grow up with as if they have to stay with that for life. Then the narrative of 126 minutes which builds a simple story of three girls getting traumatized by four Delhi boys – which stays faithful to the episode that triggered it all – then expands the unintended consequences with all the legal permutations and finally, unleashes a feisty screenplay that keeps you engaged throughout. The interval, the pre-climax and the climax  complete the emotions that surcharge this legal thriller.  “Pink” gives out consistent and loud messages to the patriarchical Indian society to re-examine the paradigms through which the law and the law-makers (mostly men) relate to and affect women.

What makes the film different from the recent legal-content films like “Talwar” is the laser-sharp focus of the director on shepherding the main story. Since the story is not in public domain but plausible, the narrative has solid pace and intensity and at many times loaded with panic-attack emotions especially in the first half. Once Amitabh Bachchan enters the fray as a defence lawyer for the three girls Tapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Taring, momentum picks up and the audience is driven to the edge of the seat with courtroom drama bereft of stupid theatrics that we usually see. The only humor in this intense and tense film is experienced  when the defense counsel Deepak Singhal (Amitabh Bachan) is at work. The cross-examination by Bachchan not only wins many hearts but hits at the nub of our banalities – those series of dialogues that he utters as “Safety Rules for girls: Rule no.1, 2,3,4” raise the heckles and mocks at the ways we label women for all the sexual attacks on them. On the other hand, Deepak's adversary on the court, played by Piyush Mishra, personifies what’s wrong with our legal system, in the way cross-examination begins and ends with an axe to grind. Piyush carries his role with a gusto that makes him both repugnant and convincing. Dhritiman Banerjee as the judge is sober and composed showing the eclipsed emotions that a judge is never supposed to show in blink-and-miss moments.  The only gaffe in the courtroom why the portraits of Netaji and Tagore are doing on the walls of a District Court in Delhi. Small obsessions of a crafty Bengali director but forgivable because of a bold story projected with impact.

Tapsee Pannu steals the show with a performance that is both gutsy and pensive. But at times, her role demanded more emoting and she falls flat. After the Telugu film “Sahasam”, this is the role that brings some attention to her. Kirti Kulhari, the other girl is more nuanced. Andrea as the girl from Meghalaya looked apt in her role and reflects the plight of women from Northeast used to the society's insensitivities. Amitabh’s under-stated presence in the first half only to take the center-stage in the second half  with a hurrah performance  is a big plus for the film as word-of-mouth publicity picks up. He has shown a delicate mixture of probity and persuasiveness while single-handedly taking on the case with pure legal acuity. His approach in the build up of opening arguments, investigation and cross-examination give you a sense of intrigue that is missing in most films that ought to reflect current dilemmas through courtroom drama. The closing arguments merely underline the recurrent theme of what it means to be an adult woman and the need for consent. Another highlight of the film is the stark contrast in approaches followed by both the lawyers. Amitabh never cross-examines any of the motley of witnesses presented by the plaintiff, he presents only one witness who surprisingly is ignored for cross-examination by the plaintiff. But the approach to examining the key accused and the victims by both the lawyers is a treat to watch.

Technically, the film’s cinematography gets the moods aligned with the tone of the narrative – there is no room for any relief in the 126 minutes. BGM score by Shantanu Moitra is the finest we have heard in years. Using a haunting medley of violins, bass and percussions, Shantanu intensifies the first half by building the tempo of the incident and then blending tensions  that leaves you restless all through until the interval. By the, the stage is set for greater expectancy and intrigue towards closure. Shantanu’s strength is in mixing different  instruments with live recording of street sounds. Going by previous OSTs of Shoojit Sircar’s films, enough care is taken by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury in syncing Moitra’s sounds with the film’s motifs and images. Dialogues are hard-hitting and reflect the usual measured metrics of Sircar’s films. In a film that is near-perfect, the few things which take away the credit are the half-developed characters of Amitabh’s wife, Tapsee’s father, Kirti’s estranged lover and so on – the director lost some opportunities for impact-making statements. The film is going to be talked about for a long time as long as the society shields the culprits and shames the victims in the stigmas and stereotypes it perpetuates. In one of his famous judgements, Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer once remarked: “The life style of the people shapes  the profile of the  law and not vice-versa.” This film drives the point of that more directly with preciseness and seriousness without sensationalising the issues. “Pink” is not to be missed at all, it is watchable but keep the pre-teenagers out of it for the disturbing visuals.

Rating: 4/5