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
