29/14
The first Indian film to receive the prestigious Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024
Synopsis
In Mumbai, nurse Prabha’s routine is interrupted when she receives an unexpected gift from her ex-husband. Her younger roommate Anu tries in vain to find a place in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend. I really wanted to like this film I have heard so many positive reviews but for me it is not a masterpiece and is just another forgettable film that does nothing spectacular.
The third story is about an old woman who is thrown out of her house
The film is about a Malayali nurse who works in Bombay and lives far away from her husband, shares a room with another nurse who is engaged, and both of them struggle to find a place. To my dismay, the film indulges in too many clichés to the point of being downright predictable and boring. The protagonist desires a connection, even if she avoids it, in many points she is the superego of the film, she silences the desperate cries of others with sayings, but in the end she tries to imagine the light in the darkness of her loneliness.
In many ways it reminded me of The Remains of the Day by Ishiguro
in this the roommate is her antithesis, she has no inhibitions, she is in love with a Muslim boy and they are looking for a place to make love. Recognizing the beaten path of a story of a submissive woman, she shows herself to be too upright, almost like a nun, in fact the soundtrack of the film is taken from a song composed by an Ethiopian nun. The story of the roommate and her boyfriend didn’t add much to the story other than the filler sex work, personally I’m not a big fan of nudity and out of place sex in films but.
This story goes nowhere and was therefore disappointing
The story of the old woman started as a social commentary on class and the hidden rules of society, at one point she wonders if she should face the reality of her existence or give in to the illusion like everyone else. She ends up leaving the city for her hometown. Overall the film doesn’t tell anything new, it doesn’t punch you in the stomach like Salaam Bombay but it doesn’t make you gloomy like The Lunchbox.
saying everything that hasn’t been said before through the film
you can’t help but admire Payal Kapadia’s skill, I have seen numerous Bombay films but nothing captures her like this film does, but I had a feeling that… especially in the second half of the film – she was trying hard to make every story come together and come to a conclusion. I wouldn’t call it a bad film at all, it’s clever and well made but it falls short.