Friday, December 4, 2015
DIRECTION:Pan Nalin
STORY: Freida (Sarah Jane Dias) calls over her friends to her home in Goa for a special occasion. She is getting married! Over the few days of their stay, the ladies share with each other their joys, sorrows and doubts. But does this trip have a happy ending?
REVIEW: Pan Nalin gives India an unusual female buddy film that attempts to make a statement on the growing atrocities against women. His point is that misogyny runs deep in the Indian psyche. As long as the film stays with the lives of its characters, it does well. In the first half, it is breezy, its vocabulary remains conversational and is genuinely palpable. The angst-ridden toughie Sandhya Mridul, the subtle Tannishtha Chatterjee, the innocent Sarah Jane Diaz, the affirmative Anushka Manchanda, the calm Amrit Maghera put together well-etched performances. Pavleen Gujral adds the right dose of romance from time to time and Rajshri Deshpande is a delight to watch. Together, they put together a pleasant concoction of friendship and love.
Alas, the story is never supported by a solid screenplay. The film's pace is a problem and though things gear up in the second half, it ends as a loopy mess. When the predictable climax hits with all its cliches, you feel disinterested. As the tone turns sombre, you begin feeling detached. Nalin's promising premise had more merit, but the drama dilutes it all.
The relevance of the title is also never established. There is a fleeting reference to Kali but that's about it. As for the characters, they suffer from staple issues. Nalin keeps things superficial and never offers a solution to all the issues he and his writers point out. The tirade about how women are subjugated by society repeats itself frequently and this pummeling brand of feminism doesn't work in favour the film.
Angry Indian Goddesses is a decent watch if you keep you expectations in check. It is a perfect example of how anger does very little good afterall.
The relevance of the title is also never established. There is a fleeting reference to Kali but that's about it. As for the characters, they suffer from staple issues. Nalin keeps things superficial and never offers a solution to all the issues he and his writers point out. The tirade about how women are subjugated by society repeats itself frequently and this pummeling brand of feminism doesn't work in favour the film.
Angry Indian Goddesses is a decent watch if you keep you expectations in check. It is a perfect example of how anger does very little good afterall.
