The film slices together three generations of women from one family in a human story about complex relationships, secrets and lies. The story is quite melodramatic, but the delivery is pulled off with a certain touch of restraint and authenticity. This is of course in contrast to the well-known paradigm of the traditional Hindi family drama where even simple stories were portrayed with overstated sentimentality. This is not to say all of it does not exist here, it does, but the film works as an emotional melodrama, which focuses more on the drama part of it, and it's watchable all through. Spoken in several languages and having no songs, the film is very focused around its story and I'm sure many viewers might relate to many parts in it.
The narrative style is mostly conversational, which I love and always find engaging, and it heaveily relies on the presence and quality of its actors, on the dialogue and its delivery. Sadly this is exactly why film is not fully realised as far as handling of its important themes goes, such as child abuse and marriage conflict. Being such massive subjects, their presentation feels quite lacking and makes the entire project feel a little shallow sometimes. This is also true, in some ways, of the way the relationship between the older mother and daughter is portrayed. We hardly see balance there. Interestingly, the relationship between the next generation of women is better portrayed despite being given less screentime or importance.
Kajol's starry presence in such a film could have threatened the director's quest for low-key simplicity, but it's Kajol after all - a naturally gifted actress whose deep proficiency in the tiny nuances of the human experience has soared above even the limiting constraints of commercial Hindi cinema. Her Anu seems tailor-made for her, considering both her on- and off-screen persona - fiery, intense, brash, and brutally honest, but goodhearted and loving all the same. Okay, she gets to drop many F bombs, which is a little forced, but she captures the highly irritable nature of this woman who always seems on the verge of explosion and, above all, the person beneath the tough exterior. One is left hoping she'd keep experimenting with complex roles.
The supporting cast wavers, but even better is Tanvi Azmi, who gives perhaps the film's most affecting and fully convincing performance, which is measured, profound, nuanced, and composed all at the same time. Among the other players, Mithila Palkar seems to do the best of the little she's given, and she's decent although it's a big challenge to act opposite such strong performers as Azmi and Kajol. Even less convincing though is Kunaal Roy Kapur, who is not bad but who just feels very self-conscious playing this self-conscious and moralistic role. Director Renuka Shahane, herself an actress, does her best with this feature despite the restrictive nature of its setting and script. Her film is not great, but it's enjoyable and involving.
