Tribhanga (Netflix film) review :
Noted actor Renuka Shahane's directorial debut called Tribhanga explores multiple relationships through its three main characters transcending generations - grand mom (Tanvi Azmi), mother (Kajol) and her daughter (Mithila Parkar). Packing in the inter-familial conflict with feminism, child abuse, gender bias and whole lot of women centric issues, it appears the debutant director has bitten off more than she can chew.
Not that it is a bad effort, on the contrary, Renuka deserves praise for handling certain scenes with the right amount of grace and sensitivity. Like the scenes involving the step dad played by Kanwaljeet Singh (endearing). But somewhere, the screenplay appears hurried up to pack in every element at crisp one and half hours which makes me wonder if it was more suited for an elaborate web series than a film.
Expectedly, Kajol is excellent in the main role. The actor clearly rises above the script here and how!! Tanvi Azmi is equally good as her mom who sacrifices a lot to follow her writing passion. Mithila Parkar leaves a mark even in a small role.
On the other hand, the male characters appear ill written and totally caricatured. Kunal Roy Kapoor's performance borders on buffoonery and irritates to the hilt. Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, playing Kajols brother, isnt able to justify his character at all. The problem lies in the writing which is obviously tilted towards the female cast at the cost of crucial male characters. Indeed, a balance was needed here to make the resultant conflicts more identifiable and relatable.
Another drawback is the needless cussing done by Kajol's character. Sorry but all those F words only act as a distraction.
All said and seen, even with all its plus and minus, Tribhanga is one of the better films I caught in recent times on Netflix. Forget the AKs and Dolly Kittys out there, you can watch Tribhanga if you have subscribed to that OTT app. A one time watch, yes!!
Regards,
Sumeet Nadkarni.
