The posthumous narration device (a from-beyond the grave voiceover is always tricky but the director keeps a tight grip on it) makes it abundantly dear from the word go that the focus is going to be more on the bereaved couple than the deceased girl. Just as well. Aisha's story is too well-documented to bear repetition in a two-and-a-half-hour film
Comparatively less is known about how Aisha's slow withering away affected her mom and dad, Moose and Panda to her. Of the 25-odd years that the two have been married, 18 have been consumed by their single-minded mission to extend the life of their ailing daughter and make her final years as happy and fulfilling as possible
Niren and Aditi's story of falling in love, their courtship, Aditi giving up her South Delhi life for an East Delhi chhajja, Niren surrendering himself to an untameable tigress, which frankly, he enjoys and wouldn't want to change--all help build these two characters who carry the film on their able shoulders. And, adds the pink in what could have otherwise been a very dark sky. Full points to Shonali Bose for that.
