Ribbon

Ribbon is a subtly played yet on-your-face act of life that does not yell melodrama for a minute and breathes realism in every frame! In fact, it is a poignant and matured study of life's struggles in the Maximum City (or for that matter any other city) where young working couples go through the grinding ups and downs of life and its various shades and yet keep going on, just like a rolling reel of a ribbon!

The film works very effectively on multiple fronts:

-> This slice of life cinema tells the tale as a matter of fact without getting judgemental about why certain things happen or whose onus is it. These are characters very relatable, they are not perfect, they struggle, they lose their cool, they stand by each other as rock solid support when needed, and they also fight with each other with wild outbursts of all resentments every couple would have gone through! Co- writers Rakhee Sandilya and Rajeev Upadhyay keep all the proceedings extremely grounded and hence connect this couple to the audience right through all the trials and tribulations that they go through from beginning to end. Yes, there are scenes where the monotony of life shows up and one feels nothing much is happening, but isn't that what life is about?

-> Shoutout for the excellent work by Rakhee Sandilya, the director and her entire team! The camera work through handhelds, the neat production design gives a great sense of the cramped urban spaces, or creeky creches, reputed schools, small but thriving corporate firms and everything surrounding them! The wardrobe and styling of the leads is contemporary and is totally in sync with the tone of the film! The background score is measured and sparse as needed! The editing is lazy in parts, but I did not find the film stretched or slow for a moment! Rakhee keeps it all under her control throughout, and sucks you in to her story.

-> The biggest success of Rakhee though is the amazing performance that she extracts out of Kiearra Soni, the little child! Your heart will go out to her innocence and unadulterated smile as the story unfolds! Aashi is the hidden treasure of the film! Does not matter so much that the other side-characters don't have much to do, or can match up to this wonderful little girl or her parents!

-> And then, we have these powerhouse performances by both Kalki Koechlin and Sumeet Vyas, who bring everything to life in Ribbon! Kalki outshines her own self in a fully author backed role, and delivers one of her best performances here! Her face and her eyes is this vivid canvas of emotions that expresses everything without effort and that is what differentiates her from the rest! But, full marks to Sumeet Vyas too - he actually gets a character arch that is not fully developed in comparison and yet excels matching up to Kalki frame by frame! I hope to see him in meatier roles in many more films to come!

If cinema means a slice of life reflection for you where problems not necessarily come to a well-defined closure, but leaves you moved and disturbed; then do give Ribbon its due! Relevant films like these ought to be made and discussed, and for that to happen, they need to be watched! Go - Watch it!

This movie is a reality check - deals with all major issues in a married life. A newly married couple find out that you need more ingredients than just love to fuel a marriage. And their relationship starts falling apart by the burden of their work and parenthood. The writing is not superb( ending could have been better ) but it's cruel and real and it's almost impossible for anyone to not relate. It's more from the perspective of the mother and how difficult it is for a working lady to handle a baby while working and all that she has to face at the workplace. So a must watch for girls.

Sumeet Vyas and Kalki Koechlin have done tremendous work and it's good watch( if you are ready to face the reality).

What put me terribly off is the concocted diversity of issues that a couple face in Rakhee Sandilya's Ribbon, a sweet little film that turns sour right when you are enjoying it. But that's exactly the whole point of showcasing what a couple transforming into a nuclear family face in a metro city in India. From unabashed gender discrimination at work to familial tiffs to issues with the functioning of a household, Ribbon has it all, topped with a violent performance by Kalki Koechlin and an equally competing one by Sumeet Vyas. Parenthood hits them like a typhoon in the US and all that follows is what I like to call new-age problems that do not have solutions. Along with fitting music and numbing dialogues by Raghav Dutt, director Sandilya takes her viewers on a journey that is relatable and nonchalant, eventually taking them to the end of a cliff and threatening that she will push. Ribbon is heartbreaking but it does not fool its audience. It has its flaws - with the major one being convolution - but then indie films have stories to tell. With it with your partner and you will take away a thing or two. TN.

A good low budget gem. Has a documentary feel to it, while intimately looking at a couple's life. You feel you are living with them and that's some achievement. Kalki is a good actress and does her part well but seemed miscast because of her ethnicity for a film that's so close to being real. I did not get why the title is Ribbon though.

This kind of Cinema is being missed. I recalled Boyhood. This is so real and aptly dramatized. Kalki and Sumeet both did an amazing work. Their emotions, their struggles can be felt. That little one year old girl was also superb. I specially loved the climax and how all that made sense to title this film as "Ribbon".