Review About Alia Bhatt-s- New Movie Darlings
DARLINGS is the story of a woman trapped in a violent marriage. Badrunissa aka Badru (Alia Bhatt) is the daughter of Shamshunissa Ansari aka Shamshu (Shefali Shah). Her father passed away many years ago. Badru and Hamza Sheikh (Vijay Varma) are in love with each other. After Hamza lands a job in the Railways, he proposes marriage. Both marry and shift to a flat in Barha Chawl, Mumbai. Shamshu also resides in the same chawl, that too on the same floor.
The idea picked from domestic violence presented with a mixture of comedy is not easy to play but Darling stars Alia Bhatt, Shefali with Vijay Varma, did a very well job in the hit movie. The direction of Jasmeet K Reen movie present how the abuse happened against women and men in our daily life. Nothing justifies the actions of either, but it’s interesting to see the story pan out in a way that it never really looks unsettling.
Story
Hamza Shaikh (Vijay Varma) and Badrunissa Shaikh (Alia Bhatt) love each other. Hamza gets a Railway department job and both get married. They move to a mid-range flat in Mumbai. After a three-year married life, we see Badrunissa being tortured by Hamza atrociously who also turns a boozer. Shamshunissa Ansari (Shefali Shah), the mother of Badrunissa who also stays in the same colony, keeps suggesting Badrunissa to get rid of her husband by killing him. But Badrunissa doesn’t accept this. Badrunissa says she wanted to change him by having a kid. Also, she desires to live in a good apartment which Hamza denies. Hamza goes to an extreme extent and abuses her physically way more awful. What did Badrunissa do? Was she successful in changing her husband? This forms part of the rest of the story.
Vijay Varma who did good roles in quite a few films gave an equally good performance. His act as a sadist husband is nothing short of brilliance. We get the feeling to punch that character in the face. In simple words, that’s how he lived in his character. The dark comedy is well written and presented. It comes according to the situation and is embraced elegantly into the story. The police station scene in the first half is an example of it. The theme of the movie is clearly established by the director. The best part is it doesn’t generalize things.
Jasmeet K Reen’s direction is excellent and it is difficult to imagine that this is her feature film debut since she has handled the subject so well. The topic chosen is correct as several may relate to it; and it’ll be cathartic for them to see how Badru and Shamshu teach Hamza a lesson. Also, the film doesn’t get complicated and is narrated so simply that it can appeal to a large section of the audiences. Yet, a few aspects and nuances are creative and enhance the impact. For instance, the way the mother and daughter communicate through the window is lovely. Moreover, Badru dressing up in the hot one-shoulder red dress but making sure to not hide her scars is memorable. On the flipside, a few developments are very convenient. It is also bewildering why Hamza doesn’t scream for help when he is kidnapped, especially when it’s established that what happens in their house is heard by other residents around. Lastly, the redevelopment angle and Shamshu’s cooking business track don’t somehow gel well with the principal narrative after a point.
Alia Bhatt delivers yet another award-winning performance. She gets into the skin of her character beautifully and looks absolutely convincing as the devoted wife who has simple dreams for the future. Her badass transformation is also portrayed flawlessly by the actor. Shefali Shah lends able support and as expected, she takes the madness many notches higher. Vijay Varma delivers one of his best performances. One can’t help but hate his character thanks to the way he has portrayed him. Roshan Mathew is adorable and gives yet another fine performance. Kiran Karmarkar raises laughs. Vijay Maurya (Inspector Rajaram Tawde) is decent and the same goes for Santosh Juvekar (Constable Jadhav). Puja Sarup (Noor; beauty parlour owner) leaves a mark. Rajesh Sharma (Kasim Kasai), Ajit Kelkar (Raman Kaka) and Divya Vinekar (Constable Divya) are fine.
