Gehraiyaan Review: Complex and honest, Shakun induces right amount of ‘marz and dawa’ with Deepika, Ananya and Siddhant

Director: Shakun Batra

Cast: Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Bollywood Bubble Rating: 4 stars

In a competitive world like today, with social media reigning over our lives, and our mood depending on the ratio of likes and dislikes a photo gets, we truly are living complex and ‘messed up’ lives. With Gehraiyaan, Shakun Batra, of Kapoor and Sons’ fame, dives deeper into this complex world where ambitions, love, relationships, deceit, and everything in between collides. At the surface, Gehraiyaan seems to be a story of two couples stuck within the gambit of wants and desires, but as we scratch the surface, the story carries you deeper, just like the waves at the shore.

Following his own precedent, Shakun does not shy away from spotlighting anxiety issues, dysfunctional families, love and deceit, all a result of choices made, either by you or for you. Deepika Padukone plays Alisha, a yoga instructor, who is hustling to build an app of her own. She is the type to blame her ‘luck’ for everything that is not in her control. In a six years relationship with Karan (Dhairya Karna), a wanna-be author, Alisha isn’t happy with where she is in life. Enters Tia (Ananya Panday), her cousin, with whom she grew up during her formative years and comes along with her boyfriend Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a business guy who rents a yacht to impress his investors. Quite a contrast. And as they say, “opposite attracts.”

With the feeling of ‘stuck up’ suffocating her, Alisha finds an opening for a better life with Zain, where she can be seen, she could breathe without feeling a knot in her stomach. When Zain says ‘Thoda chance Lena padega,’ a cynical Alisha ponders on the thought for the first time. The endless loop of lies hence begins, only till life comes a full circle. Amid all this, it is the sea and the crashing waves that is a silent ‘partner in crime’ to all the turmoil and doings. Shakun uses the waves and their strength of it as metaphors for the tsunami approaching the lives of these four characters at the centre.

 

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If the visuals and compelling screenplay aren’t enough, the music makes you feel so many emotions at once. It is difficult to pick one favourite track from the movie, for me, however, it will be the title track. “tu dard hai aur dawa bhi, ab addat hai humein,” is a reflection of the messed up world we embrace, a result of all the choices, good or bad, we make.

Shakun has a unique ability to make you feel empathetic towards the characters with a rather non-judgemental prism. You feel like you have been in Alisha, Tia, Karan and Zain’s place at some point in life. They are relatable, honest, messed up but still them. You want to give them a warm hug at times and smack their heads otherwise.

Ananya Panday as Tia is fun and intense at the same time. Moments where she shows a glimpse of the complex emotions she has been enduring are such a revelation. Siddhant Chaturvedi as Zain is charming yet vulnerable. He adds nuances to Zain which makes the character relatable. Dhairya Karwa as Karan has done full justice. Struggling between what you want to do and you must to, it all eventually does boil down to choices.

However, it is Deepika Padukone’s compelling performance as Alisha that really steals the show. She is vulnerable, strong, insecure yet a hustler. As layers to Alisha are unravelled, you can’t help but feel empathetic and maybe really blame her ‘luck’ for all of that, you know! You can either choose to sink deep or stay afloat. Either way, the ball is in your court.

If there is one Indian film you are planning to watch this week, let it be Gehraiyaan.

Also read: EXCLUSIVE: Director Shakun Batra on infidelity in Gehraiyaan: It is not a debate on the pros and cons of monogamy

Bhavna Agarwal

Assistant Editor at Bollywood Bubble. An ambivert who is currently high on K-dramas and K-Pop. A forever Bollywood fan, who continues to gush over solid stories and characters. Hit me up for a fine conversation over chai.

You can also reach me on – https://twitter.com/filmybugB