Laapataa Ladies
Director: Kirin Rao
Year: 2023
Duration: 122 minutes
Music: Ram Sampath
Rating: 8.0
Aka - Lost Ladies
This Hindi film is one of the most feel-good
films I have seen in ages. It warmed the cockles of my cold cold heart, but
it never feels like it is manipulating you. The emotion and mood are organic.
It is directed by Kiran Rao who had been married to Aamir Khan for years
before they were divorced, but it is still his production house that is behind
this. She brings a feminist eye to this film, but ever so gently slips it
into the story as it goes along. Though the premise is a bit farfetched,
it feels so natural and the acting is so real that you just go along with
it. Two fabulous performances from the two female leads - both in nearly
their first films and which they got awards for. But all the roles are filled
with lesser-known actors who fit perfectly. To some large degree this could
be considered a Parallel film - ie not Bollywood - but there are a few low-key
songs that play over scenes.
Deepak (Sparsh Shrivastave) and Phool (Nitanshi
Goei) have just gotten married. A love marriage. She is adorable and barely
looks old enough to drive. They are lower middle class without much money
and to make their way to his family farm in a small village they need to
take buses and trains for hours. She has to wear a red sari with her veil
covering her face at all times. As one woman tells her, now that you are
married, you need to learn to look down at your feet to see where you are
going because the visibility through the veil is so poor. They get on a train
with a few other newly married couples all crowded into a train car. A few
of them compare dowries, but not Deepak. When they get to the final destination,
he grabs her and rushes her off the train - and home where his extended family
welcomes them and ask why she still has her veil on. You are with family;
you can take it off. Imagine the surprise when it isn't Phool but another
woman saying her name is Pushpa (Pratibha Ranta). It all happened so quickly
she says that she never had a chance to tell him that he had the wrong woman.
Meanwhile sweet Phool is still on the train sleeping near the man who thinks
she is Pushpa.
That is the farfetched part of this - but
the film settles down into a sweet humanistic story that touches on so much
that is cultural to the country and the religion. Women's roles in society,
within the family, expected behavior, male dominance, government politicians,
the police and more are all brought into the film. One thing I was unaware
of is that it can be considered disrespectable to call your husband by his
name. Phool gets off at a station as does her "husband", but he is a shit
whose first wife "burnt" in a fire when she could not have children. She
doesn't go off with him but finds friendship with a few people who live around
the station - the woman (Chhaya Kadam) who runs a food cart and takes Phool
in and teaches her about what shits men are. "I kicked out both my husband
and son for taking my money and beating me up", but Phool's love for Deepak
is deep and true. As is his for her. He will find me, she keeps telling her
new friend.
But she can't remember the name of his village
and is lost. Pushpa on the other hand has no desire to reunite with her husband
that was an arranged marriage. She settles nicely into this warm family but
has her own agenda. Being free. Even the cop (Ravi Kishan) who initially
seemed like a corrupt cop in a terrific comical performance turns out to
be at heart a romantic. If only people were this kind in real life. By the
end, I completely bought into these characters and their lives. These days
I think we all could use a feel-good movie. Me for sure
