This is the story of Sandhya Giri, a young woman widowed within few months after her arranged marriage. To the surprise of those around her, Sandhya is unable to grieve for her deceased husband as she finds that he was little more than a stranger to her. The story unfolds over the days when she along with the extended family go through the motions of last rites and picking up the pieces of their hitherto carefully ordered life. Sandhya embarks on an inner journey of discovery of her husband, his world & rediscovery of her own self, her priorities and purpose in life.
Despite dealing with a dark and difficult theme, writer-director Umesh Bist succeeds in consistently mining sparkling humour from the morbid moments as well the muddle of the mundane household milieus (like the calling bell tunes) in equal measure and with effortless ease. Conversations suffused with sharp wit and impressive art direction create an authentic lived in feel of a house nestled in the bylanes of small town India.
The movie benefits from the abundant talents of a top notch supporting cast consisting of a mix of dependable veterans like Ashutosh Rana, Sheeba Chaddha, Raghuveer Yadav, Rajesh Tailang, Sayani Gupta, Jameel Khan along with the rest of lesser known actors who excel in their respective parts. Ashutosh Rana and Sheeba Chaddha are exceptional as the grieving parents smouldering in sorrow after their catastrophic loss and trying to get a grip on their chaotic reality.
Nevertheless, the movie belongs to Sanya Malhotra who is spectacular as she gets into the skin of her character of Sandhya Giri and owns it completely. This is a superlative performance as she manages to effortlessly navigate between moments of morose loss and mirth and is sure to establish her as an actor par excellence.
Umesh Bist's writing strikes a subtle balance at multiple levels - adding healthy doses of humour while avoiding caricatures; has its share of poignant moments without descending into loud melodrama; manages to capture the complex dynamics of an extended family without creating any evil villains. While Pagglait might share some resonance with Vikas Bahl's Queen, I reckon it is a bigger challenge to pull off and director Umesh Bist deserves kudos for his deft handling of this difficult theme.
OTT - NETFLIX
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