Those who watch FashionTV or have shopped in posh malls must have noticed short videos where male and female models could be seen strolling to nowhere in designer outfits in surroundings that are muted but rich – what we call the expensive matte finish of emulsion paints.
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One often wonders what happens in the lives of these people beyond these picture-perfect images. Do they ever shout? Do things very get messy for them? Does financial constraint ever come in the way of their relationships? Can these characters find their way into a full-fledged feature film, once in a while?
In the past, Zoya and Farhan Akhtar have offered a slice of life into the lives of this privileged lot, without being judgmental. Here director Shakun Batra goes a step further as he painstakingly dissects the lives of a set of upwardly mobile young people who love to surf in more ways than one
Alisha (Deepika Padukone), a yoga instructor, discovers that she is stuck in a relationship with her live-in partner Karan (Dhairya Karwa), an advertisement executive who has chucked his soul-sucking job to become a writer. Alisha’s cousin Tia ( Ananya Panday) is getting married to Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a cool, ambitious businessman who seems to have not lost his sensitive side in the stock market.
When the four vivacious souls meet, Alisha and Zain strike a chord because of their similar past experiences and modest backgrounds. Zain wants to come out of the influence of the overbearing parents of Tia, and Alisha finds that she is in danger of being reduced to a doormat if she spends more time with Karan.
As sparks fly, we get to see a passionate romance between Deepika and Siddhant under the guidance of intimacy director Dar Gai, perhaps a first for Hindi cinema. The evocative background sound and Kaushal Shah’s immersive cinematography ensure that the embrace of mighty waves doesn’t remain just a Discovery Channel kind of shot.
- Director: Shakun Batra
- Cast: Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajat Kapoor
- Storyline: Alisha Khanna’s six-year long relationship has grown monotonous, her career seems to be going nowhere. But just when she had begun to accept this reality as unchangeable, her life is usurped by the arrival of her cousin, Tia and her fiancé
The trailer was all about sensuality shot with a soft lens, but Batra, like his last outing Kapoor & Sons, soon digs deep into facades. Beneath the killer attitude and flimsy attires, the romantic drama holds a mirror to our manicured generation. That vocabulary apart, it was not that the previous generation used to get stuck only in traffic jams. Their bonds also developed scars, but perhaps they didn’t have enough courage to find avenues to move out. Or were they a little less self-seeking?
The generation that Batra deals with here is all about options. Moving on has become a catchphrase, without realising it is a spherical world. The film quietly impresses upon that like in big corporate houses, there is an evaluation gap in relationships as well which young boys and girls want to fill through means that are not always honest.
The best part is that the four writers don’t allow the script to become long-winded. There is space for silences, brooding, deep inhales and the emotional turmoil to seep through. The conversations and performances create a vivid lived reality. The space could be distant for some audiences, but it is never escapist.
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The dialogues are short and smart, and often provide the character sketch. For instance, when Karan remarks in jest that he thought Tia was potty-trained when she referred to her pottery training, it is not more than just a witty response. It gives us a sense of Tia’s naive personality who cannot easily figure out what her boyfriend was up to.
For a long part, Zain seems Zen-like in his relationships: cool, calm, and collected. When Alisha gets stuck, he advises her to look out for herself. But as he unravels, we realise it is a hollow credo, something Karan, who comes across as a chauvinist till then, pointed at early.
It is the little twists that keep us invested, as the romantic drama has been structured and edited as a thriller. Crucial information is held back and characters behave against the type to pull little surprises, till the satisfying end, like the tenuous bond between Alisha and her father (Naseeruddin Shah) that stays with you and leaves a lump in the throat.
Both Deepika and Siddhant have been able to portray the emotions of being with somebody who is both the ailment and the cure. In a tailor-made role, Deepika is effortless in portraying both the sassy and vulnerable aspects of Alisha.
Easy on the eyes, Siddhant plays the flawed Zain with conviction. Ananya is the surprise package as Tia. One thought she is fit only for the ebullient part, but she is persuasive till the end. Dhairya provides good support and Rajat Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah add heft to the proceedings from the sidelines.
More than just its gleam, Gehraiyaan needs to be relished for its deeper meanings and heartfelt performances.
Gehraiyaan is currently streaming on Amazon Prime
