Piku is a 2015 Hindi feature film directed by Shoojit Sircar whose previous assignments include highly successful films like Vicky Donor (2012) and Madras Cafe (2013). Written by Juhi Chaturvedi, Piku stars Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan, and Moushumi Chatterjee in the major roles. The movie revolves around a Delhi-based father-daughter duo hailing from an upper class Bengali family. Bhaskor Banerjee, a 70-year-old widower, is an aging hypochondriac whose only real trouble is his chronic constipation. Piku Banerjee, a 30-year-old successful architect, hasn’t yet managed to find herself a worthy suitor, partly because of being fully devoted to the cause of looking after her pesky father (who selfishly wants her to stay single and serve him), and partly because of her own short temperament and promiscuous sexual tendencies.
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| Amitabh Bachchan as Bhaskor Banerjee in Piku |
When Piku decides to sell off their ancestral house in Kolkata, Bhaskor, who is adamant on keeping the property, cajoles her into taking a 1500 Km road trip from Delhi to Kolkata, citing his health issues for not wanting to travel by air or rail. When the regular driver doesn’t show up on time, Rana Chaudhary, the owner of the taxi service company contracted by Piku’s organization, fills his place. Rana, who lives with his grumpy mother and annoying sister, is a civil engineer by profession. After he gets fired by a company in Saudi Arabia, he returns to India and takes over reins of his dead father’s taxi business. Unbeknownst to Piku, Rana secretly admires her eccentricity, willfulness, and social independence. The road trip allows Rana to see Piku up close. It also allows Piku to let go of her prickly façade and understand herself better. As for Bhaskor, it’s a rare opportunity to break free of his monotonous life and reunite with his family in Kolkata.
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| Deepika Padukone in Shoojit Sircar's Piku |
Part family drama, part road movie, Piku is a unique cocktail of human emotions that tugs at our heartstrings, making us laugh and cry at the same time. Piku delivers a serious message about life in an altogether non-serious manner. It teaches us about the meaningfulness of life while depicting how most of us fail to savor its true pleasures while we still can. How instead of embracing the life’s unbridled happiness, we waste our time seeking materialistic pursuits, constantly cribbing over trivial matters. How we allow loneliness and solitude to slowly creep into our lives while remaining completely ignorant of the eternal joys of the universe. How we fail to find solace in the company of our loved ones and let our ego and not love to dictate the decisions we make. How the generation gap between the young and the old keeps widening with passing time. How death takes away everything save the memories which stay with us forever.
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| Irrfan Khan as Rana Chaudhary in Piku |
The strongest point of Piku (apart from direction and screenplay) is the performances of Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone. While one expects nothing but the best from stalwarts likes Mr. Bachchan (a great follow up to his remarkable turn in R. Balki's Shamitabh) and Irrfan (he seldom disappoints… and Piku is no exception), it is Padukone’s performance that’s the biggest surprise of the movie. First Finding Fanny (2014) and now Piku, without make-up looks seem to suit Padukone really well. We all have seen her in numerous glamorous avatars in big banner Hindi films but here we get to witness a very different side to her. Padukone's character epitomizes the 21st century Indian woman for whom self-respect and social independence are as important as the love for her family (perhaps, those who have seen Vogue India’s “My Choice” dedicated to women empowerment can relate to it better). It’s quite heartening to see a modern Indian actress like Padukone try her hands at something new and challenging. Yesteryear actress Moushumi Chatterjee’s cameo in Piku is another high point of the film and few the scenes that she share with Mr. Bachchan are quite memorable (who can forget their sizzling romantic number "Rimjhim Gire Sawan" from the 1979 movie Manzil?).
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| A Still from Shoojit Sircar's Piku |
Overall, Piku makes for a great family viewing and can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. The credit goes to Sircar and team for concocting up a simple but meaningful film about life. As alluring as the road trip from Delhi to Kolkata itself are the resplendent shots of the Ganges at the holy city of Varansi, captured during the early morning as well as in the night. Some of the scenes towards the end of the film brilliantly capture the bewitching beauty of the enigmatic city of Kolkata. It’s quite heartening to see Sircar pay tributes to the great Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray on a couple of occasions in the film (first, in the opening scene itself, we get to see a portrait of his hung on the wall... second, one of the characters makes a reference to the master India filmmaker's body of work... perhaps, the name Piku is also based on a character in Ray's exceptional short film, Pikoo's Diary) Piku’s innocent toilet humor may be at the receiving end of some flak from certain sections of audiences but most viewers will certainly appreciate the spirit in which it’s done. Piku will certainly prove to be a great experience for those looking for a nice family outing. But, if your sole aim is escapist entertainment then Piku would certainly leave you cold. Recommended!
Readers, please feel free to share your views/opinions in the comment box below. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!
References:
Piku (2015) Trailer
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