LAAPATAA LADIES: Refreshing, charming and thoroughly entertaining

By

Sharada Iyer

Away from the world of glitter, glamour, designer garments, brands and star power, director Kiran Rao takes us on a delightful ride into a world of cinema very few would dare to tread today. Set in 2001, against the backdrop of a village in Madhya Pradesh, every frame is perfect in this heart-warming satirical tale which basically revolves around the lives of two brides and is a perfect amalgam of humour and irony.

On the face of it, though ‘Laapataa Ladies’ or ‘missing ladies’ as the title conveys narrates the tale of two brides who go missing soon after their wedding due to unexpected circumstances, but beneath this tale the narrative also exposes how the women in rural India unknowingly end up losing their own identity bowing to the diktats or norms laid down by our patriarchal society. In a way, the women in our country sometimes lose themselves by letting go of who they were before their marriage to become the person they are expected to be after their marriage.

The simple plot starts when the groom- Deepak, is departing with his new bride- Phool, after the wedding ceremony to his village. She is advised very strictly to henceforth cover her face completely with her ‘ghoonghat’ or veil, never to lift it in public and learn to walk only looking down. The couple somehow manage to board the train and are soon squeezed into a typically crowded compartment packed with people pushing and pulling each other. Ironically there are two more newly-weds travelling by the same compartment wearing very similar outfits and all three brides looking almost same with veils covering their faces.

As expected, when the station arrives in the middle of the night, our hero pulls the sleeping bride and gets down and covers the rest of the journey holding her hand without seeing her face. After reaching home when her mother-in-law requests the bride to show her face, the groom and his entire family are in for a shock as the bride is a new face unknown to them. Her name is Pushpa Rani.

So, while the family is wondering how their son could have been so foolish to bring home someone else’s wife, the absurdity of the custom of wearing a veil hits the viewer in a subtle and hilarious way. This is the kind of template maintained throughout the narrative which becomes the biggest plus-point of the film and engages the viewer from beginning to end. We are invested in the characters wondering what will happen to them at every step.

Meanwhile the real bride Phool, who had been left sleeping in the train wakes up to the shocking truth of not knowing where her husband is and why he abandoned her. She does not even remember the name of her village properly and being all alone is afraid to ask for any help also. Both the husbands lodge a complaint in their respective police stations for their missing wives and when they are narrating the circumstances, one cannot help but laugh at the way it has happened.

While one of the brides is a little naïve, the other one is more of a fighter.  What happens to the two brides? Do they find their respective partners? Or, do they decide to accept their fate and adjust to the new circumstances and make new friends? Or, do they take their destiny in their own hands and decide to carve a new path for themselves? How do the husbands react and what is their take on the situation?

The film needs to be watched to enjoy the plot as it unfolds. There are many funny moments and some touching situations as well. There are thought-provoking scenes which make us ponder at the way our society has been functioning in the same regressive manner like a well-oiled machinery without ever changing gear. But there is a glimmer of hope as well as the film tells us how to empower ourselves when things do not go the way we had expected and how we can change our fate if we bring about even a small change in our thought-process and our way of thinking.

The film never gets over the top in its messaging and is in fact laced with subtle punches and humour at every step and yet the irony hits us throughout while we are watching. Therein lies the strength of this gem of a film which boasts of a superb screenplay, excellent dialogues, brilliant acting, enjoyable songs and above all outstanding direction.

This story is so relatable and believable that it could be happening anywhere in our country. Director Kiran Rao dons the director’s hat and deftly steers the proceedings in a way reminiscent of our films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Basu Chatterjee where content and characters were the mainstay and the names and actors portraying them were secondary.

The choice of the cast comprising of many new faces needs to be lauded because their acting is what holds the film together so well. All the three protagonists-Sparsh Shrivastav as Deepak, Nitanshi Goel as Phool and Pratibha Ranta as Pushpa Rani are perfectly cast and have come up with brilliant performances conveying a range of emotions and at the same time bringing about their vulnerability in the situation. The chemistry between all actors is commendable.

Ravi Kishan as the paan-chewing bribe-taking inspector is spot-on and Chaaya Kadam as the tea-stall owner is splendid. It was a nice change to see the credit titles in the beginning appear in Hindi with the film title appearing in English, Hindi, and Urdu as they did in an era gone by.

Not everyday does one come across a film like this which is simplistic and heartwarming, yet carries a powerful message laced with wit and humour. The two brides ended up discovering their true selves by getting lost and anyone watching can also be inspired by this film. Kudos to Aamir Khan Productions for yet another well-made film and to a big shout-out to the entire team of Laapataa Ladies. The show that I went for was nearly packed to full capacity and people were clapping during the film in many places.

The film ushers in a ray of hope for the revival of meaningful and entertaining middle-of-the-road cinema for Bollywood…