Review: 'Laapata Ladies' achieves incredible feats of fun & feminism, disguised as a relatable small-town saga

Serving a dose of nostalgia with a splash of feminism and a huge dollop of humor and emotions, director Kiran Rao seems to be fine form with her latest directorial, Laapataa Ladies. There has been an incessant push with the promotions for this film for a while now, and while it may deter a few, it almost seems fitting that a film like this, which will find it difficult to have a large amount of eyeballs and big flocks coming into the theatres - might just need this consistent flurry of promotional activities to stay on one's mind and Instagram's feed. Coming back to the film, Laapataa Ladies is the kind of film that disguises itself as a small-town story but is a commentary on so many things without ever being preachy or monotonous. Having had the chance to see the film beforehand, here is what I thought about it-

Rao has made sure to never lose sight and focus when it comes to world-building, To be caring about these innocent, goofy and rather lovable characters, it is important to be transported to this world entirely. And creating a fictitious town of Nirmal Pradesh set in 2001 just seemed to be the way to go. Throughout the little nuances of a newlywed young couple travelling through multiple modes of transport just to reach their village and facing the most basic problems during travel, Rao establishes the mood right away. You know immediately that an innocent mistake is going to happen, and that will set in motion - a chain of unprecedented events. 

Humor & Subtlety Supreme

Every scene is knit and carved incredibly well into what forms a seamless progression of the storyline, never compromising on emotions and humor. And when it indeed comes to humor, it is also so understated yet extremely funny, especially at the expense of several characters. The story never allows you to feel detached, and for a setting like this, that is a huge feat to achieve. Amid all this, Rao doesn't skim on the nostalgia aspect as well, where the old train compartments, unhygienic toilets, bus journeys, clothes, and so many other aspects contribute to your feeling for these characters, even more, owing to the sheer reliability they possess.

A Veteran Guiding The Newbies

And when it comes to the performances, the three young actors are absolute knockouts. To be able to extract a performance so authentic, raw, real and yet supremely effective is a gargantuan task, and director Rao is able to do that with finesse. Especially Nitanshi Goel, who isn't a stranger to the camera at all, where she has been a small-screen regular and a social media influencer for the longest time; but even then, being a tender teen, she is able to perform Phool with the right mixture of innocence, worry and just pure emotions. It was such a masterstroke to cast a veteran like Ravi Kishan here as the main Inspector because she would have known that in his hands, the entire world is safe and sound. And it surely works wonders. Being his true amazing self, Kishan performs the role of the investigating inspector with humor, love, and unforeseen feminism, where you feel like getting on your feet and applauding him. The likes of Durgesh Kumar, Chhaya Kadam and Geeta Aggarwal assist as well as you would imagine them to do so.

The Verdict

In the end, Laapataa Ladies is a gentle story of love and women's rights that are made palatable and, actually, very entertaining with humour and knockout performances. It would be easy for anyone to ridicule and have a preconceived notion that this film 'is not for the masses', but you cannot be more wrong. It is for the masses as much as any commercial potboiler can be - in a different way, yes, but it definitely is and should be enjoyed and supported on the big screen.

Rating - **** (4/5)