Bollywood review: Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan, Deepika keep it locked in Piku'
Shoojit Sircar lends dignity and grace to an old man's bowel troubles
By Sneha May Francis
Published Thursday, May 07, 2015
It isn't every day that Bollywood puts the spotlight on unromantic and unglamorous problems of the tummy. So, when filmmaker Shoojit Sircar decided to focus on an old man's desire to unclog, it did leave us alarmed, amused, and a tad unsettled.
While the chuckles were unstoppable when the 2-odd-minute trailers were launched, one wondered how he'd keep up the momentum over 135-minutes of screen-time.
It's only after stepping into Piku's quirky world that we witness the brilliance of Shoojit's craftsmanship.
How he uses bowel movements to weave together a touching tale about family love, without ever employing cheap thrills or melodrama, is remarkable.
Shoojit cuts out the (Bollywood) crap, and keeps it simple, classy and charming.
Never has constipation' sounded so cool!
Like in Vicky Donor', even here, he ties it all together with his trademark humour.
"A person's emotion is connected to his motion," blares the grumpy Bhaskor, while theorizing and investigating for the perfect solution for a pressure-free existence in his bathroom.
At 70, he seems unable to focus on anything other than his potty seat. And, while his daughter might frown and grumble about his idiosyncrasies, she doesn't find it awkward to discuss minute details of the old man's poo while out on a date.
Afraid of kicking the bucket, the old man keeps his young daughter unmarried, and by his side. "Marriage without purpose is low IQ," he repeats often, almost warning her against abandoning him.
She, on the other hand, doesn't object.
It's when they embark on a journey back to their ancestral home that they rediscover each other.
Amitabh Bachchan plays the highly annoying, yet delightful Bhaskor, who is on the constant pursuit to flush out his tummy troubles, with aplomb. Armed with some killer lines penned by Juhi Chaturvedi, an adorable Bengali twang, and a cute potbelly, you can't help but cheer him on.
"Even Elvis Presley died of constipation," he announces much to his girl's disgust. "They found him in the bathroom. Who knows if he was on the toilet seat?" he adds.
Deepika matches up, with an impressive act. Some of the movie's finest moments center around her and Amitabh's noisy banter. Even when they drown each other out with their deafening voice, they strangely remain distinct. And, therein lies the beauty of Piku'.
The madness is elevated to a whole new level, when the extraordinary Irrfan steps in. The scene where they determinedly wait it out on the highway over an undisclosed knife, or when he compares humans to cows is hilarious.
Shoojit introduces a sweet romance, even as Piku resists constantly. It's ironic though that Rana, despite being boxed in a cranky family, finds happiness when sandwiched between the annoying father-daughter duo.
It's this enthralling paradox that turns Piku' into something sincerely worthwhile.
Ashwin Varde @ashwinvarde 
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