Pataakha Reviews | BO updates - Page 3

The collections are low because of the clash with Sui Dhaaga.They should've chosen a better date. This film is anything like Manto and other Netflix films. It's an out and out entertaining commercial film.

taran adarshVerified account @taran_adarsh

taran adarshVerified account @taran_adarsh

Vishal Bhardwaj's Pataakha is a masterclass on how a skilled editor can make the most flow-free film... well, flow. The story is the equivalent of the 2001: A Space Odyssey scene where the astronaut goes about his 360-degree jog in the space shuttle there's movement, there's forward motion, but we seem to be stuck in a loop. Badki (Radhika Madan) and Chhutki (Sanya Malhotra) are sisters who cannot stop fighting. For about ten minutes, the catfights and the coarseness (of language, of attitude, of the perpetually stained teeth) are fun, completely at odds with the feminine, flowery names of these sisters: Genda Kumari and Champa Kumari. But then they fight some more, and Dipper (Sunil Grover, who's hilarious) provokes them some more, and they fight some more, and Dipper provokes them some more...

The repetitive structure of the screenplay based on Charan Singh Pathik's short story Do Behnein is intentional, sure. Bhardwaj, these days, can't seem to sneeze without snotting out a metaphor. The sisters are stand-ins for India and Pakistan. When they address their father (an excellent Vijay Raaz) as bapu, it also seems a nod towards... Bapu. Plus, there's an assertive bride from Nepal, a grandmother who represents America, and some talk about batwara (partition). The acting is uniformly good and this well-crafted film is never unwatchable, but the repetitive rustic shtick feels hollow after a point and becomes wearying. It's left to Sreekar Prasad to imbue Pataakha with constant sense of forward motion the buildup to a massive set piece, after the sisters get married, is extraordinarily done. (There's a bit of fun about the identity of the grooms, but it's already been spoilt in the trailer.) But it isn't enough. Even Bhardwaj's music fails to deliver fireworks. The title promises an explosion. You get a half-damp squib.

taran adarshVerified account @taran_adarsh