Young Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta are mighty impressive, but it’s seasoned actor Ravi Kishan who leaves you in splits. The satirical film tackles patriarchy in a dignified way.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 / 5)
By IndiaLevel Media
Kiran Rao returns to direction after 13 years with Laapataa Ladies [2024]. The original story is penned by Biplab Goswami, who had submitted it for a screenwriting contest in 2018. Aamir Khan was one of the judges. Khan, and his now former wife Kiran Rao, had loved the story that they decided to make it. Six years later, Goswami’s dream has come true. However, in an recent interview, Rao disclosed that initially this story had some dark element to it. She roped in Sneha Desai to write the screenplay, with additional dialogues by Divyanidhi Sharma. The final outcome was no dark tale, but a satirical drama.
Set in 2001, Rao largely stays clear of taking real names of places. This story is set in one Nirmal Pradesh. Given how the state of Madhya Pradesh is thanked in the opening credits, we presume this story to be based in central India states.
Though set in Hindi heartland, Rao and her writers are mindful of keeping the humble accents, but not burdening their cast with heavy local language.
Satire is never easy to pull off. The key is never to be direct or preachy. Before Rao’s ladies go laapataa (missing), there is a defining scene that captivates your imagination. The bride Phool (Nitanshi Goel) is walking behind her groom. A travelling member remarks that once a woman dons the ghunghat (veil), she isn’t supposed to look up, but walk with her eyes facing the ground. Poor Phool would never dare to bring any dishonour to her family or in-laws.
From now on, she wouldn’t lift the ghunghat at all, not till she lands in her husband’s home (room). Little is she aware that this very ghunghat would soon become the cause of despair. Phool isn’t the only veiled bride in the General Compartment of the railway train. Confusion is bound to follow, one that sees Deepak (Sparsh Shrivastava) bring home the wrong bride. When poor Phool wakes up, she finds herself lost in a place she has never heard off. Meanwhile, Pushpa (Pratibha Ranta), the wrong bride, isn’t as worried as Phool. That’s Laapataa Ladies in a nutshell.
Among the two brides, Phool is laapataa in true sense. Lost geographically, women like Phool have inadvertently accepted patriarchy as tradition. The Kiran Rao film subtly passes the message of right to dignity, education, self-reliance.
Laapata Ladies doesn’t openly condemn any practice of veil. It, however, subtly tells you that if a phool (flower) doesn’t blossom, how will it spread its beauty? Nature allows every living organism to express itself. Then why should humans hold themselves back? We reiterate, the film doesn’t call for any blanket ban on veils, it simply encourages open minds. The veil is just part of it as Laapataa Ladies also harps on the usual social ills – dowry, lust, corruption. Rao doesn’t wield any stick to hammer home her point. She wisely banks on satire to get the humane message(s) across. Sneha Desai and Divyanidhi Sharma’s quality writing, endearing dialogues go a long way in achieving the social goals. Rao’s highly skillful cast does the rest.