UDTA PUNJAB

In my opinion: A little slow but a Must watch. It shows the menace that a whole generation is facing. Irrespective of the baseless controversy, this movie would have been successful due to the positive word of mouth that it will generate.

(P.S: Even if you download and watch keep the young ones away, or else be ready for expletives like BE****D to come out next time they get angry or in a fight. Or better they might ask you to get a hair cut with, FUDDU carved on their sides. ) 

Remember the gruesome reality of the region beyond the last malls of Gurgaon that was told last year in the movie NH10? Well, it turns out that Sudip Sharma, the writer of NH10, had more in his bag to deliver. So this time he teamed up with Abhishek Chaubey, another brilliant writer/director of Ishqiya fame to create a story that shows a disturbing piece of realty with characters that will help everyone to understand the menace and politics that has clenched a beautiful part of the country in its vicious grip. They make an honest attempt to show the real ‘HIGH’ that has taken over Punjab in UDTA PUNJAB.  

  Four main characters of the movie; Tommy (the Rock star Junkie aka FUDDU), Pinky (the victim aka Ikk Kudi), Sartaj (Single star A.S.I aka Pagg wala munda) and Preet(Doctor aka Crusader against Drugs)  all act like tyres for this ride, and none of them falls flat throughout the span of 148 minutes, making it a smooth journey to the cinematic world (reality) of Punjab and back.   

       

  Not revealing much of the story here, sorry I forgot that has been taken care of by Mr. Nihlani and team. Will talk about it in a while, what needs to be talked about, are the performances.

Alia Bhatt!!! You Rock girl! After Highway she has proved that she likes to push her limits as an actor and boy she does, every time. Though it was nowhere close to Bihari accent, but you will be glad to see that she tried. As the Alia Bhatt that the world knows to be the hip chic, such roles define her potential and also the heights to which she will rise in the years to come. Take a bow.

Shahid Kapoor, went mad and enjoyed the eccentricity to the fullest. A scene where he comes in front of police officials shouting ‘I AM THE GABRU’ is hilarious. He put his best foot forward (with shoes that had wings) to play a Drug addict Rockstar who is an idol to millions. His self-realization was also nicely tackled by the director. Till Intermission a few of you might question, why is this character in the movie? Parr Kaake, thandd rakkhi, Interval toh baad sabb pata lag jaana hai!

Kareena Kapoor Khan, looked her role and performed it with ease. She had a role that was probably the easiest of them all in terms of characterisation, having said that no one can take away the fact that she has performed it gracefully. Sad news for all “Aditya-Geet” fans, though in the same movie with Shahid Kapoor, their characters don’t share on screen space at all.

This is the debut of Punjabi Actor/singer Diljit Dosanjh to Bollywood and boy; he did come with a BANG! Diljit did not let Sartaj’s character fall weak even for a second in front of well-established Bollywood superstars. Aggression with which he beats TOMMY in jail and the cuteness with which he approaches to kiss Dr. Preet, both are portrayed with equal honesty by Diljit Paaji.

“Khush karr ditta, Oye!”

Also for those who are not aware of the fact that the most beautiful lines that Shahid’s Character hums in the hospital, “ikk kudi jida naam mohabbat”, are sung by Diljit Dosanjh, listen to his version , if you haven’t already. I am so glad finally this multi-talented actor has arrived to Bollywood station. Hope other directors take note of him. 

All others have supported well, but Satish Kaushik needs a special mention, brilliant as ever. The boy who played Balli was also good, with almost no dialogues he pulled it well as a junkie.

The authenticity of this film is not just in the topic that it touches but the way it does. The language, the way dialogues are written and delivered, those small little things taken care of are what make it worth a watch. Let’s give the film makers credit for it, Thank You Abhishek Chaubey and Anurag Kashyap for believing in a beautiful script, being courageous enough to invest in something like this and putting your foot down when it needed the most. RESPECT.

 The only department I thought could have been better was, Editing. The Guy Ritchie style of film making requires some really awesome editing, just saying.

The film’s music matches the mood and storyline but “Ikk Kudi” is bound to stay with you for a while. (P.S: Please read the lyrics before you hum the song in public, heard some weird lyrics while someone was busy humming the song on my way to work).

Coming to the topic of Piracy, The Print clearly shows the watermark of CBFC. First they don’t allow the movie to come out as one from the CBFC Table and when one fights for and gets the permission legally, this is how low a blow one can try.

What needs to be understood is that people behind the scene put in a lot of hard work, money and themselves to bring it to life. The question that needs to be asked is when after so much of hard work something is submitted with good faith to the board, how did it leak? Also if they can’t even protect a movie that has been in the news and was being discussed in the court of law, how do they take care of other works? This kind of leak and if it will be supported, will ensure that what we deserve is movies like Grand Masti, Mastizaade etc.

Our film industry is trying to push its boundaries with UDTA PUNJAB, so let's help it FLY HIGH, and watch it in a theatre near you.  #PiracyDiMaaDi  

I leave you with the image below to ponder over.