Spoilers ahead…
After watching Gehraiyaan, I continue to get the feeling that I got after watching Kapoor & Sons: Shakun Batra comes across like someone trying to work his issues out through his movies, the way writers exorcise their demons through stories. Or is it just coincidence that his films – Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921), and now, Gehraiyaan – are about children with puppeteering parents? This time, the parent (the mother) appears mostly on the phone, on video calls, and the child is Tia (Ananya Panday). Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi), too, has a monster father. Is Shakun also creating a movie-world of his own, where each film is a chapter? Tia was the name of the Alia Bhatt character in Kapoor & Sons, and like in that film, we get a writer here.
I think it’s redundant now to say that Shakun Batra belongs to the ever-growing cadre of Hindi filmmakers who think in English, so I’m not going to harp on the odder-sounding lines: “Don’t you want ki book publish ho?” or “Dad ko temper issues the!” I don’t know why he just doesn’t make his films in English, because his characters all act in that Hollywood way, that Hollywood style to the extent that they barely seem Indian. Every scene seems to have been style-coded with a look book: not one colour that doesn’t belong to the palette is allowed to peep in, not even in the form of a tie. There is so much good taste that if the film farted, it would smell like perfume.
But the bigger problem in Gehraiyaan is that the only depth is in the title. The story has Zain engaged to Tia, and he falls for her cousin Alisha (Deepika Padukone), who has a boyfriend, Karan (Dhairya Karwa; this is the writer-character). Tia is the best-defined of the lot. She is a child-woman who lives in a big, rich bubble – and her monster-mother never lets Zain (who was middle-class) forget that he has been allowed to enter that bubble. Karan has quit his “soul-sucking” advertising job to write and Alisha – a yoga teacher – is left with the bills. When Karan hurts Alisha and leaves, Zain happens to come by, and they make love. They have flirted mildly earlier. Now, the “mild” turns to “wild”.
And there begin the issues. What does Alisha feel the day after cheating on her boyfriend? We get a scene where she makes a wince-face when Zain rings her doorbell. She has her hand on the doorknob and her look says “What am I doing?”. Or it could be saying “Damn, I thought it was a one-time thing.” Or it could be saying “Fuck, I am not just cheating on my boyfriend but also betraying my cousin.” But almost instantly, these feelings vanish and they go to bed. And they go to bed. And they go to bed. And they go to bed. What does Zain feel, by the way? Is he a cad? He says he has feelings for Alisha but they rarely make themselves felt.
I am not asking for more “thought in English and translated into Hindi” dialogue, that explains everything. But I would have liked to enter their heads. I can see Alisha feeling cooped up at home and preferring to spend time on the open sea in Zain’s yacht. What I can’t see is where her character arc is going: with Zain, with Karan, with Tia. All the relationships feel superficial, and I laughed out loud when Karan proposed to Alisha. I have heard of self-absorbed men. But Karan takes the cake and the bakery.
In other words, all the interstitial scenes have been jettisoned (because, of course, this is a “subtle” film), and transformed into whatever we make of them. One of the ickiest bits of screenwriting has Alisha run into Karan – randomly – in a crowded Mumbai street, and learning something important from him. Another icky bit involves that old trope about checking your fiance’s phone. And when the story veers into noir territory (not American noir, but French noir, obviously), the segues are off. Because, again, all the interstitial scenes have been transformed into whatever we make of them. Half the time, I kept wondering, “What is Alisha really thinking at this point?” or “Why is she crying all the time?” Why not give her some dignity? Surely, there is some strength in this woman, where she talks coolly, calmly – and not just in bed.
There’s a long corporate arc that really tests your patience. This is where we get to really know Zain, so I understand why these scenes needed to be there. But after all this office stress, when he gets back in bed with Alisha, is it just a happy ending, or is his heart, too, being massaged by her (apparent) love? Kapoor & Sons managed to mix Shakun’s Hollywood sensibilities with a palpable Hindi-film vibe. Gehraiyaan just feels like Match Point meets Purple Noon/The Talented Mr Ripley meets Unfaithful meets any number of Hollywood infidelity dramas. It’s overlong. It’s boring. Irrfan Khan, in Piku, had far more chemistry with a radiant Deepika than the one between Alisha and Zain. None of the actors register strongly, though I suspect Deepika’s high-decibel histrionics will be applauded as great acting. But then, for that, you first need a great character, no?
Copyright ©2022 Baradwaj Rangan.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Madan
February 12, 2022
Yet to watch but so glad to read a sumptuous review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enna koduka sir pera
February 12, 2022
So nice to read a review from you!!
And ouch that last line about Deepika’s acting! Didn’t in the least expect that for this film, but am yet to watch it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aman Basha
February 12, 2022
The Boss Is Back! And back in style. You’ve still got your groove man.
On second thoughts, I could see why Alisha was after Zain, it was her envy for Tia’s life and that she found a fellow ambitious person with daddy issues. For Zain, well, I’d easily go with Deepika over Ananya 🙂 It isn’t the depth of waves, as much as about how waves trace the same path, like how Alisha and Tia make the mistakes of their parents. Alisha becomes what she blamed her father for and also commits her mother’s mistake, Tia is betrayed like her mother. Should have been titled Leherein instead of Gehraiyaan. I am shocked I agree with Rahul Desai more than you 🙂 But man, Deepika’s hot.
Highly unrealistic sex scenes, you’re telling me after such passionate nights of lovemaking, she’ll still have her clothes on? Waste of A rating on stupid f bombs.
LikeLike
Anu Warrier
February 12, 2022
Oh man, we finally get a review from you – and I have to disagree? Vehemently? 🙂
You mean you haven’t come across people who say, ““Don’t you want ki book publish ho?” or “Dad ko temper issues the!”? You haven’t heard Indians juxtapose English and [insert Indian language of your choice here]? 🙂
You haven’t known people who begin a sentence in one language, segue smoothly to another, and end their conversation in a third? Or who talk in English and end their sentences with “Na?” (You will probably have whiplash if you talk to me in real life, then.)
I bought into the incidents that turn all four of them into the people they are – the secrets and lies; the ambitions and the infidelity; the blame game, the guilt, all of it. It is interesting that all of them are self-aware enough to know they are making bad choices but their emotional state pushes them into making precisely those choices that will hurt them and others.
I bought into the messy relationship dynamic between all four of them, three of whom have a history with each other. I thought the acting was uniformly decent, though Sidhant (whom I liked a lot in Gully Boy) was the least effective. Ananya was surprisingly good; Dhairya was competent but for me, this was a DP show.
LikeLiked by 8 people
anon
February 12, 2022
cries in text off to read review
LikeLike
Madan
February 12, 2022
Anu Warrier: “I am niklao-ing” is frequently used in Mumbai. Yes, it’s true perhaps that it and similar expressions are used by people who are fluent in English but that doesn’t necessarily mean these people can’t speak Hindi. It’s codeswitching. I use Hinglish with those friends with whom I speak mainly in English, Bambai Hindi with some others and more proper Hindi with still others. I WILL say that perhaps Hinglish is past the peak of its popularity but it’s not gone away by any means.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Anu Warrier
February 12, 2022
@Madan, of course they can speak only Hindi, or only English or only … This set of people for whom that curious mixture of Hindi and English (and Hinglish) is par for the course. That interjection of ‘ki‘for instance, is something that almost all of my North Indian friends use even while talking only in English (of course, to other Indians, not the firang).
A conversation in my house usually goes like this:
“Hey, chaaya veno?” (Malayalam for “want tea?”)
“Matlab, you’ll make it?”
“Naah! Tu banayegi?”
“Po-da!”
I haven’t even got to my husband’s interpolations in Marathi yet. 🙂
And don’t tell me the Tamilians don’t do it as well! Especially the ones who think in English as many of us do, but feel comfortable enough (and know the other person knows the language) to use a Thamizh word because that just expresses things better.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Sri Prabhuram
February 12, 2022
Good to see BR the writer show up again after a long time.
LikeLike
krishikari
February 12, 2022
So happy to see a written review that I read it before watching the movie.
LikeLike
tonks
February 12, 2022
Lovely to read a sumptuous written review. But I disagree too : about the Hinglish, and the characters whom I bought into. I liked the twists, I certainly did not see the movie veering into thriller mode, the trailer had not prepared me for that, but I loved it.
This seemed so much of an OTT Hollywood fare, that DP keeping her clothes on in all the intimate scenes struck me as a little funny, but I guess they didn’t want to shock their Indian audience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sri Prabhuram
February 12, 2022
This film did reminded me of Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. It did a fantastic job of incorporating extramarital affairs without sacrificing our involvement with the characters in that film.
LikeLike
gnanaozhi
February 13, 2022
Damn you BR, I truly miss your writing! This review just hit it home….
Lovely review and thanks will not be watching the movie (your review + word of mouth suggests that this is just a bad bad movie)
LikeLiked by 1 person
vijay
February 13, 2022
“I don’t know why he just doesn’t make his films in English, because his characters all act in that Hollywood way, that Hollywood style to the extent that they barely seem Indian.”
cause if he did that his films would be compared,maybe unfavourably, to films like say Closer and would be torn to shreds by less forgiving Hollywood critics. But here back home, filmmakers like him and GVM(in Tamil) will be described as “class” directors. you wonder what is classy about lifting Hollywood tropes(and dialogue)..
LikeLiked by 1 person
gnanaozhi
February 13, 2022
@Anu, yeah that’s the only bit about the review that didn’t resonate with me.
The urban classes of all strata tbh use a lot and I mean lot of English thrown in to the local lingo. That’s just what it is.
Like my driver might go “sir my paiyan school exam results vandiduchu, avan super ah panittan”.
That’s supposed to be Tamil but count the Tamil words and it’s not even 30%.
And like yourself in my trilingual house, one in which am mea culpa to the charge of thinking in English – though unfortunately, not even proud of it but from 1st to 8th grade, thanks to a dad who kept getting new jobs every 2 years, I spent time in 5 different cities so English was the only thing that stuck, and I can’t read or write with any proficiency Any another language the pidgin we speak is a bastardised version of Hindi, Tamil, English and if my wife is really pissed some random cuss words in Marwari.
I think this is nothing out of the ordinary. Even in our filmdom, Maniratnam and G V Menon were doing this before it got mainstreamed in Hindi cinema
LikeLike
Rahul
February 13, 2022
I did not or do not have a problem with Hinglish , but I do have a problem when English lines are translated verbatim into Hindi. Something like – hamare beech sab kuch theek hai?” There were a few of them in Gehrayaiyan but not enough to rankle me.
Secondly, when you say that the characters are not well defined , I think this is the part that actually worked for me. I found the corporate part largely unnecessary. I thought the film is working with characters who do not need a strong reason to have sex , or affairs , or to quit a relationship to save their company. That is why a certain Hollywood sensibility was necessary for the film , because such people have not been portrayed in Hindi Cinema very often so it is easier to pass them off in a non -Indian aesthetic. (I haven’t seen Kapoor and Sons).
It’s not just the characters who have their edges smoothened but also the story – for example , the film is aware of the class conflicts, between the guys and the girls but it does not manifest into any dramatic confrontations.
I thought the Gehrahiyaan of the title is a dare to find the depth in the life of these characters with seemingly vacuous lives.
LikeLike
Madan
February 13, 2022
@Anu Warrier: “And don’t tell me the Tamilians don’t do it as well!” – Oh, we often do Marathi-Hindi-Tamil in the same sentence because self, wife and my mother can speak all three languages. Sometimes, there may be an English word or two, making it 4-in-1. 😀
“I think this is nothing out of the ordinary. Even in our filmdom, Maniratnam and G V Menon were doing this before it got mainstreamed in Hindi cinema” – Farhan Akhtar introduced it in Hindi cinema so that would be before GVM. Maybe Mani inspired Farhan, idk. But Hinglish was all over the ad world in Mumbai long before Bollywood picked it up and English speakers had been using it before the films too. It’s more like Farhan simply made a movie where people talked the way the people he knew did (and Zoya did likewise on ZNMD). But what Farhan does is also something that Rahul describes here:
” but I do have a problem when English lines are translated verbatim into Hindi. Something like – hamare beech sab kuch theek hai?”” – Yes, this exactly. Nobody who uses Hinglish does this, at least nobody I know of. Again, maybe it IS popular in the ad/media world. Even if it is bad Hindi, if it’s a Hindi that a certain subset of population existing outside the writer’s head speaks, then it’s fine.
Rahul: “I thought the Gehrahiyaan of the title is a dare to find the depth in the life of these characters with seemingly vacuous lives.” – Burn!!!
LikeLike
ItsVerySimple
February 13, 2022
@Anu Warrier – agree, word to word, including Ananya Pandey being a surprise. :thumbsup:
LikeLike
Madan
February 13, 2022
Incidentally, what IS Hollywood way? I know there’s a subset of feel good films that specialize in the polishing a turd genre but if Shakun did make films in THE Hollywood way, it would rock:
I did like Kapoor & Sons but it basically started from showing a household of extreme dysfunction – like literally Rajat Kapoor and Rathna Pathak Shah throwing utensils at each other – to a fairly tame and comforting resolution. I will have to watch Gehraaiyan – which I am going to soon – to see if it has the same flaw or if it is basically not that intense to begin with.
LikeLike
brangan
February 13, 2022
All: I never implied that languages should not be mixed. I do that all the time even in my “Tamil” interviews. But sometimes, there’s a degree of fakeness that strikes you — and I was bothered by a lot of that in this movie, with these characters. (PIKU, for instance, did this Hinglish thing beautifully.)
I agree with Rahul. There was no need to show so much corporate stuff (which is basically to show the levels of increasing stress in Zain). It kept taking me away from the main film.
And I found so much of the writing so convenient. Like the scene where Tia casually drops a point that she has read the manuscript, when she’s going to LA. Like the scene where Karan proposes to Alisha some five seconds after saying “don’t touch my diary”.
There was no “building” of anything (the narrative, the characters) — which was done so well in KAPPR & SONS. Everything was so shallow and superficial and yes, Rahul, vacuous.
Well, it’s an easy watch, with beautiful people. But nowhere near what Shaun’s potential suggested/suggests.
LikeLiked by 3 people
tonks
February 13, 2022
So, two problems I had with the movie :
Spoiler alert
*
*
*
*
*
a) Alisha’s paternity : when one is married and has an affair with someone, how can it be deduced with certainty that your offspring is not your husband’s? Unless the husband is travelling/proven medically sterile, or a DNA test is done
b) Alisha is in a society where live in relationships are fine. For such an independent, modern woman, her behaviour when she found out she was pregnant seemed out of character. She behaved like a hysterical, middle-class , sanskari lass. Her pressure on Zain, and the way she hysterically barges into his office, was cringe worthy. Any self respecting woman when faced with such reluctant vibes would choose to walk away/ abort. I understand that the story would not have played out like it did, had it not been for the pressure she put on Zain, but to me, something jarred when she behaved the way she did.
LikeLike
tonks
February 13, 2022
Wait. Aren’t comments being moderated anymore?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
February 13, 2022
tonks: Somebody requested and since the traffic is much lower these days than before, BR turned off moderation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Voldemort
February 13, 2022
Wow. I came here thinking of asking for a review of Gehraiyaan. It’s already there and is a written review! Jai BR.
LikeLike
Voldemort
February 13, 2022
A lot of people seem to have been surprised that the trailer and the movie are wildly different. But I think that’s a good thing.
*spoiler alert *
I never expected *Spoiler alert * Zain would die. That was a bigger twist for me than the affair of the mother. For the latter, hints are dropped all along about the house and the business and how they suddenly separated. But this was unexpected for me. And the way his murder was so quickly closed as suicide. Yes, Rajat Kapoor is influential with the police and all, but come on!
Also I think a large reason why Ananya Pandey is tolerable is because the character is so close to her real life rich entitled princess persona.
Just how many shots of the waves can they keep showing to shove it down our throats that these lives are caught in tumultuous turns and turmoil.
I disagree that there is no depth in the characters – Alisha doesn’t fall for Zain immediately. She is just amused that he is flirting with her, likes feeling desired, after having been “treated like a doormat” by Karan. This combined with her jealousy that Tia is ahead of her in life and finding out that they both have family trauma and are ambitious pushes her towards him. If someone said that he were ready to dump his fiance and girlfriend of 3 years for someone he only knew 3 weeks ago, anyone in their right sense of mind would find red flags. But that only seems to make Alisha happy, because she thinks she deserves this life and riches more than her naive cousin.
Deepika’s hindi always sounds awkward and that was the case here too. And yes some dialogues are really bad. In one early scene she literally says, “Yes I want to live like the other half of Mumbai”. Duh. So much for show don’t tell.
And I think the corporate part was necessary to show how Zain would not hesitate to do anything if that meant saving his business and with every problem, the monster inside him is slowly unveiled.
I also liked all the songs, particularly the title track.
LikeLiked by 3 people
KS
February 13, 2022
This literal translation of Hindi into English or vice versa reminds me of a story from college. During ragging, when a (Tamil) senior was ordered to translate some Hindi movie dialogues into English. One of them was about some stalker hero confronting the girl who kept avoiding him “mujhme kya kami hai?”. He translated this to “What shortage do I have?”
But its true that our cinema has still not found the groove when it comes to how to naturally mix in English. I don’t know much about Hindi cinema, but in Tamil, its either Major Sundarajan, or the very cringey unnatural wannabe level of GVM (“I want to make love to you”). Any character who speaks English in our cinema is a caricature who does the yoyo.
LikeLiked by 1 person
prasunsblog
February 13, 2022
Looks like they got their money’s worth from Yash Sahai the Hindi dialogue writer 😀
Speaking of “English spoken in Hindi”, the oddest bit of dialogue that I’ve heard in the movies was “Yeh tumhare baare mein nahi hai” (it’s not about you) in Kapoor and Sons
LikeLike
brangan
February 13, 2022
prasunsblog: “Usne mujhe mandap pe chhod diya” (he left me at the altar) – DIL DHADAKNE DO 😃🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
vijay
February 13, 2022
“But its true that our cinema has still not found the groove when it comes to how to naturally mix in English.”
why not? strange, considering thats how most of us talk. It should be the easiest thing to do. If you ask me to write lines in chaste Tamil or unadulterated english I will be more uncomfortable.
Like that nutjob Seeman insisting that the characters in his films speak chaste Tamil even when he does a movie on characters working in IT industry . You can then only make Ponniyin Selvan and nothing else. A lot of directors do this mixing well and we barely notice it, but we notice the ones who swing either way more..mixing in typically Hollywoodish/enligh novel lines awkwardly in Tamil films(like GVM) or going the chaste route like Seeman.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nappinai (@Nappinai2)
February 13, 2022
This film didn’t work for me. I didn’t get the point of the story and found the character arcs inconsistent.
I can see why Zain may have a fling with Alisha, I don’t get why he’ll go to the extent of returning his business capital to be with her. He comes across as too focused to risk his climb. Even the affair looks foolish, why Alisha when he can get this elsewhere? The only character I thought showed some purpose was Zain with his underdog trying to make it big in life story and they bumped him off.
Alisha was a real frustrating character. What does she want? If it’s what Tia has then why go around like a train wreck and risk bringing her own world down along with Zain’s? I couldn’t buy into her love for Zain either. It’s quite clear from the beginning he’s self absorbed and probably ruthless. It was plain irritating that the film pivots to this character after a point and seems to be as aimless as her.
I agree with another comment on Ananya, I just thought she was playing herself. So, I am not sure this counts as anything. Tia doesn’t seem to be the type of person who can keep any secret or sort anything out with her lawyers given her general lack of awareness. So, I couldn’t buy into the whole revelation at the end.
Also, what’s with KJo producing movies where adulterous characters are broken? SRK had a limp in KANK while Zain and Alisha have broken homes/ childhood. Perfectly happy people can commit adultery too, you know. The film was just some good looking BS. It’s the second bollywood film I have watched the past year and regret wasting my time with it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
H. Prasanna
February 14, 2022
@Nappinai I felt more or less the same about Zain. He was shown as always working and he looked like he just wanted to make it. I felt like I was watching the writers punish him for some reason with weird twists of fate (his banker’s arrest coinciding with his affair, Alisha meeting Karan on the road when Zain has lied to her, Alisha storming in just before his crucial meeting, etc.). If anyone deserved punishment (in the movie world), it was Karan, I felt. He had no reason for treating Alisha the way he was treating her and gets away with the happiest ending. I understand the (real or movie) world is not fair. But this movie world was just turning the screws on Zain with one unlikely coincidence after another and it was hard to watch. (He was being treated like the women protagonist in Balachander movies.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
shaviswa
February 14, 2022
After watching the trailer, I thought this was yet another pretentious movie from Bollywood.
And reading the comments here, I am convinced that it is.
Most Bollywood films these days are cut away from real life….and that is where I get BR’s comment on the film not being relatable.
LikeLike
Shilpa Sunil
February 14, 2022
Finally. BR is back 👏👏👏👏👏
LikeLike
Shilpa Sunil
February 14, 2022
Would Jim Sarbh have done justice to Zain?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nimmi Rangaswamy
February 14, 2022
The Deepika Padukone character is whitewashed pale! If she is messed up its not her fault; she is a doormat not out of volition; she loves the Zain character genuinely; poor thing ignored the father for no fault of hers and then makes up with him for good; I really relished the scene when Rajat Kapoor lashes out in the car and asked her to fucking not show her face again. This character was shown as a suffering victim in leotards and bustiers! It seems the arc was tweaked to service the star and not the writing… But I did enjoy her screen presence and all that …
LikeLiked by 1 person
Deepika
February 14, 2022
@BR: Please write more!
LikeLike
Sai
February 15, 2022
So I’m guessing there won’t be a Deep Focus for this
LikeLike
Vikram s
February 15, 2022
BR, firstly welcome back to the written format. From most comments you may have realised how we all were missing your writing.
Specifically on this film. I respectfully have to disagree on several counts-
1.people speak in a mix of languages, a particular mix may seem jarring to me and not seem so to someone else. In this case, I was ok with it
2.i think DP did a superb job. A lot of her scenes had her responding without speaking. Those worked for me.
3.as for her venting scenes, imo both were justified. Those couldn’t have been played in a different way (two scenes I refer to being- outburst at her father and shouting at Dhairya when she realises he has shown Ananya the draft but not to her)
4.ananya I feel was just being herself. A good casting choice though.
Pls keep writing more. Am still waiting for your writing on Lata Mangeshkar’s passing.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Shilpa Sunil
February 15, 2022
Agree on all four points.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kay
February 15, 2022
I can bet no one would have had a worse experience watching this movie than I did. And for no fault of the movie that too. By some bizarre setting, the movie started playing with the Hindi audio description on. Throughout the movie there was this voiceover – so much like Deepika’s – explaining what each character was doing on the screen. And I wondered what weird film making is this? Thus beats even GVM’s voiceover. By the time I realised it, already 2 hours and ten minutes had gone by. 😀
That one major glitch apart, I really loved the portrayal of the flawed and contrasting characters. Tia maybe a spoiled and shallow brat, but just doesn’t mean she understand the workings of a corporate world. Zain loved Alisha enough to completely remove Tia from his life, including returning her investment, but when he was in trouble he didn’t mind dropping Alisha out in the cold. Not saying this is right, but this is how people behave in real life. Similarly Alisha’s insecurity compared to her cousin, her irritation with Karan and yet accepting his proposal because 1) They have together for 6 years, 2) She couldn’t say no in front of all those people and 3) Her guilt for having the affair with Zain. Everything made sense to me since I felt this is very close to reality.
I came across an interview of GVM’s in which he said he’s really looking forward to handling a messy and morally questionable romance story. I’m curious to know what his take would be and also wish he gets a star who would agree to do such a movie.
LikeLike
Kay
February 15, 2022
Ugh. Please excuse those gazillion typos in my first comment.
Meant to say doesn’t mean Tia doesn’t* understand.
And BR, so very glad to see a written review from you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kala
February 15, 2022
Was going to watch the film with some amount of trepidation
Now am in thought again
LikeLike
H. Prasanna
February 15, 2022
Overall, this was the most professional misfortune a group of people had to suffer in mainstream movies in recent times. Alisha’s app hangs in an investor meeting. When she does get an investor, he uses it as a front for financial crimes. Then, he gets caught and it gets shut down. Karan has writer’s block and when he finishes his book, the publisher refuses to publish it, and when it is published it fails to sell. Zain does not get the valuation he needs, so he has to commit financial crimes and suck up to his fiancée and her mother. When he gets the valuation, his banker is caught. After his banker is caught, he attempts to sell his company and fails.
LikeLiked by 3 people
kaizokukeshav
February 15, 2022
Sounds like a KANK sans the catchy music
LikeLike
Doba
February 15, 2022
I haven’t watched the movie and don’t intend to (don’t like Karan Johar and his ilk or his brand of movies) but this review reminds me of the Mill on the Floss. The rich, unsuspecting, slightly naive Lucy, the worldly Stephen, and the poor but attractive Maggie who betrays Lucy by entering into a relationship with Stephen. Even the casting of Deepika Padukone and Ananya Pandey hark back to the physicality of Maggie and Lucy. I even find echoes of Philip in the fourth character. I wonder if this is a coincidence.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
February 15, 2022
Spoilers ahead
OK, I join the respectfully disagree club too though my problem from Kapoor & Sons is repeated here too – the resolution is too pat though he springs a potentially nasty surprise on Alisha in the end. It’s very Bombay that way – just take all that mess and wash it away in the Arabian Sea, huh!
To just take up one of the points in your review, the corporate thing is deeply connected to his predicament and eventual fate. It’s not so much corporate as it’s about ambition and avarice. Zain keeps talking about ‘making it’ and he tried to get on to the escalator rather than the steps to get there. His choice of essentially wooing the daughter of his biggest benefactor makes him captive and Alisha is his get out of jail card. But the jam he finds himself in with Bejoy getting embroiled in a case makes his ambition and his love desire irreconcilable. You could pretty much set Love Is A Lie as the soundtrack of the movie. Love Is A Lie was written for the band Great White by their producer Alan Niven when he suspected his girlfriend was cheating on him. But he didn’t know the one she was cheating with was the guy who was going to sing his poignant lyrics, Jack Russell! Yeah, the above could easily be a sub-plot in the film.
As Anu Warrier says, they know they are making risky choices but they just can’t help getting into the mess because the temptation is too great. I for one did appreciate a Hindi movie navigating this kind of territory which they usually fight shy of. But, you know, it’s not like all affairs happen just in Hollywood and everyone in Bollywood is parampara, pratishta and anushashan. I mean, we could start off with the guy who mouthed that line in Mohabbatein! Oh, and I didn’t mind the Hinglish or thinking in English issue. This is how a lot of upper-middle or rich people in Mumbai talk; actually, I have heard way worse from SoBo-ites.
Where I felt let down is the resolution. To compare with the song Love Is A Lie, the intensity doesn’t let up though the looong albeit beautiful guitar coda overstays its welcome. I really would have liked to see Alisha have to grapple with how on earth was she going to get out of this mess. There was a brilliant opportunity for Batra to segue from infidelity to much darker quasi-whodunnit territory. And he just cuts to two years later and slams the movie shut on you in a way that feels super-forced. That was a little too much. You can’t have a murder situation and then wish for things to magically be ok and even for Alisha to mend her relationship with her father. That’s just way convenient but his last minute saver stopped the ending from being a total train-wreck.
In summary, I wouldn’t say it was non-existent gehraiyaan. I guess he just used the word in an unexpected sense. These people aren’t profound or wise and their lack of control, inability to tell themselves they can’t win some battles and just let go, lands them in a big mess. But the depth here is perhaps the depth of darkness inside our souls, the darkness that can potentially turn us into beasts under the worst provocation. As Zain discovers about himself in his most vulnerable moment. The depth here is more like deep desire. I am not these people but I don’t have to be to enjoy their journey.
LikeLike
Enna koduka sir pera
February 16, 2022
I am on the side of agreement with your review. This movie was anything but deep except for the title. I was so excited seeing the trailer and thought we would be offered an intimate deep dive into the feelings of why these people were making the choices that they were making. Instead, the portrayal of intimacy was limited to the physical aspects of the relationship and I could not get into the heads of the characters. Everything was just given a lip service starting from Alisha telling Karan that he is treating her like a doormat without sufficiently showing us that is the case to the most important emotion relevant to the plot – which is that Zain and Alisha saying they are in love. These characters were saying those things, but there was no way for me to feel that they were feeling this. As in your review, so many plot points were just coincidentally thrown in to move the story forward and did not feel organic.
SPOILER
Also when Deepika hears from Rajat Kapoor that the plan was for her to be dead and not Zain, she barely registers a response, let alone talk back when he says he never wants to see her face again. Why would she not do that.. Also I could not believe that Zain would go to the extent of killing Alisha to save his company.
What a waste of role for Naseeruddin Shah.. he had to come and deliver a bunch of one liner thatthuvams to his daughter in a very inorganic way.. (The only thatthuvam I liked was when he tells her that she should not remember her mother for the one mistake she made and forget all other good things about her).
And I totally agree when you say the performances were Hollywood-like and so subtle to the point that it was hard to decipher what the expressions on their faces meant, especially Deepika’s. I almost found her acting to be wishy washy like how Trisha usually plays her roles.
LikeLike
Madan
February 16, 2022
“Also when Deepika hears from Rajat Kapoor that the plan was for her to be dead and not Zain, she barely registers a response” – Because she already knows that, she has seen the messages. That’s why she doesn’t taste the drink he’s made, she knows it’s poison.
And Zain is pushed to kill her because his company is staring at utter ruin. He is short of time because Ranjit has called his investment back. And Alisha is saying either you tell her or I will. But he can’t because now Tia’s daddy is his last lifeboat. If they don’t come through, he is not just ruined, he might go to prison. Committing a crime isn’t new to him (which, on another note, is why I am confused by the comments that say they related most to Zain!). He has rotated the same money already for two investments and even Bejoy doesn’t want any of it until Jitesh talks him into it.
That’s the irony of it. The one Alisha wants is not a nice man deep down. Wanting to make it is admirable but not at any cost. And so, the man who was prepared to register a shell company in Alisha’s name without telling her would also go all the way to kill her if that’s what it takes. In the end, everyone dodges a bullet, possibly Tia too. Who knows, Zain might have been the type of guy who would kill her as well after marriage and use the insurance to save his business.
LikeLike
H. Prasanna
February 16, 2022
@Madan For me, the movie couldn’t make up its mind whether it wanted to be plot driven or character driven. If it was character driven, as was the first hour and so, the corporate arc and all the business failures were a distraction. If it was plot driven, the plot set up in the first hour spent more time than needed on the characters just living their lives, instead of moving the plot.
Zain’s violent criminality seemed a bit off. First, he was really smart and good at business, so it is difficult to see how he thought he could have gotten off after killing Alisha and selling the Alibaug property (after coercing Tia). If not the cops, Tia (who is someone affluent and smart) would have surely figured it out if he she suddenly cheated her off property and Alisha went missing at the same time.
Second, he was always shown taking the nonviolent option. He doesn’t prefer to lie unless its necessary. Even with the flashback with his abusive father, he isn’t violent. And the screws were tightened by extraordinary events in the screenplay (Alisha meeting Karan on the road at the exact time he was with Tia, the window for selling the property coinciding with Alisha’s pregnancy, etc.) But for me, it was a leap that he would turn to killing someone and his unborn child for what he knew wasn’t even a sure thing.
I don’t think the pathology they established was strong enough. Is it just toxic masculinity? Is it because he doesn’t want to look like he wasn’t man enough in front of Jitesh. He doesn’t want to admit he is failing to Tia and her mother. He doesn’t want to admit he is failing to Alisha and simply tell her he might go to jail if she doesn’t keep quiet.
LikeLike
Madan
February 16, 2022
H Prasanna : But that’s the point. There is no such thing as a criminal or violent pathology. An otherwise peaceful person may find himself in circumstances where he takes an extreme step. He doesn’t have to have been violent with his father previously to be capable of being violent now. If that was so, only serial killers would be committing murders and not ordinary people but it’s many more of the latter who do so.
And on the other hand, the leap from high stakes white collar crime to murder isn’t that big, though people in India and worldwide tend to take a lenient view of the former because its harm is indirect. But I don’t see why a cold blooded fraudster which is what he is beneath the veil of a cultured and well manicured lifestyle wouldn’t also become a cold blooded murderer if that was his only way out. Zain will cross the farmhouse bridge when he needs to. For the moment, his priority is to make Alisha disappear and Jitesh tells him he knows people in the police who can help him out. That’s perfectly normal in high society in India. Like I said, if he has too, he may kill Tia tomorrow as well because the business that was going to help him fulfil his ambition has turned into a monster he cannot control anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
H. Prasanna
February 16, 2022
@Madan In the context of the real world, I completely agree about criminal pathology. In the movie world, I felt that it was forced because it spent so much time establishing character, before moving on with a series of unfortunate events. In a plot driven movie I would expect to be shown Character only asmuch as it pertains to plot. But if Character is driving the movie, it seems excessive to use murder to say what they want to about him. It defied convention but I felt genre bending must be preceded by genre establishment.
LikeLike
tonks
February 16, 2022
Throughout the movie there was this voiceover – so much like Deepika’s – explaining what each character was doing on the screen
That’s an audio setting for the visually impaired.
@Doba : I was reminded of Mill on the floss , too, while watching the movie. Of course, the difference being that they decide that their happiness comes at the cost of too much unhappiness for other people. Reminds me that I need to re-read the book.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Voldemort
February 16, 2022
I think the fact that Zain is a cold blooded opportunist is established when he tells that he abandoned his mother and left her to die at his father’s hands itself. He needn’t have been violent with his father but he could have his mother moved out elsewhere or something. And he says something along the lines of you gotta do what you gotta do almost nonchalantly without any guilt. Also the scene with Zain thinking of pushing Ananya into the water also serves the purpose of foreshadowing and showing what he is capable of.
Also Ananya’s face when she was in the water had me laugh out loud. That she is a pretty bad actress is known to everyone but you would expect some improvement after all these years.
LikeLiked by 2 people
H. Prasanna
February 16, 2022
@Voldemort Yeah, you’re right. The dude was shown as more twisted than I thought.
LikeLike
Madan
February 16, 2022
Voldemort : Right, that scene is nice. Gives a hint of how desperate Zain is feeling by that point.
LikeLike
Ganapathy Parameswaran
February 18, 2022
I agree with Baddy. In fact, I remembered his words (from some other review, of course) and used it in my review where I said “Gehraiyaan is a film that gives you a lot to think about not because of the way it is, but for how it could’ve turned out to be.”
There is a lot left unexplained and left for us to figure out. I don’t have a problem with this kind of filmmaking. Mani Ratnam did it in Kadal. But he at least showed some visuals where we can conjecture. Like the Magudi song showing how Thomas turns evil. But in Gehraiyaan, the intricate emotions are not seen and thereby not felt as well. I think it would have been better as a novel than a film.
LikeLike
karthik299
February 19, 2022
Totally agree with Anu Warrier. The language is such a common sight that it was not at all a problem. I myself end up slipping in a ‘ki’ or ‘na’ even during company meetings at times.
On the other hand, the language in GVM movies seem less organic.
That last line on Deepika’s performance was a riot. She was good but nothing great about her performance, however, Ananya Pandey was a surprise. Her character’s naivety was my favourite performance in the film.
Seemed like Shakun Batra’s weakest film, but definitely an above average watch!
LikeLike
ravenus1
February 20, 2022
I like the more noir-tinged direction the movie took towards the end (though goddammitt, a lot of time was wasted till it got to that point).
I wish the movie had ended at a certain point where a dialog occurs between Deepika and Rajat Kapoor which ends with him telling her to “take this to your grave”. But no, yeh Hindi movie hai yaar, we need some redemption and relatively happy closure for our lead cast, so you have this absolutely awful revelation which leads to people mouthing the most puke-inducing platitudes that pass for meaningful dialog.
PS After all this hoopla about ‘intimacy coach’ and all, the movie’s raciness quotient is so tame and lacking in lavda or lasan that it was an easy “Movie with Mum” thing.
PS2: Doesn’t anyone in this movie think to password protect their phones and laptops? Especially if you were conducting an affair, that’d be one of the first things to do, you’d think.
LikeLike
Ramit
March 1, 2022
I quite liked Tia’s character. She was full of trust. When Zain doesn’t give her much time, her immediate reaction is not to doubt him. Rather, she says he must be busy with work. This is not to say she is dumb. Rather she treats herself and others with dignity. In fact, when she is convinced that Zain is being selfish, she breaks the engagement by saying ‘you make me feel like shit.’ She doesn’t need any proof, she is guided by her instincts. This is in sharp contrast to Alisha’s character, who is being made to feel like shit again and again by her bf but she remains stuck because more than her instincts, she is guided by proofs.
When the drowning in the sea scene came, I was surprised to see the look of incredulity on Tia’s face. I wanted her to show desperation, after all she is going to die. But on second thoughts, the look of incredulity goes well with Tia’s character. Because her first instinct is not to doubt. Moreover, she is in Zain’s imagination in that scene, and he sees her as an unintelligent woman who doesn’t know what’s hitting her.
When the actual drowning scene came, maybe the ideal scenario could have been to call for help. Another scenario could have been for Alisha to get to safety and then call attention to the accident. Yet, I think the most realistic scenario is the one that plays out in the movie. i.e. choosing to remain silent even when Alisha hadn’t done anything illegal. In a way, it refers to the fatigue in a) protecting ourselves b) speaking the truth c) convincing others of our truth d) countering the judgements of others.
Regarding Alisha’s father, ok, let’s say he was wronged. But does that cover up for all the missed chances for being a good father? Alisha is once again willing to see her childhood in a different light just because she has ‘unearthed one fact’. What about all the time she felt like shit when her father was not around?
Also, what was the importance of Alisha’s father encountering Zain on his way to Alisha’s house? Not sure anything would be lost/added if that scene is removed.
Also, BR sir, I hadn’t noticed this while watching the movie but now I agree that some of the screenplay choices were lazy like the one you quoted where Alisha bumps on her ex on a busy road.
But I quite liked the scene where Tia casually mentions the first draft. Aananya doesn’t show that she had guessed she shouldn’t have spoken but the moment she is out of the house, she flips out. I quite enjoyed Aananya’s acting. Even in the scene, where she discovers Zain’s pills and makes him sit down, she was exuding genuine sympathy.
The old couple on the cruise scene. I think this scene in a way was saying that the fighting between the couples is not going to stop, even in the old age.
Plus, the friendship between Tia and Alisha’s bf was awesome. I was constantly expecting them to pair up. But they remained good friends throughout.
Something new to learn: swimming pool water can be heated up. This should have been common sense but I never thought of it before. This is what we learn from watching movies based on rich people’s lives.
LikeLiked by 1 person
sachita
March 9, 2022
“What does Alisha feel the day after….. Is he a cad?”. I had exactly the same questions you had.
Quite surprised that there are lot of others who didnt have these issues with the movie. May be I am attuned to movies/stories that describes a lot of this guilt. What drives these two to each other is clear. For him, well it is Deepika. For her, it is that shiny life. But she even comes to her senses when she realizes this is all Tia’s money and she has to settle with the writer guy. But the way they approach without an iota of worry/guilt/ delibration or for that matter even love, makes it hard to take the movie seriously.
On top of it, that Emraan hashmique story line of what happens in the boat in the end.
Though I loved loved Deepika’s performance.I cant believe you described it as histrionics. One reason i couldnt buy this movie was also Siddant’s lack of chemistry with Deepika. The scenes are tastefully done. Just didnt feel anything – passion/love.
The business arc was handled much much better than most movies( hindi/english included).
It is literal lol the way they say Zain’s death was closed as suicide.
Wouldnt there have been cameras on the yacht/dock/ apartments?
And Alisha’s entitled screaming at Zain doesnt make sense at all. Werent they both cheating?
So many loopholes not just story wise, even emotionally that this movie was shunned by many people I know.
LikeLike
Priya
August 6, 2022
You suspect Deepikas acting will be praised? Is this a line you would ever write about Alia.
LikeLike
sravishanker1401gmailcom
February 2, 2023
LikeLike