Gehraiyaan, the highly awaited film of Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi released on Prime Video on February 11th. The whole country has constantly been talking about it even before it got released. Directed and co-written by Shakun Batra, the film has gathered mixed reviews so far. While people are divided on the quality of the film, Deepika herself has received critical acclaim for her head-turning performance. Yet again, she proves her worth and where she stands in the industry.
Driven by her superlative act, the drama delves into the domestic noir category fashioned after Woody Allen’s ‘Match Point’ (2005) adding up to an overall runtime of 133 minutes. Siddhant Chaturvedi stands out too and looks great alongside Deepika in the movie. Their chemistry sizzles throughout the movie. The movie also stars Ananya Panday and Dhairya Karwa in leading roles. While some complain that the movie is just too long with a boring second half, others think it’s engaging, deep, and real.
The movie is like a boat of human emotions and complex human behaviour which the Indian audience is yet to explore enough. Not all families are perfect and not all relationships are simple. The movie tries to portray these complexities through a narrative story. Whether you are a fan of the genre or not, this movie has a fresh plot and is not your usual happy ending drama. Present age dysfunctional relationships needed a voice and here is your dose of it.
The cinematography also shines throughout while the locations and the production design works amazingly well. However, even though childhood trauma, anxiety, infidelity, complex relationships are shown in a new light, the never-ending plots and events make this movie a lost cause, as a ship marooned in an ocean. The dialogues do not spark magic on the screen, but the actors do justice to their characters by effortless portrayal and great screen presence.
In Gehraiyaan, Alisha (Deepika) is a 30-year-old yoga instructor. In spite of being in a 6 year-long relationship with Karan (Dhairya), a struggling novel writer, falls for Zain (Siddhant), a real estate developer. Complicating the scenario, Zain is engaged to Tia (Ananya), who is Alisha’s cousin. Tia and Karan are also friends who studied together while in US. Even though Tia and Alisha grew up together, Tia is closer to Karan than Alisha. To set up the plot, Tia invites Alisha and Karan to their Alibaug Bungalow, where Alisha meets Zain for the first time. They hit it off instantly and start getting close. They share a traumatic past through which they find it easier to connect. They dive into infidelity hiding it from their beaus which leads to further complexities. Deepika portrays a vulnerable and troubled mind with ease; a daughter who is not her mother and therefore won’t let a relationship suffocate her. Her insecurities make her bitter as she doesn’t know what she wants from life. Zain is a guy who is used to taking what he wants and Siddhant slips into the character with elan. But the movie doesn’t catch up from that and gets entangled in unnecessary events, like a knot that can’t be opened.
By the climax, many plotholes emerge, confusing the audience about the direction the movie wanted to take. Ultimately, the movie takes a wrong turn to the point of no return and the downfall is not saved as the ending is left to the audience’s interpretation.
