Full of sizzling scenes and amoral behaviour, Shakun Batra refrains from judgmental in Gehraiyaan

Nonika Singh

Relationship status; complicated…If you have been tempted to make such confessions on social media or if such admissions of others have you befuddled, watch Gehraiyaan to know the complexity of human bonds and what and where tangled web of ties can take you.

The much anticipated Shakun Batra film, who gave us delightful and insightful Kapoor & Sons, like his previous film begins rather tepidly and builds from a low-key note. It touches a few highpoints, falters, gains momentum, packs in a few thrilling moments and keeps the intrigue alive with some startling revelations and twisted twists.

Early on, we are introduced to a young couple, nay, actually two couples, neither of whom by the way are married ones, only in seemingly committed relationships. The lovely girls Alisha (Deepika Padukone) and Tia (Ananya Panday) in question happen to be cousins who haven’t touched base with each other for long. Why so? As they meet on a yacht along with their respective beaus Karan (Dhairya Karwa) and Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi), the fractures in the cousins’ relationship and differences in their financial standing are more than evident. Equally palpable are the sparks between Alisha and Zain, who is engaged to be married to Tia.

What happens next is not hard to guess… there is full bodied chemistry and intimacy between Alisha and Zain. Much has been made of these intimate scenes which are bold alright but fall well within the limits of decency.

The point here is not whether they sizzle or not but where this closeness would lead them… and this is where Batra, the adept storyteller, comes into his own. Back stories hold a tragedy and point to the one in the making. Though in flashes past secrets tumble, there are more skeletons in this family closet; disturbing and agonising.

The narrative put together by Batra along with writers Ayesha Devitre, Sumit Roy and Yash Sahai tries not to be judgmental. Yet, the price one has to pay if you don’t come clean about relationships is factored in.

Between the moral and immoral lies a vast realm where love is often found and gets lost too. Ah, the perils of bonds that do not find societal sanction or meet approval of significant others. Along with its key characters we oscillate between sea of conflicted emotions. Deepika mirrors the conflict of a woman torn between her tragic past buried in a childhood memory and present which isn’t rosy either. Siddhant’s portrayal of the man trapped between love and greed too is relatable. Only the turn his character suddenly takes is a tad inexplicable.

Certainly, the world we see here is flawed. The families in question are dysfunctional (even Zain’s back-story is painful), as in Kapoor & Sons but ties are trifle more convoluted. Actors like Naseeruddin Shah playing Deepika’s distant and estranged father and Rajat Kapoor as Zain’s business partner Jitesh with an axe to grind are fine additions. Superb actors that they are, they hold their own even though they don’t get as much screen time as they deserve. Ananya Panday as the woman caught in the crossfire of family relationships and a love triangle is the surprise package here. She impresses both with her looks and talent.

As we soak into this tale, both human frailties and strengths come to fore. But just when you think the lines uttered by Tia, “if we let go of our past maybe the past will let us too….’ surmise the film, Batra turns the tables once again for doesn’t past haunt us.

It is in this turnabout, the reversal of love and fortunes that we get to plumb the high tide and low tide of emotions. Infidelity is a messy affair and you can’t expect Gehrayiaan, a domestic noir film, streaming on Amazon Prime Video to unravel this knotty mess in an easy simple fashion. Sure, the film has depth yet is out of depth too. Dive only if you like to delve beneath the surface.