India Lockdown review:- Prateik Babbar shines in Madhur Bhandarkar’s sincere attempt at showcasing the plight of Lockdown

By:- Aakruti Bagla

Directed by:- Madhur Bhandarkar

Cast:- Prateik Babbar, Sai Tamhankar, Shweta Basu Prasad, Aahana Kumra, Prakash Belawadi, Saanand Verma

Runtime:- 118 minutes

Rating:- 4/5

Story

As the name suggests, the film brings to us four stories of people from different walks of life who dealt with this unprecedented crisis of Lockdown due to the Covid-19 breakdown. It sheds light, on how they struggle to survive and sail through that rough patch of the life.

Review

The flick begins with people from various backgrounds – a pilot, a sex worker, a daily-wage labourer, a house worker and a mother, among others – trying to keep up with Covid-19 lockdown updates.

Prateik Babbar and Sai Tamhankar play a migrant worker-couple, who are left jobless during the lockdown. With no means of transport, they are forced to walk back to their hometown, facing more troubles on the way. Shweta Basu Prasad plays a sex worker from Kamathipura and wonders how she will earn her next meal while practising social distancing. While Aahana Kumra plays a pilot, who distracts herself by flirting with a neighbour, Prakash Belawadi plays a father, who is stuck in a different city, during a crucial high point in his daughter’s life.

Director Madhur Bhandarkar, who is known for his knack for hard-hitting subjects, delivers genuine intent in a peculiar way when it comes to India’s Lockdown. Rather than focusing on one aspect, he has smartly tweaked various sub-plots that keep the narrative going.

However, the slow-paced and feeble writing makes things a little tiresome. Even the infusion of lovemaking and molestation in such a narrative seemed not only bizarre but also ludicrous. It seemed like the makers are trying to pack in a lot of things in 2 hours.

While, the first half takes its sweet time to build up, during the second half, most of the conflicts in the film are solved by ‘happy coincidences’ taking away some of the steam.

Talking about the other technical aspects, while the editing is somewhere lousy, cinematography works well with the theme. Coming to film music, it does not stay with you for longer.

Speaking of performances, it’s Prateik Babbar and Sai Tamhankar have put their best foot forward. While Shweta Basu Prasad got into the skin of the character effortlessly but went a bit overboard. Prakash Belawadi delivered what was expected. The most disappointing and underwhelming act was by Aahana Kumra.

Overall, it is to be watched for honest attempt to bring to light the harsh reality audience may be oblivious of.