Darlings

Jasmeet Reen's Darlings deals with the question that Indian women have heard time and again: Why don't you leave it if it is so bad?

Shamshu and Badru’s relationship is the high point of the film that shines bright. Netflix hasn’t managed to make a lot of forays into desi content and is losing viewership too. You never forget the horrific treatment of Badru by Hamza. But you also marvel at her refusal to crouch into the corner. It’s equal parts comic and cathartic to watch Hamza get a taste of his own medicine. That adds a disturbing element to the film. She negotiates the universe of Badru and Shamshu without being insensitive.

Mumbai: 'Darlings' director Jasmeen K. Reen has praised Alia Bhatt and said that her relationship with the actress-producer evolved as they progressed.

My working relationship with Alia evolved as we progressed.” She is true to the film, and the character, nothing else matters. Before we knew it, we were jamming creatively, the bond was seamless, respectful, and most important – the relationship had trust.”

Darlings, starring Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma and Roshan Mathew, has been co-produced by Shah Rukh's Red Chillies Entertainment.

But I feel we have a lovely film and u r the soul and sunshine of all things Darlings.” Ahead of Darlings’ release, Shah Rukh Khan had shared how anxious he is about the film. The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta gave the movie a 2.5-star rating.

The film is a story of emancipation and a mother-daughter relationship tale; that final twist uniting Shamsu and Badru in a way that they hadn't ever been ...

For Darlings presents ugly truths, but always with a twinkle in the eye. The tonality of Darlings changes every few scenes, with debutant director Jasmeet K. Reen ensuring that the film defies being boxed into a genre. The scenes of Hamza being ‘tortured’ by the mother and daughter have invited knee-jerk outrage, but as usual, they are being seen out of the context of the film. Zulfi (Roshan Mathew) is the film’s moral compass, unconditionally coming to the aid of mother and daughter when they need it the most. Badru, who is madly in love and believes, as is common in our country, that a child will set Hamza right, tries everything in the book to keep her marriage ticking. Her mother Shamsunissa (Shefali) takes one look at Badru’s injured neck and asks her, “Ab kya kiya tune?” instantly shifting the blame of the violence on to the daughter.

Darlings movie review: Alia Bhatt gives one of her best performances in Darlings, a story about a woman's revenge on her violent husband. | Bollywood.

But when tables turn and Hamza is the supposed victim at the hands of his merciless wife and her mother, violence against men somehow appears to look like a joke. But in parts, the story does bother you when domestic violence is used as a ploy to trigger laughs — a woman sticking by her husband despite being abused, a man showing no sign of regret or for his actions, silent spectators shown as caricatures. He's cruel and unreasonable and his character, I felt, is written in the most realistic manner. From that point, Darlings shows how a middle-class mother-daughter duo (Shah and Bhatt), who is caught in their own circumstantial hang-ups, gradually discovers their inner strength to survive in a city like Mumbai, battling all odds. The husband is an alcoholic who holds no remorse for assaulting his wife every night, the wife is head over heels in love with the man and doesn't mind cooking breakfast — the staple bun omelette — every morning for him with bruises all over — this may be a regular occurrence in many Indian households, but rarely gets talked about the way it should. Badrunissa Shaikh aka Badru (Bhatt) is smitten by roadside romeo Hamza Shaikh (Vijay Varma), and marries him as soon as he secures himself a government job.

Jasmeet's debut outing throws light on domestic abuse through the lens of a dark comedy. How Badru, played by Alia, decides to stop being the.Darlings.

Her choice of scripts is among the best in the industry. Kudos to Alia Bhatt for letting a woman tell a woman's story and not opt for a man's perception of her troubles. As for Jasmeet, her launch is a laudable one. Hope to see a daring production house in Eternal that isn't afraid to get political with its choice of content. No. Is it a smart genre to talk about a serious issue like domestic abuse? He is in complete control of the mood shifts. Is it the best dark comedy out there? This way, Jasmeet ensures the audience assumes the role of a neighbour, who is both privy and not to the troubles of the couple next door, just like in a chawl. Badru's mother Shamshu (Shefali Shah) lives a couple of doors away from her and just wants her to see through the situation clearly and act on it. It is the performances, as mentioned earlier, that ensure quality to an otherwise ordinary story. The conviction rate is abysmal mainly due to the confusion on what amounts to domestic abuse. Hamza has a government job and Badru is a dreamer with a five-year plan that cannot go wrong if things move along as she intends.

Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt's maiden production Darlings was released on Netflix on Friday. The film, starring Bhatt as the protagonist alongside Vijay Varma ...

"Darlings says that when it comes to domestic violence, there are no gray areas. Share it in the comments below. It also makes you ponder upon topics like alcoholism and its impact on the family, superstition, manipulations, jealousy, karma, and the impact on the parents' lives and their choices on their kids." "Dismantling the crutches that help patriarchy saunter into living rooms, Darlings is a quirky social thriller that eventually almost reduces to a well-made public service film on domestic violence. "Bhatt is in full form; her quirky lines, dialogue delivery, vulnerable expressions and emotional meltdowns help connect with her on a deeper level. The first reviews of the film are finally out and the Jasmeet K Reen's directorial has managed to ruffle some feathers.