‘Piku’ – MyView

Piku theatrical poster

“Insan ka emotion uska motion ke saath judaa hua hai“, (A person’s emotions are connected to his bowel movement) aptly said by Mr. Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh Banerjee) which I guess every Bengali will agree to. This movie is so simple and intricately appropriate which everyone could connect to. Myself, a bengali away from home past 6 years, this movie was an escape in disguise (and should I mention, I watched it for two consecutive days!). Hats off Shoojit Sircar!

The movie revolves around a father – daughter relationship who takes shit seriously! I mean it, the movie is all about excretion. We all do it, its vital but nobody ever speaks of it. Well, except the bengalis who can vividly cast their imagination describing every little detail of it. Shitty, eh? We take pride. 😛

As described by her father (Amitabh Bachchan) to every potential suitor, Piku Banerjee (Deepika Padukone) is a financially, emotionally and sexually independent, non-virgin architect who lives with her father in C.R. Park, Delhi. Everything in her life borders with the dysfunctional bowel movement of her father which gets her irritated and exhausted but nevertheless, her life revolves around “Did baba go? How did it go? When did he go?” Torn between responsibilities and her love for her father, she finally agrees to the road trip to Kolkata.

Rana (Irrfan Khan), the cab company owner, ditched by his own drivers decides to take the father, daughter and the “chair” to Kolkata. The road trip is absorbed by the episodes of hissing sound which makes baba pee, the amazing graphical representation of how excretion happens, the Piku – Rana bonding, the mesmerising banaras ghats and the various remedies to constipation!

Another refreshing thing about this movie was the subtle romance angle. Piku and Rana have taken romance all together to a new level, like seriously, no melodramas, no bling songs, just simple and realistic.

The other characters Chobbi maashi (Moushumi Chatterjee), Syed (Jisshu Sengupta) have well justified their roles on screen. A special mention to the singer-songwriter-composer Anupam Roy’s music which is so subtle and blends perfectly with the movie.

The story of Piku does not hold much weight but it stands out because of its brilliant narrative and distinguished performances.