Udta Punjab Review

Udta Punjab.

This movie is India’s answer to Crash. Like other ensemble piece such as ‘Mumbai meri jaan’, this film follows the story of 3 or 4 main characters and how their lives are affected by the drug problem in Punjab.

Let’s start with the positives first, this is a VERY powerful film…

The message in the film is very definitely anti-drug and it does not in any way endorse the use of drugs. But it manages to send this message without being preachy or overly morose. There are a lot of tragic-comedy scenes in the film and it also definitely has a VERY dark sense of humour at times.

The first half is very well paced and fast moving. The story is involving and engaging, but then the second half slows down and the movie drags on for a while before coming to its inevitable conclusion. Despite the story, the characters are at times half-baked and clichéd and only a few times do they manage to be deep and rewarding.

Breaking Bad this is not, when it comes to character development.

Coming to the acting, Shahid Kapoor straight out rips off ben kingsley’s performance in Iron man 3 as the British actor Trevor. His mannerisms, facial expressions, hand movements are all reminiscent of that character. Maybe the films makers told him to do so, I don’t really know. His acting is not bad at all, it’s just a bit of a rip-off. But despite this, he is able to portray a man gone down the drain who slowly gets back his mojo (he literally says he got back his mojo).

Kareena Kapoor-Khan’s character is reminiscent of her roles in Chameli and Dev. She does her role well without taking us out of the movie. She actually looks more attractive without the glitzy makeup of her normal roles. She also plays a more central role than the trailers would indicate.

Alia Bhatt does a tremendous job of playing a daily wage earning laborer. Her makeup shows her sun damaged skin and her acting shows her damaged soul. Despite her young age, she is an actress who has true range in this often shallow industry and is not afraid to look un-herione like. she is not just de-glam in this film; she is made to look like a normal laborer. Her face and features are of-course too pretty to completely hide her beauty, but that is also used a plot point and it the later revelation of her character's origin works well and rounds off her character quite well.

All other roles are done well enough by the actors and the secondary characters are believable, but their Punjabi dialog is hard to follow for those who don’t know the language.

The film also has a surprisingly high gore value, especially towards the end. It’s very brutal and realistic. It’s a little surprising to see such a gory movie in Bollywood, but it’s a welcome change from so called action movie who don’t have the guts to show gore at all.

Now the bad parts, not that there are many of them…

The editing is a bit choppy at times, characters teleport from place to place (or so it seems because of the editing). As mentioned before, the pacing of the second half gets slow, especially a lot of footage is covered over one night’s incidents and it almost felt like the movie will end within the span of that night (like NH10). Thankfully the next morning dawns and the movie catches is pace again.

Other than this… the movie is quite well made.

Now let’s come to the reason this movie has gotten infamous. The swearing and the drug abuse depicted, as well as the story which deals with the narco-political angle (a word used often in the movie itself).

The swearing is quite natural, though normally Bollywood films don’t depict this vulgar reality of life. People swear and they swear OFTEN. I would go so far as to say, they didn’t show enough swearing! People in real life,swear more often to express their anger, frustrations and disappointment.

As for the plot of drug abuse… Most people are not aware of the drug problem in the country. If there is any truth and factual basis behind the story, there is little wonder why the politicians will be rattled by this exposure of something, which most of the aam junta are unaware of.

Overall, as a film, it has its flaws, it’s not the best film ever made, but it’s a VERY important film.

People need to go and watch this film. Despite it being pirated before release, I hope people go to the theatres and see the film on the big screen like it was meant to be seen.

Rating : I would give this film a 6.5/10 just on the film making alone. But adding extra 2 points for the sensitive but crucial subject matter and the sheer guts of the filmmakers to make such a film.

Final Rating: 8.5/10.