Bollywood movie review: Gehraiyaan

Starring Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Pandey, Naseeruddin Shah, Dhairya Karwa

Pic credit: Wikipedia

Before watching the movie, I ended up reading a couple of posts about Gehraiyaan and saw the words “mental health” and “childhood trauma.” It gave me hope. Being a Hindi movie buff, I am always on the lookout for cinema that’s meaningful and discusses difficult topics.

I believe I went in with too many expectations.

Gehraiyaan (meaning depths in English) ironically lacks the depth that it so badly wants to depict. All the issues it touches upon are on the surface and we never really get to understand any of them “in depth.”

I wish the director had chosen one tough issue and focused on that. The film feels like a mess that needs organizing. It starts slow and builds the relationship between the protagonists but fails to explore any of their issues with no time on their hands.

To dive deeper, one needs to focus. Focus on what’s at hand. But looks like the director and the writer had their hands full. They couldn’t decide what mattered more — the cheating or mental health. Some might argue that all these all are actually connected. Of course, they are.

But it’s not possible to explore them all in a 2-hour-28 minutes movie. Gehraiyaan starts unhurried and just when you’re getting used to it’s pace, it shifts gear and leaves you quite amused.

So does it mean that there’s nothing worth watching here? Well, the film does touch upon some sensitive topics with grace in scenes such as those between Deepika Padukone (Alisha) and her father, played by Naseeruddin Shah.

Deepika has taken her role seriously and that’s visible when we see her gasping for breath in the film. I could feel her struggle and she made me breathless too. Her effort is surely commendable. Her acting tells me she understands mental health better than a lot of other actors and that is worth applauding.

I just wish the film focused on either childhood trauma entirely or just the cheating part. The “khichdi” that they thought will do our appetite good actually doesn’t sit well with my personal cravings. You can’t put too many ingredients in a khichdi yaar. If you want to truly enjoy it, you must keep it simple. Don’t you think so?

So my verdict is go ahead and watch it if you have the time. It won’t feel like a waste because it does touch upon important issues, including inter-generational trauma, that our society needs to discuss more openly.

Watch it to understand that childhood trauma stays with us. It makes us who we are. How we handle it and how we react to it are the only choices we can make.

And those are some very strong decisions to take. So let’s choose wisely ❤️

If you have any feedback or want to share your review with me, connect with me at:

anushka_bhartiya@yahoo.com