Movie review: Deepika Padukone stands out, Gehraiyaan is modish film with an aura

Kolkata: Karan Johar once said, "I think there's must ado about fidelity and infidelity. I think sometimes true emotional relationships can go beyond those". Shakun Batra, the man who helmed 'Kapoor & Sons' earlier, this time delves with an intimate and sensitive drama 'Gehraiyaan', which eventually is a Karan Johar production too. The film dealt infidelity in a unique way.

The story of this one of the most anticipated Indian films, 'Gehraiyaan', revolves around two modern-day couples. It stars Deepika Padukone as Alisha, Dhairya Karwa as Karan, Ananya Panday as Tia and Siddhant Chaturvedi as Zain. Infidelity is not new in Bollywood or Indian films. But 'Gehraiyaan' is not merely about infidelity, it is more than that. It's not a film the Indian audience is very familiar with.

Shakun dives into such an untried genre, domestic noir with this outing. It starts to unravel the darkness of human feelings and impulses. Shakun fuses the narrative in a relatable and persuasive way with plot and emotional twist.

That's what is captivating about the film. Instead of infusing clichéd thrills, it dives deep down to its characters who have got themselves into a nearly perplexing predicament.

The film is passionate but does not swirl solely around forbidden passion and its fallouts, rather it concentrates on the grey closets of human psyches that were yet to focus on Indian cinema.

Shakun dealt with vulnerability and the impulsiveness of the characters in the way to untangle complex human behaviour and its reactions. He developed the characters in such a layered way that took him about 2 hours 30 minutes to unfold.

This Deepika Padukone starter is a modish film with a flair and aura. There couldn't have been a better treatment than the way Shakun dealt with this not so simple narrative with ease. He composed every scene with precision and coalesced those with the roar of nautical waves and the emotional quietude.

The cast of the film is well-suited to the roles and have done an admirable performance that reveals through the frames. Deepika as Alisha (yoga instructor) delivers one of her nicest performances. She played a complicated character in a nuanced way. She depicted the vulnerability with so much belief. She has outshined herself, to say the least.

Siddhant as Zain (real estate entrepreneur) delivers a refined act that required very much to match up the excellence of Deepika on-screen. Ananya as Tia (so-called elite girl) is wonderful. With time, Ananya is evolving as an actor and she portrays the character with absolute sincerity. Dhairya as Karan (struggling author) have not much to do for his not so much screen presence but he looked fresh on-screen. Naseeruddin Shah and Rajat Kapoor are stunning as well.

The allure of visual depiction lies in the frames and Kaushal Shah has created numerous frames that complement the ethos of the narrative. This film doesn't comprise the frames we normally see in most Bollywood films. It's an incredibly nice move to use ocean waves metaphorically to symbolize the deep dive within human sensitivities.

Though it is a lengthy one for the OTT viewing, the director never loses hold on his script. The film has maintained the promise it delivered with the trailer but the pace of the film could have been a little faster. (UNI)