Piku

The very awesome Kiva Ashby gives us her expert take on Bollywood movies.

Piku
May 2015
Director: Shoojit Sircar
Starring: Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan
Length: 2hr 2min

Short summary: This week’s film is a drama and it's main premise can be described in one word: shit. And I mean that in the most earnest way possible. The main character (the titular, Piku) is played by Deepika Padukone. Piku is a 27 year old graphic designer that resides in present day New Delhi. She lives with her overbearing and severely constipated father played by Amitabh Bachchan. She spends most of her days working in an office and fielding calls from her dad about the frequency and consistency of his bowl movements. This uncomfortable lifestyle only gets worse when dear old dad wants to travel to their hometown to oversee the sale of their family home. Piku wants to fly to the country but Dad thinks it’s bad for his constipation.

Enter poor taxi owner Rana Chaudhry (Irrfan Khan). He gets forced into driving Piku, her father and her father’s servant all the way to Kolkata and has to endure the awkward and constant exchange between father and daughter about constipation. Rana eventually gets caught up in the poop conversation and we start to see the deeper issue at hand. It’s hard to have a parent and child living together alone. The emotions and anger between the two are barely veiled and need to be addressed. 

It’s pretty much a clear cut metaphor for the physical constipation that the dad is experiencing. And nothing can be resolved until the crap comes out.

Overall rating:
**
I didn’t break down the ratings for this film the way I usually do. It’s not a traditional Bollywood movie that contains dance scenes, over the top action or elaborate costumes. I wouldn’t recommend this as a feel good drama or even one that makes you think. It was more of a film that highlighted the uncomfortable realities of life. I really enjoyed Padukone's performance as well as Amitanh Bachchan. I was really tired of seeing him as some kind of aging playboy. For this character he donned a big prosthetic stomach and wore an old man hat. I would really recommend this to those who have seen Bachchan's work before. It’s great to see his versatility and his range.