Vishal Bharadwaj has earlier given us films like Haider, Maqbool, Omkara, Ishqiya, Kaminey, etc. After the not so successful Rangoon last year, Vishal seems to have moved away from his usual heavy, deep kind of films and is back with an entertaining comedy Pataakha.
Based on an acclaimed short story; Do Behnein, by writer, Charan Singh Pathik, Pataakha is the story about two sisters, Champa Kumari aka Badki and Genda Kumari aka Chhutki, played by Radhika Madan and Sanya Malhotra respectively. The two sisters cannot see eye to eye and all ready to pull each other’s hair at the slightest excuse. The two are poles apart; while Chutki wants to go to school and dreams of opening her own school someday, Badki wants to stay away from school and start her own dairy. The only thing they both agree on is their love for smoking beedis.
Image Credit: Pataakha Movie
But what is beautiful about the film is that even though through most of the film we see the sisters pouncing at each other at the slightest provocation, there are subtle references of how deep down, in their hearts, they still care for each other. Like the scene where Badki steals Chutki’s clothes to sneak out for a date, she makes sure to cover up her little sister properly while she’s blissfully asleep. Or the way she gets protective about her little sister when a desperate widower tries to touch her. The two are even compared to India and Pakistan because of their love-hate relationship.
Pataakha is crude, raw yet entertaining. But the film does tend to drag a bit especially in the second half. But just when you think the film is dragging, there is an interesting twist in the film. The fistfights between the two girls have been shot well.
Image Credit: Pataakha Movie
Sunil Grover as Dipper the well-wisher as well as the one who instigates all the trouble is the narrator of the film. Vijay Raaz as the girls’ single father is hapless and your heart goes out to him. He plays the stern yet loving father convincingly.
Radhika as the feisty, bossy older sister plays her role to perfection, so much so that you almost feel she is that character. Right from the dialog dialect to the body language of a crude village girl she is very impressive.
Image Credit: Pataakha Movie
Sanya has moved on from her Dangal character and looks completely different and more feminine in Pataakha. As an actress, she is brilliant and fits into Chutki’s shoes perfectly.
What happens when the two sisters end up marrying in the same household? Do they get along eventually or do they end up killing each other(It’s a Vishal Bhardwaj film so you never know!). Go watch Pataakha to find the answers.
