Laxmii Review: The Bomb explodes with a crackling sound!

Even in lockdown, Akshay Kumar treats us to his horror-comedy flick 'Laxmii' directed by Raghav Lawrence. The movie is based on the Tamil flick 'Kanchana' which was also helmed by Lawrence. The movie also stars Ayesha Raza, Ashwini Kaleskar, Sharad Kelkar, Rajesh Sharma as the able supporting cast! The movie is an OTT release available on Disney+Hotstar.

                                                           

What's Good: Performances: Akshay Kumar gives the performance of his career. He portrays Laxmii with exemplary conviction and words fall short to praise this man. Sharad Kelkar, Ayesha Raza, Ashwini Kaleskar provide extreme support to Akshay's performance. Message: The message finds relevance in today's world and is necessary. Comic Relief: Ayesha Raza and Ashwini provide some much needed comic relief in this movie.

                            

                                                    

What's Bad: Screenplay: The screenplay of the movie in both 1st and 2nd half falters. The 'Ayushmann Khurana Genre' Trap: The movie falls into the Ayushmann Khurana Genre Trap pretty quickly as it enters its 2nd half. Editing: The movie could have been easily 15-20 minutes short had only if the editing would've been crispier. Message Route: While the movie stays true to its messaging, the path it undertakes is messy and confuses. 

                                                   

Final Words: 'Laxmii' by no means is a perfect movie. The movie has its share of flaws but the towering performance by Khiladi alone makes the movie an absolute 'One Time Watch'. I am going for 2.5 stars for the movie and an extra half for Khiladi and Kelkar making it 3 stars for the movie. Watch it for a towering performance by Akshay and whilst saying this 'It Is Absolutely Impossible to Imagine any other A-lister doing this role!' 

                                                    

STREAMING ON: DISNEY+HOTSTAR!

AMKH Review: Actions speak louder than words!

This lockdown season has helped me uncover some small and beautiful gems which the audience has missed watching in theatres. A movie that boasts of names like Sanjay Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi, Eklavi Khanna, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Anshuman Jha; 'Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain' is a heartwarming and delightful piece of cinema which we did not know but needed in our lives! The movie had released in 2018 but largely went unnoticed because of reasons best known to the audience.

What's Good: Story: The story follows 3 distinct love stories and depicts how love has matured over generations. A silent ode to all those women whose marriage and love got lost within household chores and responsibilities.  Performances: With a cast so perfect, nothing goes wrong in this one! Pankaj Tripathi even in his minuscule role leaves an everlasting impact. Direction: Harish Vyas' direction is pitch-perfect and guides this movie well. Camerawork: Farooq Mistry's camerawork captures Banaras and its 'galiyaans' like never before!

                                                     

What's Bad: Staginess: With the story being familiar, there are certain moments when this movie feels stagy. Editing: The editing of the movie does impact its viewing experience. Music: Music by Pravin Kunwaar and Oni-Adil are below average. 'Meri Aankhen' by Shaan is however a song worth going back to.

                                                      

                                                      
Final Word: Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain is a delightful movie about love in marriages and explores it decently through the story of 3 different couples and captures the essence of Banaras very well. I am going with 3.5 stars for this little gem. Do give this movie your Love and Time!

                                                     

The movie is available on AMAZON PRIME VIDEO for viewing.

Qissa Controversy Ka: Nepotism!

 To begin with, familiarizing ourselves with what Nepotism means is necessary. Nepotism is "Nepotism is based on favouritism granted to relatives in various fields, including business, politics, entertainment, sports, religion and other activities." So Nepotism exists in all fields and is a very normal and natural process and there is absolutely nothing wrong in it. A doctor shall promote their kid, similarly an engineer, businessman etc. Therefore it is very normal that there shall be nepotism in every field but then why is Bollywood singled out specifically? Not to forget, trending Boycott Bollywood, disliking trailers is not a solution and in fact, there is a bigger issue than nepotism that exists!

                                

The real issue is an 'Entrance Test' and 'Privileged vs Oppressed'. As it has become clear, the are certain 'gangs' that control who gets a movie, who does not. These gangs are run by elite, glamourous people who decide to promote a specific set of star kids (Hot favourite at the moment: Jahnvi Kapoor) and the issue comes in here. Whenever a star kid makes their debut, like recently, Sara was found to promote Kedarnath whereas her co-star SSR was not allowed to promote it. The critics, the audiences everyone went gaga over Sara's performance so much that they forgot SSR was also in it. Sara went on to give interviews alone and similarly when SOTY2 was being promoted, Tara Sutaria was sidelined and Ananya and Tiger were the focus of conversations. This oppression of outsiders with the insiders is the actual reason that we should be focussing on. Furthermore, it can be questioned that "Why dont they object to this treatment?" For which a simple, straightforward answer is that an outsider cannot upset the particular gang, who are capable to stagnating their growth and dearth of movie offers. So, when you oppress that particular outsider, how can you expect the audience to appreciate those outsiders in movies that outsider stars in when the audience is not aware of the outsider. Result: Outsider movies flop big time and they lose out on work or rather 'snatched' away from them like for Parineeti who lost out on projects in spite of being a phenomenal actress (Ishaqzaade, Hasee toh Phasee are a testament), similar things with SSR, Taapsee (in PPAW, replaced by Ananya), Swara etc.

                              

Difference between a doctor promoting their doctor kid or engineer promoting their engineer kid is the fact that they have to give written exams, entrance exams, pass all semesters etc. Whereas in cinema, the star kid simply walks into a biggie producer's office, gives look tests and Viola! The lack of such 'entrance tests' in the industry is a big problem and we have this process in the western counterpart where Nepotism technically doesn't exist. Furthermore, even in star kids, the Kapoors, the Johars, the Khans are the 'creme-de-latte' of Bollywood and control the machinery at one end. Nepotism started long back with Prithviraj Kapoor who launched his son, his brother etc and from then on Kapoors cemented themselves in this industry. Therefore, anyone in their 'good books' shall be promoted (Ananya Pandey: Her mother Bhawna Pandey is a close associate of Kapoors and furthermore rumours are that her cousin Ahaan Pandey and Shanaya Kapoor are speculated to be launched together thanks to the relationship with the clan). Since Johars are dealing with actor kids, Salman Khan has decided to launch director and action director and 'close friends' kids including Zaheer Iqbal, Pranutan Behl, Utkarsh and Ayush Sharma, Sooraj Pancholi, and Athiya Shetty to name a few. All this at the cost of an outsider movie. 

                              

Whilst saying this, even good scripts go-to star kids in the starting of the career (Case in Point: Jahnvi Kapoor's Gunjan Saxena) for obvious reasons. Furthermore, why was Parineeti or Kriti offered to star opposite the Telugu Superstar Vijay Deveranakonda in the 'Fighter', produced by Dharma? To establish these star kids, all good scripts fall off outsiders lap into the insider's lap to establish them.  It is all about giving the outsiders a level playing field and then see the jump outsiders take w.r.t. star kids as stated by Kunal Kemmu. Even a doctor can only promote and send the patient to his son's clinic but cannot allow or force the patient to consult her kid if his dealings, medication are poor. Similarly, if the parents normally promote and get thier kid a movie, it is absolutely normal. The issue arises when to establish a kid like Jahnvi Kapoor one provide scripts like Gunjan Saxena to her and not to Radhika Madan or Sanjana Sanghi. Further, the outsiders have been left with mediocre scripts like Commando, Guddu ki Gun, Junglee, Rabtaa, Behen Hogi Teri , Heropanti etc.  The recent announcement of Disney+Hotstar of the movies line-up, they rightfully deemed 2 movies not worthy of representation(Read Picture) starring 2 outsiders in the lead and furthermore, Varun Dhawan was also called in (none of his movies were releasing). One of them was recently released Lootcase starring Kunal Kemmu, which proved the actor's acting prowess but was not deemed worthy of representation coz 'An Outsider'. Again, Bollywood needs to make it a 'level playing field' and then leave it for outsiders and insiders to flourish. Not only that the oppressed star kids like Rohan Mehra, Akshaye and Rahul Khanna, but Abhay Deol shall also be able to easily outcompete the 'Dharma' clan along with some outsiders like Kemmu, Jammwal, Sanon, Rao and Khurana!

                       

Therefore, more than Nepotism, it is about that entrance test and the privileged vs oppressed in cinema. But in the end, the audience just should not trend hashtags and instead, go actually and watch the movies of the outsiders and lap it with love, evident from the box office collections! SSR's Sonchiriya should not have flopped at the box office if it received the same love as Jahnvi Kapoor's Dhadak or Sara's Kedarnath recieved.

                                

                         

Sushant Singh Rajput: An Inspiration and a Legend!

It has been 42 days since Sushant Singh Rajput left for his heavenly abode on the 14th of June, 2020. In this write-up, The Bollywood Elephant pays a heartfelt tribute to the late Sushant Singh Rajput. May he find semblance in his mother's arms up there.

Sushant carved your own niche in the galaxy far away yet near. We hope that we could bring him back using quantum physics by igniting chemistry. His dreams and passion are embedded in our hearts and become an immortal source of motivation. His death makes me realize the uncertainty and fear of life. His uncertain exit from our galaxy was unsettling but opened a chapter about life consumed by depression. I recall how he always wanted to be an astronaut and in one of his interviews, he said, "Let's be an actor and let's be everything" with the same energy and gusto as a naive and a simple guy with Bollywood dreams! Thereafter, he unravelled his dreams through cinema and stuck to what he believed! When I first read about Sushant, I read that an 'AIEEE AIR 7' guy is debuting in cinema with 'Kai Po Che' and when I saw you onscreen it was really hard to believe that a science guy could pull off such a phenomenal act! And that was where our horizons met and led to your discovery!

                       

Sarfaraz, Raghu, Ishaan, Byomkesh, Dhoni, Anni, Samar, Mansoor, Jilaan, Shiv and now Manny. There was not a single character that he played; he lived them! Be it Dhoni, Ishaan from 'Kai Po Che' or his small yet effective Sarfaraz from PK, Sushant infused each character as his own and his versatility and a testament to his talent came out in 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story', where it was really hard to distinguish between the reel and the real sportsman. Sushant's filmy career was perhaps a really short one. In a matter of 8 years, Sushant did 11 movies which were either critical success (Sonchiriya, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy) or commercial success (MS Dhoni, PK, SDR) or both (Chhichore, Kedarnath). Sushant and his love for the craft were always so evident that it makes me wonder 'what if you can pursue what you desire, will you achieve it?'. The answer to this query was resolved when in one of his interviews, he said, " I am a noun in your life but a verb in mine." which was the star's signal to everyone who desired whatever they wanted and the fact that only they themselves can make things work and nobody else. His movie choices, his encouragement to new talent, and most importantly his passion and hard work for the craft he adored will always be missed. 

                                         

Sushant's bereavement has made him a deserving role model. His death has instead immortalized forever. He gave the small guys with Bollywood Dreams an example. An example which will now allow the small guys to flock to the city with the hopes of getting into this difficult and gruesome industry. His smile and his will to constantly be better than what he was will be celebrated more than the gloom his death/ the thought of his death creates. We shall celebrate and talk more about the success stories of his life in this industry. An industry that can provide work for millions and create dreams and inspirations whilst taking care of not getting lost in the abyss. 

                                    

Your movie, 'Dil Bechara' is unfortunately out on a streaming platform which by the first looks, was a Hollywood adaptation with pretty people (standard idea for a remake in Bollywood: the world where a lot of people desire to get into!) Maybe Sushant did as well. But what has followed after the movie is a number of memes and fan-made videos of the endearing Sushant Singh Rajput, which I wish was the love and recognition he could get when he was alive. Whenever I think about Sushant, I feel all the more his life has become immortal. He is just like James Dean; an actor who just did 3 movies but is still an icon. His memory will always be etched in my heart and life because when a star dies, it creates a nebula around which millions of stars will be born and I hope, remember the star that allowed them to dream and achieve!

                               

To conclude, I would just like to say a few lines from the poem 'Abhineta' which go as follows:

"Seekha Hoon Apne Tajurbe se,

Aise kisi ko bhaashan deta nahin,

Kyuki main koi neta nahi.

Jo bhi aaya dil main,

daal diya tik-tok pe,

Aisa Main Abhineta Nahin!"

We shall meet in the next life again on the big screen Seri, Sushant Singh Rajput?

                                             

Yours Lovingly,

The Bollywood Elephant!

                             

Qissa Controversy Ka: Patriarchy in Cinema!

Recently, choreographer and director Ahmad Khan criticized the movie 'Thappad' saying that if he slaps his wife, his wife should slap him back and totally dissed the idea of the character Amrita leaving the house. He did go on to say that it is open to a person's interpretation but it cannot be ruled out that Bollywood for decades has been glorifying patriarchy. In Thappad, the protagonist realizes how her husband did not respect her and she gives it her all and loses her individuality in the process. The slap makes her realize what she has been missing and she seeks out to make her own identity. If we take Ahmad Khan's statement into consideration, a slap for a slap shall not change things and his act of hitting his wife shall be within the walls of the house. Little does he realize that 'keeping such an act within the walls' shall make the relationship worse, also make him realize that it such an act is not his 'right' and therefore reach no conclusion. Furthermore, the thought of being the 'man of the house' shall continue prevailing and after some time things might become toxic. But, from the director of outstandingly horrible and terrible movies like 'Baaghi 2', and 'Baaghi 3', we really can't expect more because females in these movies are nothing but dolls waiting to be rescued! His words and his movies reflect the impact of patriarchy from the cinema on an individual. Therefore, we review at instances which show how with subtlety Patriarchy in cinema has grown over the years with little to no change.

                                        

• Lipstick under my Burkha: Bollywood in 2017 went for a 'lady-oriented' movie 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' and like our patriarchal Bollywood has always been, it was impossible for the CBFC to allow it to release as it was too 'lady-oriented' (what does that even mean) and inappropriate (Really? Only men are allowed to have fantasies?). We never see it this way but maybe like the most of the audience today, it would have been difficult for the board to realize and accept that woman have their desires and are not only Goddesses but individuals fighting and struggling for their overdue respect and gratitude. 

                                                    

• Cinema of the 50s-80s: 'The angry young man' laid the foundation of how a man in Bollywood cinema is expected to be. It was this era that Amitabh Bachchan deemed this title after saving heroines and fighting villains which also created an everlasting impact on the minds of the people. Needless to say, being the man in cinema came with privileges which followed the suite. In the 1990s, movies like 'Biwi No.1' normalized extramarital romance by husband whereas stereotyped woman as a helpless woman and made them as individuals allowed to be mistreated. What was even more devastating was Karishma's character did a photoshoot and her husband went crazy over those photos and belittled her. Therefore, needless to say, that the movie became a massive hit and then on Patriarchy rose to the forefront in Bollywood.

                                                    

• Sharmila's statement: Furthermore, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore in an interview has stated that how a 'male gaze' has been playing a significant role in the development of female characters in cinema and how the 'sacrificing' female characters became popular whereas those who deemed were identified as 'selfish'. She also pointed out how the female characters today were liberal unlike back in her times which pretty much tells us that patriarchy in cinema lasts for decades. Furthermore, the veteran actress also mentioned how in movies during the 1960s-2000s, it was not deemed necessary to even mentioned the girl's profession in the movie as they were nothing but objects of desire!

                                                      

• Bollywood dialogues have a cult following: There are a lot of dialogues in Bollywood that smell of patriarchy if we interpret them in the truest sense. Dialogues like 'Tumhi Mere Mandir, Tumhi Meri Puja, Tumhi Devta Ho!' (Men = God. NO!), 'Akeli Ladki Khuli Hui Tijori ki Tarah hoti hai' (Same can be said for a guy), 'Agar Khoobsurat Ladki ko na chedo, toh who bhi uski bezzati hoti hai'(Trying to justify eve-teasing and shaming ugly girls), 'Itni moti hai yeh ki agar weighing scale pe khadi hui toh "To Be Continued" aaega' (Derogatory to both guys and girls), 'Tu Ladki Ke peeche bhaag, Ladki Paise Ke peeche bhaagegi. Tu paise ke peeche bhaag, ladki tere peeche bhaagegi' (Men also run after rich girls! Housefull 4 latest example).

                                                      

• CBFC Biased: The Central Board of Film Certification has been grossly manhandling female-oriented movies. The example of Lipstick Under My Burkha is still fresh. Furthermore, if the board objects scenes of women partially naked, the same should also apply to scenes of men showing off their body, after all, they are also partially naked! Furthermore, CBFC had stalled the release of Raveena Tandon's Maatr as it was 'derogatory' towards women. But how could a mother seeking revenge for her raped daughter be derogatory? This not only exposes the double standards of Bollywood but also show the gender-bias prevalent in the film society, which is a result of Patriarchy. The Gender Pay disparity in cinema is also attributed to the fact that cinema is patriarchal otherwise these situations would have not come to the forefront.

                                                   

Patriarchy goes back to deep roots in the Indian System. The Indian Film Industry is no exception! Patriarchy cannot be eradicated with one particular move, it needs to be done over time and is a relatively slow process. With movies like Piku, Thappad, English Vinglish Bollywood is trying to head in the right direction but the audience does not seem to lap such movies proving that even watching a movie for a middle-class family, Patriarchy decides what is to be watched and what is not supposed to! We can only expect things to better, when we lap such movies!

Qissa Controversy Ka: SSR and Nepotism!

14th June 2020. Bandra West, Mumbai. It has been 12 days since Sushant Singh Rajput has left the world. We accept it or not but, his death has impacted us to a great extent more than any other death in the film fraternity. There are uncountable rumours regarding his death and it is really shameful that it took a Death to realize the roots of Nepotism and Favourites that run in this industry! In the blog post, I would just like to share some radical views about the statements and the controversies that evolved after his death.

                              

• JUDGEMENTALITY: Probably after the Nepotism debate, the most talked-about reason for his suicide is the Rhea Chakraborty And Mahesh Bhatt angle. Just because intimate pictures between Mahesh and Rhea have started doing rounds on the internet, the public has come to the conclusion(let alone an assumption) that there is something brewing between the two. Well, it is very obvious that the partner/spouse is suspected in that case but reaching conclusions without evidence is absolutely incorrect. Moreover, Sushant ended a 6-year-old relationship with Ankita Lokhande and then that did not propel him to take this drastic step. Then, it seems weird how can a 2-year-old relationship with Rhea push him to suicide! Moreover, society has become judgemental (as usual) towards Rhea (because in our patriarchal society men are 'allowed' everything) and declared her a murderer! Moreover, the capability and the genius SSR was (💔) a fight between a  couple is normal since, we do not know the reason for the fight, calling it a purposeful fight directed by Mahesh Bhatt is absolutely incorrect.  

                                                     

• NEPOTISM:  There has so much that has already been spoken and that is absolutely correct and Karan Johar is definitely at fault. One focus that really needs attention in this is the fact about the Indian hypocritic audience. We cannot skew Nepotism to only the producers for showing us, but also the audience for investing in it (case in point 'Dhadak/ Student of the Year/Kedarnath)! As Akshaye Khanna has said previously said, "If you ask a random person walking on the street if he would like to watch X person's movie or Akshay Kumar's son Aarav's movie, the person would obviously pick the latter." This statement does make sense. Nepotism exists everywhere but we single out the INDIAN film industry because for every other field there is an 'entrance test' like for Medical it is NEET/Engineering is AIEEE/IIT which is definitely not there in the industry. For star kids, it is all getting into the family business by giving 'look tests'. For an outsider, it is always about the entrance test or the 'BIG BREAK' if they need to get into the industry. Funny enough, the star kids get multiple chances to prove themselves but outsiders have only 1 movie to prove their mettle. This is definitely wrong and there can be a little hope of change especially because the audience NOT present on social media drives approximately 60% of the box office collection so if you want to boycott star kids, this news should reach that section/Tier-3 cities of India. Even in Hollywood, Nepotism tried to exist but tremendously failed otherwise we would have had Colin Hanks (s/o Tom Hanks), Patrick Schwarzenegger(s/o Arnold Schwarzenegger) rocking the box office but barely people know them. Of lately, actress Adah Sharma has also pointed out that how in spite of a supporting role in Dharma's 'Hasee Toh Phasee', she was not allowed to be part of the promotions and it was only Sidharth and Parineeti doing the entire thing which pretty much clears as to why people are upset majorly with Karan Johar.

                                                       

•  FUN FACT: Even after being in the Hindi film industry for over 9 years now, Taapsee Pannu has still not featured on Vogue India's Cover Page whereas, in the June 2018 and August 2018, Jhanvi Kapoor and Suhana Khan featured on it. Why? Maybe because Karan Johar and Vogue Editor Anaita Shroff Adjania are close friends? Or is it not a phenomenon of Favouritism? Moreover, Taapsee has never been invited to Koffee with Karan as well.

                                                          

• ELITISM IN NEPOTISM: Surprisingly, even amongst the 'privileged' star kids, the phenomenon of Elitism seems to be present. Surprisingly enough, it is suspected that this elite group mainly consists of the Johar, the Pandeys, the Kapoors (majorly Kapoors) it is really disheartening to see actually some good products of nepotism like Akshaye and Rahul Khanna (s/o actor Vinod Khanna), Rohan Mehra (s/o actor Vinod Mehra) etc lost among the glossy showy kids from the airport looks. It is definitely no surprise to see Archana Puran Singh's son, Sanjay Kapoor's daughter, Sridevi's younger daughter gracing the big screen in 2-3 years and we, the audience paying to watch them (for sure).

                                                        

• MILKING OPPORTUNISTS: Definitely, Divya Khosla Kumar has the best PR team! She knows how to receive attention and single out someone who spoke up against the 'music mafia'. If T-Series was promoting 'talent', why are the majority of the songs are sung by Tulsi Kumar (an awful singer) and Dhvani Bhanushali (daughter of Divya's relative) whose music singles are every time produced and presented by T-Series? If they were good singers, why didn't other music labels run after them the similar way they run after Darshan Raval, Asees Kaur etc? Not far behind is yesteryear actor Sonam Kapoor who should realize that it was Mr Kapoor's karma that she was born there (good or bad, we leave it for Mr Kapoor to decide). Yes, it is definitely not her fault that she was born at Mr Kapoor's house but it is definitely her fault if she is arrogant, stubborn and justifying her place in an industry she literally walked into. Not to forget, Mrs.Ahuja's BFF Swara Bhaskar who is out supporting Karan Johar.

                                                        

• THE REAL VILLAINS: We have had enough of Blame Game. One of the real villains is INDIAN AUDIENCE. Since a long time, the Indian Society is a Hypocritic Society and we refuse to accept this fact. These days we criticize Nepotism, a few days/months later we shall be watching their movies and making them the next superstar and a potential outsider (currently Kartik Aaryan) will lose out on films the same way Sushant lost out Ram Leela/Befikre because Ranveer had a two 50crore+ and a 100 crore+ grosser and Sushant just had 1 movie over 50 crores (Kai Po Che) back then. The reason the Indian Audience needs to be called out is, if these things did not affect their movie-going experience Bigg Boss would have not run for 13 seasons! Apart from Karan Johar, it is really surprising that reports do not comprise of Sajid Nadiadwala's name: a man who launched Tiger Shroff, Nandish Singh, Bhagyashree's son and is currently launching Ahan Shetty (Sunil Shetty's son) with the RX100 remake. It seems like a pact that KJo will launch the Kapoors whereas Naidiadwala shall launch others. It is fairly surprising but true if such kind of pattern is observed in the near future. Moreover, the silent villains include the paparazzi which since their birth have been feeding people with newsfeeds of airport look/no makeup look etc. The Media has always been autocratic and if anyone attacks them it becomes a way of curbing 'Right to Freedom of Expression'. Therefore the double standards of Indian Audience and the Autocraticity of Media need to be checked before calling out to producers like KJo, Sajid Nadiadwala because after all, they are in the business of making money: money the audience provides!

                                                

As for SSR, it was very heartbreaking that he found this way out. He did inspire a lot of us because of his humble and hard-working nature, being there for everyone (people claim). It is really heartbreaking and shocking to see him go, but we look forward to his last Wonderful Work in Dil Bechara which unfortunately releases on Disney+Hotstar on 24th July 2020. I hope that people may thank you for inspiring them when they stand on stage after an achievement!

                                               

                                                    

Synopsis Collection: The Love Less Ordinary!

“Are u sure you don’t want anything else Mr.Rajiv?” asks a disinterested Sheena. “No, thanks that will be all! BTW are u free this evening?” replies Rajiv. “How abt u complete ur painting Rajiv? And next time please pls don’t ask me any such thing!” replies Sheena. “Come on Sheena, we are neighbours as well. Why so cold?” asks Rajiv. “Thank u for providing me with some business Rajiv! U may leave!” says Sheena and leaves Rajiv at the counter of her paint and stationery shop to settle other things in her store. Rajiv is perplexed and leaves.

Back at her one bedroom apartment, we are introduced to Sheena and her daily life. She reaches her house, unwinds herself, contemplates, speaks to her mother who keeps requesting her to meet boys for her marriage and she replies to it by saying “I’m 40 ma, I am not getting married after that.” and as soon as she says this, there is a knock on her door and it is Rajiv. “So what are your plans for today evening since you are back early Sheena Ji??” asks Rajiv grinning. “Rajiv what do you want?” asks Sheena with exhaustion on her face. “Nothing! Just came to ask your well-being.” Replies Rajiv and he leaves.

A few days later, Sheena is cleaning her store and “Sheena” comes a voice and continuing her work she says, “Ms.Sheena” and then turns and asks, “How can I help u?” to Mr.Shorey, a businessman, who says, “Can you please provide me with a huge canvas, the best box of paints and brushes and a picture of yours which I want to paint.” Dumbstruck at this request, Sheena reprimands to him saying how dare he could do such a thing and ridicules him  which makes him leave her shop.

That evening, she shares her disgust with her mother who tells her to enjoy the moment of attention from a single rich man. Sheena is pissed at this and shouts at her mother which makes Rajiv come into his apartment. “Can I offer you a cup of coffee, Sheena? U look stressed.” Asks Rajiv, a bit scared. 

Sheena smiles. Rajiv goes back to being his usual self. “So aunty again asked you to get married?” asks Rajiv. “Well yes! Actually Rajiv it’s just that an arrogant stubborn man came into my store and he asked me for painting types of equipment and a picture of mine.” Replies Sheena. “Woah! So many guts! Impressive. I want to meet this man.” Says Rajiv. “Sure. Why not! He is Shorey, that flirt builder.” Replies Sheena. “And u said no to him!” exclaims Rajiv. “Well yes, I hate such type of men.” Says Sheena. “U know what, u r crazy Sheena!” says Rajiv commandingly. “That’s why u r the only person I can trust beyond doubt. U have the same craziness as me.” She replies. And they share the coffee.

A few days later, Sheena returns home and finds a gift outside her door. She picks it up and walks in. It has a specific style of greeting on it that makes it very hard for her to believe. She calls up a phone number but to no avail. She opens it to find that it is just a simple plain painted canvas. She gets worried. She immediately leaves her house and sees that Rajiv is entering the building. Rajiv greets her but she doesn’t respond and hurriedly calls an auto and leaves somewhere. She goes to a house in a low-grade vicinity but does not find anyone there. Instead, she picks up a photo frame and keeps it close to heart. She returns home and sees another similar canvas painted with the same style of greeting. She is dismayed and weeps as she looks at the picture. Rajiv enters and sees her in tears and like a good friend, sits down with her and they start a conversation.

“Rajiv there is one thing I have never told anyone about, not even my mother. And I am sharing this with you. You see there that I have got another canvas with the same style of salutation as the previous one and the style of salutation could only be done Sahil, someone I had imagined to spend my life with.” Says Sheena.

“Where is he? What happened then? Asks Rajiv innocently. “Sahil is no more in this world. My brothers killed him.” Replies Sheena. She continues, “That is the reason I left the house. Came here. Took a loan and started my own shop.” “But why did they kill him?” asks Rajiv. Sheena hands over the photo frame she is holding to Rajiv and says “Sahil was an enunch.” And Rajiv is dumbstruck.

                                     

        

“But Sheena how could you love Sahil? I mean generally, people meet in colleges, restaurants and then fall in love. Where did you meet Sahil?” asks Rajiv. “I met Sahil at a friend’s daughter’s ceremony some 5 years ago. Initially, he was a very snob behaving as if he was Mr.Shorey but later on I spotted him at another friend’s ceremony and naturally this time I started the conversation. Talking to him, I found him to be a very positive person who just intends to make an impact of his own. Time passed and we became friends, better friends and it barely took me time to realize that I really had fallen for him. And then, he started sending me letters, whose font style was very different from others. And since yesterday I have been receiving these painted canvases, God knows why. Surprisingly, the style of salutation happens to be Sahil’s. And I don’t know why Rajiv but I think it’s Shorey who is behind all this.” Sheena says. “Sheena, why do you think that the style is Sahil specific? Let me have a look” asks Rajiv. “Sheena hands the greeting over to him. “Sheena, it’s not a difficult task to interpret this greeting. Anyone can!” replies Rajiv. “So, it means Shorey can, as well.” Replies Sheena.

Sheena observes sadness behind Rajiv’s happy face and asks him. “Rajiv what’s happened. I can easily see the sadness behind your happy face, tell me what’s it?”  “I am officially divorced now, Sheena.” Replies Rajiv. “U were married Rajiv?” asks Sheena. “Yes, but was separated for the past 8 months. Since we never spoke of love before today, we never brought up the topic.” Replies Rajiv. “Why did you end up getting divorced Rajiv?” asks Sheena. “I was married to Cynthia, a friend and the daughter of a wealthy businessman. I was in love with someone else, but then under her father’s pressure and her obsession for me, I had to marry her. Someone has rightly said, that when you bring a girl to your house, you should always love, respect her because she left her family just to be with you. I know that this is important but then we had no story to start with. I was married under pressure to someone who was obsessed for me. I actually wanted to get rid of Cynthia so that is the reason I treated her in an alienated fashion. Soon enough, she got upset and sent me a divorce notice which I gladly signed. But losing a friend always hurts Sheena.”

“So who do u love now Rajiv?” asks Sheena. “Sheena, u will soon know. That is the biggest hint I will give you.” Replies Rajiv and Sheena also doesn’t press him further.

The next day Sheena storms into Shorey’s office and shouts, yells at him for sending those paintings and that salutation. Shorey says he has no idea about those greetings nor the painting. Sheena alleges him of treachery with people and also accuses him of holding back Sahil. Since Sahil was quite a popular social activist type of a person, he was popular in the city. Shorey laughs it off and says “ Such a**h**** were rightly beaten to death They deserve that dog-type of a death. They are nothing more than a shame to society.” And saying this he asks Sheena to leave his office. Back home, Sheena finds a stack of canvases outside her door and one final salutation.

She knocks Rajiv’s door but to no reply. She takes the stack inside and reads the final salutation, “ Dear Sheena, I tried a lot but could not restrain myself. I have always loved sending you the salutations u could have never imagined. It was me who taught Sahil calligraphy and knew you even before you shifted. I tracked you down after Sahil’s death and here I was to look after you. It was me who all this while sent you these canvases and once you join all of these canvases together, you will realize who I loved. What initially started off as the role to keep my brother’s word could turn into my own love for you. I would be doing treachery with my brother if I asked you out so that is why I am writing it down. Sheena, I love you, hope that you acknowledge the love I have for u. Your friend, Rajiv.”  Sheena then recalls all the incidences and realizes that all this while, the person who she shared things with was Sahil’s brother. And then she opens the paintings and joins them together to find that they form her face. She simply smiles and next we see, Sheena rising for the enunch community just like Sahil and somewhere from within the crowd we see Rajiv dressed up as an enunch cheering the one he loves- Sheena.

Anticipated Cast:

Sheena: Vidya Balan
Rajiv: Ranveer Singh
Sahil: Rajkummar Rao
Mr Shorey: Ranvir Shorey