Gehraiyaan is a good story that did not get into the right hands. I genuinely liked the twists and the complexity of emotions that the story wanted to tell, but somewhere the director failed to bring them to life on screen. If you read that again, I said, ‘complexity of emotions,’ not relationships because it wasn’t much about relationships but about trauma, guilt, love, and tragedies. All of these emotions then manipulate life and relationships.
Since the very beginning, only Deepika Padukone gave you the right vibe and shouldered the responsibility of narrating the story effectively through her performance. While watching the film, try not to let her overpower the frame and just observe the direction and other performances. You would notice that they are all lifeless. The film, its direction, dialogue deliveries, the dull background score – almost everything. Now, bring Deepika back in, and the frame lights up again. She silently keeps you hooked. You simply keep wanting more of her. From the very beginning, your heart goes out to her.
Her character, Alisha, has so many layers to it. For any actor to peel every layer with just the performance, not relying too much on the dialogues, is truly praise-worthy. There are scenes where she feels suffocated, no, not because she cannot breathe, but because she is emotionally suffering and trust me, she has done such an incredible job that you feel suffocated too. So, kudos to this brilliant lady who has proved that heroines too can save the film; we don’t need heroes for that.
Other than Deepika Padukone, there is nothing much to watch in the film. But yes, this story should definitely be a novel. The complexities of emotions and relationships would beautifully bloom when not dulled by straight faces, ineffective story-telling, and a slow-moving film. I would have enjoyed the film if the director and writers would have dived deep into the ‘gehraiyaan’ of human mind, emotions, and conscience than simply showing the waves to justify the title, Gehraiyaan.
I don’t want to reveal the story as it has interesting twists. If I do, watching Gehraiyaan might feel like a complete waste of time, so I end the review here but….
How I wish Renuka Shahane had directed this film! I still can’t forget how wonderfully she dealt with complex emotions and twisted relationships in Tribhanga. With a story like Gehraiyaan, you just cannot not add depth to it. When it comes to the emotional side of it, I would say that the film has been ruined – DHARMATICALLY!
Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video
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