Gehraiyaan is going to be an experience which could either come across as deep and dark or could turn out to be completely shallow. It depends upon person to person. But it does bring something never seen before.
The movie mainly remains focused on the life of Alisha (Deepika) who has lived with a tumultuous past which she can't let go of and is trying every means possible to not live that past again. She is suffocating in a relationship with Karan (Dhairya) which is going in no direction and then she meets Zain (Siddhant) who is engaged to her cousin, Tia (Ananya). Alisha feels that Zain is the one who can make her escape her past. Complications arise with every step she takes to be in a fulfilling relationship with Zain, who is struggling to end it with Tia and is having a hard time in a real estate project which he is heading. The story seems straightforward, but every character is hiding a secret and building lies for either their own selfish purposes or for happiness of their dear ones.
The cinematography and music of the film feels fresh and top notch. The visuals of blue sea-waves and the use of sadness inducing colour pallets work very well with the dilemma the characters are facing at each point of time.
Shakun Batra's direction and storytelling is something to marvel at. There is something unorthodox about how he presents the story, something which he did brilliantly in his previous directorial feature 'Kapoor and Sons'. But it does feel that dialogues do not appear relatable and the screenplay does leave a few loose ends.
From a performance standpoint, Deepika delivers her career best performance in at least the last 30 minutes of the run time if not the entire movie. She looks gorgeous in every frame and lets her eyes convey Alisha's state of mind. Her performance is breath-taking in moments when she is gasping for breath and trying to escape the circumstances she is in.
Siddhant has his moments but suffers from lack of character insight. He does what he has to do, something which Zain acknowledges through one of his dialogues, and we as viewers have to accept it. The build up to why he does what he does is not given enough time.
Ananya looks the part and does well and so does Dhairya who has a limited screen presence. Though better actors could have been casted for Tia's role.
There is also Naseeruddin Shah, who plays Alisha's father, who is simply put a master of his craft. He doesn't even need any dialogue or a long screen time to create an impact. His scene with Deepika towards the end of the movie is the perfect heart-warming conclusion which is played out in such an understated way and yet leaves a lasting impression.
Gehraiyaan uses its visuals and performances to convey a story which shifts its theme drastically during the last act. On surface it would seem like another film talking about relationships and infidelity. But it covered more than that. It touched upon, among many things, the undermined impact of a childhood trauma, complexities in relationships and unpredictability of the lives that we live.
It shall definitely have viewers divided. It's bound to receive criticism from one end for the questions left unanswered by the script and appreciation from the other end for a film that belongs to a unique genre.
The movie mainly remains focused on the life of Alisha (Deepika) who has lived with a tumultuous past which she can't let go of and is trying every means possible to not live that past again. She is suffocating in a relationship with Karan (Dhairya) which is going in no direction and then she meets Zain (Siddhant) who is engaged to her cousin, Tia (Ananya). Alisha feels that Zain is the one who can make her escape her past. Complications arise with every step she takes to be in a fulfilling relationship with Zain, who is struggling to end it with Tia and is having a hard time in a real estate project which he is heading. The story seems straightforward, but every character is hiding a secret and building lies for either their own selfish purposes or for happiness of their dear ones.
The cinematography and music of the film feels fresh and top notch. The visuals of blue sea-waves and the use of sadness inducing colour pallets work very well with the dilemma the characters are facing at each point of time.
Shakun Batra's direction and storytelling is something to marvel at. There is something unorthodox about how he presents the story, something which he did brilliantly in his previous directorial feature 'Kapoor and Sons'. But it does feel that dialogues do not appear relatable and the screenplay does leave a few loose ends.
From a performance standpoint, Deepika delivers her career best performance in at least the last 30 minutes of the run time if not the entire movie. She looks gorgeous in every frame and lets her eyes convey Alisha's state of mind. Her performance is breath-taking in moments when she is gasping for breath and trying to escape the circumstances she is in.
Siddhant has his moments but suffers from lack of character insight. He does what he has to do, something which Zain acknowledges through one of his dialogues, and we as viewers have to accept it. The build up to why he does what he does is not given enough time.
Ananya looks the part and does well and so does Dhairya who has a limited screen presence. Though better actors could have been casted for Tia's role.
There is also Naseeruddin Shah, who plays Alisha's father, who is simply put a master of his craft. He doesn't even need any dialogue or a long screen time to create an impact. His scene with Deepika towards the end of the movie is the perfect heart-warming conclusion which is played out in such an understated way and yet leaves a lasting impression.
Gehraiyaan uses its visuals and performances to convey a story which shifts its theme drastically during the last act. On surface it would seem like another film talking about relationships and infidelity. But it covered more than that. It touched upon, among many things, the undermined impact of a childhood trauma, complexities in relationships and unpredictability of the lives that we live.
It shall definitely have viewers divided. It's bound to receive criticism from one end for the questions left unanswered by the script and appreciation from the other end for a film that belongs to a unique genre.
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