Pagglait is a Hindi black comedy movie released in 2021. The movie is directed by Umesh Bist and has a brilliant star cast in it. It includes Sanya Malhotra, Ashutosh Rana, Shruti Sharma, and Raghubir Yadav, Sheeba Chaddha, Aasif Khan, Sayani Gupta, Natasha Rastogi in lead roles. The supporting cast also gave a solid performance. The movie is available on Netflix. kudos to the whole ensemble of veteran and young actors who made it look so realistic.
The movie begins with the demise of young son (Astik) in a family. He is not shown (not even in photo), just mentioned. The reason for his death is not shown either. Sanya plays the young widow (Sandhya), and the full movie is around her. It’s about her journey from naivety to independence. She is educated and is M. A in English. She lost her husband just five months after her marriage and she hardly knew him. The way she reacts to the overall situation seems weird to the family members. They expect her to be sitting in her room and mourning over her husband’s death. But Sandhya is shown checking social media posts and mocking at the copy paste RIP messages posted by the people. She doesn’t cry, she orders Pepsi, chips, eats golgappe and behaves normally. Everyone is puzzled by her behavior. One of the relatives calls her condition PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder). She also finds out a photo of Astik’s girlfriend from his cupboard which adds another aspect to the movie.
The movie presents a tragic tale of devastation that happens due to the untimely death of a son who happens to be the sole earning member of the family. The makers have tried to touch upon various social issues present in society in a simplistic and impactful way. It becomes more interesting as the story unfolds. This movie looks comedy, but it becomes serious and yet engaging with the passing minute. It has a young girl who understands herself during the ten days of mourning her husband’s demise, in-laws who are dealing with financial crises and grief of their son’s loss, and relatives who appear suddenly and start interfering in the family decisions owing to their selfish interests.
All actors are phenomenal but Ashutosh Rana with his subtle acting will make you cry. He has very well portrayed the character of a helpless father. The way he delivers his dialogue is amazing. His dialogues are soft and yet powerful. Sheeba Chaddha portrays the character of Astik’s mother, and her emotions are very natural. There is one dialogue of Sanya, “Jab ladki log ko akal aati hai na, toh sab unhe pagglait hi kehte hain !” When a girl understands her value and takes her decisions independently, she is considered as Pagglait or maniac. In the whole movie, dadi says only one word, “Usha” but when Sandhya takes the responsibility of herself and her family leaving a touching letter for her in-laws, dadi says, “Sandhya”. That part is very emotional. The music of this movie is composed by Arijit Singh and the songs written by Neelesh Misra. The concept of this movie is different, so everyone might not like it. There are some unnecessary scenes which stretch the movie. Overall, it’s an entertaining film. If you love to watch offbeat cinema, then this one is for you!