Darlings Movie Review: Hey Darlings, Alia Bhatt-Vijay Varma’s Film Gives Enough Reasons To Say ‘I Loves You’

Story

Set
in
the
bustling
city
of
Mumbai,
Darlings
opens
with
Badrunissa
AKA
Badru
(Alia
Bhatt)
awaiting
for
her
boyfriend
Hamza
(Vijay
Varma),
who
arrives
with
a
happy
news
and
a
pink
teddy
bear
with
‘kaha
na
sorry‘
written
on
it.
Time
for
a
romantic
pose
on
the
busy
street,
Darlings!

Three
years
later,
we
see
that
pink
teddy
bear
lying
in
a
corner
in
the
balcony
of
the
now-
married,
Badru
and
Hamza’s
house.
It’s
replaced
by
Hamza’s
physical
abuse
which
often
perpetuated
by
his
love
for
his
drink.
At
night,
he
beats
her.
In
the
morning,
he
praises
her
for
the
‘world’s
best
omelette’.

“Kaunsi
shaadi
mein
miyaan
biwi
ke
jhagde
nahi
hote
hain.
Sabki
patang
atakti
hain
na
idhaar.
Hum
aajke
couple
hain.
Thoda
aapse
mein
rehte
hain
lovey
dovey,”
he
sweet-talks
her.
Later,
when
Badru’s
mother
Shamshu
(Shefali
Shah)’s
eyes
fall
on
the
bruise
on
her
neck
and
asks,

‘Ab
kya
ki?‘
The
latter
hides
it
with
her
braid
and
forcingly
a
smile
says,
‘Kankad,’
as
if
she
has
made
a
peace
with
Hamza’s
behaviour.

Until
things
take
a
tragic
turn
one
day,
and
Badru
and
her
fiesty
mother
Shamshu
decide
to
take
the
matter
into
their
own
hands
and
decide
to
adopt
an
eye
for
an
eye
approach.
Joining
them
is
this
payback
is
Zulfi
(Roshan
Mathew),
an
aspiring
writer
who
sells
stolen
goods
for
a
living
and
later,
becomes
a
delivery
boy
for
Shamshu’s
‘dabba’
service.

Direction

Debutante
director
Jasmeet
Reen
along
with
writer
Parveez
Sheikh,
pen
down
a
story
that
brings
the
topic
of
domestic
violence
to
the
fore.
Instead
of
opting
for
vigilante
thrills
that
Hindi
mainstream
cinema
generally
does,
the
duo
have
the
demons
garbed
in
laughs
and
tragedy.
Except
Zulfi
and
Inspector
Tawde
(Vijay
Maurya),
it’s
interesting
how
all
the
characters
are
drenched
in
a
certain
shade
of
grey.

While
the
way
the
film
deals
with
the
concept
of
‘tit
for
tat’
when
it
comes
to
a
serious
topic
like
marital
abuse
could
evoke
mixed
reactions,
Reen
makes
sure
to
drive
home
the
bigger
picture
loud
and
clear.

Speaking
about
the
‘nay’,
the
writing
gets
repetitive
after
a
certain
point
in
the
second
half
and
the
free-flowing
humour
dries
up.
A
few
elements
come
across
as
half-baked.

Performances

After

Gangubai
Kathiawadi,
Alia
Bhatt
churns
out
another
noteworthy
performance
in

Darlings
which
proves
that
there’s
no
stopping
for
this
girl.
As
Badru,
the
actress
brings
in
an
equal
measure
of
vulnerability
and
spunk.
From
love,
heartbreak
to
raging
anger,
Bhatt
embraces
every
emotion
like
her
own
even
when
the
writing
blurs
a
bit.

Just
like
how
her
character
Shamshu
channels
her
inner
chef
to
whip
up
mouth-watering
delicacies,
Shefali
Shah
treats
us
to
a
deft
performance
which
hits
hard
even
when
not
given
any
dialogues.
She’s
mercurial
who
doesn’t
fear
to
look
at
every
hardship
in
the
eye.

But,
the
show-stealer
of
the
film
is
Vijay
Varma
who
delivers
one
of
his
most
engaging
performance
as
Hamza.
The
way
he
switches
from
an
absolute
terror
to
all
lovey-dovey
and
vice-versa,
keeps
you
on
the
edge
of
her
skin.
There’s
a
certain
sinister-like
quality
to
his
character
which
makes
your
skin
creep.

Roshan
Mathew
as
Zulfi
packs
a
punch
even
required.
The
way
the
makers
tease
us
with
his
chemistry
with
one
of
the
characters
is
impactful
albeit
brief.
The
rest
of
the
cast
which
includes
Rajesh
Sharma,
Vijay
Maurya
and
Kiran
Karmarkar,
are
effective.

Technical
Aspects

Anil
Mehta’s
dexterous
cinematography
is
detailed
and
a
pivotal
part
of
the
story
telling.
While
he
settles
for
the
pink-and-blue
colour
scheme
to
express
the
oppression
inside
the
house,
there
are
moments
when
we
see
the
usage
of
red
coloured
outfits
and
objects
which
symbolises
Badru’s
craving
for
strength
and
aggression
in
the
confines
of
her
home.
Nitin
Baid’s
editing
lends
just
the
required
amount
of
tension
in
the
narrative.

Music

Gulzar’s
lyrics
coupled
with
Vishal
Bhardwaj’s
music
lends
different
moods
to
the
narrative.
However,
our
pick
from
the
album
would
be
Mika
Singh’s
‘Pleaj’ which
is
all
things
quirky.

Verdict

In
a
crucial
situation,
Shamshu
asks
Badru,

“Jab
Allah
miya
goodlucks
baant
rahe
thhe
toh
hum
log
kahan
thhe?”
To
this,
she
replies,

“Shaayad
TV
pe
khaana
khajaana
dekh
rahe
the
woh
pe
headphones
pe.”

However,
when
it
comes
to

Darlings,
despite
a
few
slip-ups,
the
makers
have
luck
on
their
side
and
make
sure
to
deliver
some
absorbing
performances
on
your
plate.