Piku is full of shit-talk. Yes, you read that one right. A straight-forward way to befriend the 70-year old Bhaskar Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) is to bring up the topic of constipation. Be it at the dinner table, a drive, a party, corporate office meeting, or anywhere else, Bhosh-kor (as he pronounces it), can be effortlessly diverted from his cynical talk to ways to relieve constipation – a chronic problem he faces on a regular basis.
Bhaskar wouldn’t mind talking about the state — looseness, tightness, pulpiness — of his bowels. In fact, he relishes conversing about it to the extent that when the receptionist at his daughter, Piku’s, (Deepilka Padukone), workplace tells her to leave a message for her as she is in a meeting, he ends up describing his excreta. Pushed by Piku the receptionist reads it a loud to the embarrassment of all present.
Following a brief illness, the Bengali family of two, along with the servant, decide to visit Kolkata (from Delhi), the place where Bhaskar grew up and built a house long back the inhabitants of which currently are his compassionate brother and an ever-complaining sister-in-law. Each trivial decision in Bhaskar’s family is preceded by an endless debate. This time it is on the mode of travel to Kolkata.
It is decided that a cab would be hired from Rana Chaudhary’s (Irrfan) cab company (in times of Ola and Uber, it may sound preposterous, but yes, Rana is an engineer who has resorted to running this business as a compulsion). Earlier acrimonious exchanges between Rana and Piku adds the apt complexity to the narrative.
Very much like Piku’s problems with her father, Rana has a nagging mother and a difficult sister to deal with. He wouldn’t miss an opportunity to give them a mouthful only to get it back from them.
On the day of scheduled departure from Delhi, Rana’s driver doesn’t show up. Living up to his commitment, Rana decides to drive Piku and her father to Kolkata. From here starts a comic drive, filled with road humps where Bhaskar is insulting Rana every now and then and the father-daughter are perpetually arguing in the Innova vehicle perched on top of which is a huge potty-seat (obviously, that of Bhaskar).
They reach Kolkata and the new settings provides more occasions for idiosyncrasies of the characters in the frame.
And amongst this if you missed out, Bhaskar is constipated. He makes sure that each one remembers it at all times.
The beauty of Piku lies in the non-judgmental nature of its characters. They yell at call each other, show their intolerance towards another and yet they are never nearing a break-up point.
An unforgiving Bhaskar would disregard the mannerisms of Chaubi Maasi (Mousami Chatterjee) – sister of his deceased wife, who doesn’t lose an occasion to sharpen her nails. She has an affinity and affection for Piku, but has high aversion to Bhaskar for he would incessantly criticize her deceased sister. Bhaskar fancied an intellectual wife than a loving and caring woman which his wife was.
Shoojit Sircar, the director, follows the streak of his earlier venture Vicky Donor and rakes-up another topic that is very much there but never deemed appropriate for open discussion: constipation. Sircar’s affinity towards Kolkata and Bengali people punched with hilarious self-deprecating humour keeps you on the roll.
On one occasion at the dining table, Irrfan has impressed Bhaskar with his reasons of constipation. In admiration Bhaskar replies, “Bhhherryyy Logical.”
Bhaskar’s younger brother sitting next to him is impressed by Rana’s intellectual correlation but perturbed he is as he questions Rana, “Are you sure you are not a Bengali?”
Though Piku is a family movie but it lingers on occasionally and appears directionless as it progresses. However, the melodious background music will provide the audience a gratifying respite from this fallacy. Sircar has certainly faltered on finding an apt title for this movie. It’s either about Bhaskar or ‘motion’ but ‘Piku’ is not the central theme of the movie.
Apart from Rana, most of the characters are either irritated or are shouting at each other. The sidekicks have no option but to just put up with it. Considerable attention has been paid to the character description of the supporting actors. Their faces reflect a fear of falling into mediocracy and facing the consequences when Bhaskar is around. His domestic help, his doctor (Raghubir Yadav), his brother and his wife, his sister-in-law, are often grappling with Bhaskar’s unpredictable, erratic behaviour.
Apart from the subtle justification of “Motion se hi Emotion”, the movie doesn’t explicitly pushes one into self-realization or subsequent correction. As a result, for some it may be an entertainer and for others it may have a hidden profound insight.
Deepika Padukone has stood well against Amitabh Bachchan. The simplicity with which she has slipped into the role of Piku is laudable. Her frustrations and burn-outs are palpable. The subtle expressions on her face when she is checking out Irrfan for his reaction on any scuffle going around is worth a watch.
Irrfan is at his best when he has to stammer in confusion and bewilderment. His performance is no match for the one in ‘The Lunchbox’ but he steals the scene (from Bachchan and Deepika) wherever he gets a chance.
Piku is about the around-30 generation who are taking care of their parents, possibly stressed out dealing with their irritability on a daily basis, but are still putting up with it because somewhere deep in their heart, they realize their own incompleteness and thus love their parents the way they are.
It’s about nagging yet persuading, cribbing yet endearing, fighting yet touching, and lastly, it’s about a few tears and many guffaws.
I insist that this is a movie you shouldn’t miss on this summer.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
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