Rating:
3.5/5
Star
Cast:
Sanya
Malhotra,
Radhika
Madan,
Sunil
Grover,
Vijay
Raaz,
Saanand
Verma
Director:
Vishal
Bhardwaj
Pataakha
PUBLIC
Review:
Sunil
Grover
-
Sanya
Malhotra
फिल्म
पर
मिला
ऐसा
Reaction
|
FilmiBeat
Just
like
its
name,
Pataakha
is
explosive
right
from
the
first
scene
itself.
A
tight
close-up
shot
of
two
young
girls
showering
each
other
with
swear
words
is
shown.
Years
pass
by,
but
these
two
sisters
and
their
curses
for
each
other
refuse
to
take
a
backseat.
While
they
are
named
after
flowers,
Champa
aka
'Badki'
(Radhika
Madan)
and
Genda
aka
'Chutki'
(Sanya
Malhotra),
they
are
anything
but
dainty
and
docile.
With
their
haystack
hair,
rough
and
coarse,
not-so
pearly
whites
stained
with
smoking
beedis
and
filthy
language,
the
girls
are
flammable
and
unbashed
and
can
pick
up
a
fight
at
the
drop
of
a
hat.
Their
razor
sharp
tongue
spew
acidic
words
at
each
other
at
supersonic
speed
and
'gobar-fights' are
no
big-deal.
Meanwhile,
there's
their
nosy
neighbour
named
Dipper
(Sunil
Grover)
who
never
misses
an
opportunity
to
spark
off
a
war
between
the
two
sisters.
Chutki
dreams
of
going
to
school
so
that
she
can
open
one
of
her
own.
Badki
on
the
other
hand,
wants
to
stay
out
of
school
and
start
her
own
dairy
business.
Amidst
their
warring
ambitions,
the
two
sisters
feel
the
first
rush
of
young
romance
when
they
come
across
their
suitors.
One
is
an
engineer
while
the
other
works
in
the
army
and
has
a
penchant
for
speaking
in
English.
Things
take
a
more
dramatic
turn
when
their
father
(Vijay
Raaz)
who
needs
money
to
pay
off
a
bribe
in
order
to
save
his
mining
business,
is
left
with
no
other
option
but
to
get
one
of
the
daughters
married
to
a
rich
widower
Patel
(Saanand
Verma).
In
a
twist,
both
the
girls
runaway
with
their
respective
boyfriends
only
to
land
up
in
the
same
house
as
sister-in-laws.
Like
it's
said
in
the
film,
'Hum
Apni
Dushman
To
Chunn
Saktay
Hai
Par
Padosi
Nahin,
Rishtay
To
Chunn
Saktay
Hai
Par
Rishtay
Daar
Nahin.'
Vishal
Bharwaj's
Pataakha
is
weaved
into
a
140
minute
narrative
from
Charan
Singh
Pathik's
6
page
story
titled
Do
Behenein.
The
director
adds
various
layers
to
the
film
by
turning
the
two
warring
sisters
into
a
metaphor
for
India-Pakistan
rivalry.
He
blends
the
social
commentary
in
a
subtle
way
with
his
characters
and
rural
setting.
Vishal
Bhardwaj
lits
up
Pataakha
with
his
two
fiesty
female
leads
to
give
you
a
trail
of
brilliant
performances.
On
the
flip
side,
the
plot
gets
a
tad
repetitive
in
the
second
half
and
seems
dragging.
Thankfully,
Sunil
Grover
comes
to
the
rescue
and
pulls
up
the
strings.
Radhika
Madan
shines
bright
as
Badki.
From
stealing
her
little
sister's
western-wear
to
scoping
out
men
with
a
pair
of
binoculars
at
the
village,
she
is
perfect
in
her
bossy
role.
She
aces
it
even
when
she
bites
her
dupatta
in
mock-shyness
or
delivers
blows
to
her
sister
during
flights.
Sanya
Malhotra
is
fearless
as
Chutkki
and
sinks
her
teeth
deep
into
her
earthy
character.
Her
wide
grin
when
she
comes
up
with
a
nuclear
abuse
is
enough
to
crack
you
up.
One
more
top-notch
act
from
her
after
Dangal.
Sunil
Grover
as
Dipper
is
a
total
laughter-riot.
One
of
my
favourite
scenes
in
the
film
is
where
he
asks
the
wedding
band
to
continue
playing
the
music
and
then
he
breaks
into
a
cheap
pelvic
thrust
dance
move.
That
expression
on
his
face
is
just
priceless!
Vijay
Raaz
nails
it
as
the
helpless
Bapu.
Abishek
Duhan
and
Namit
Das
too
lend
a
stong
support.
Instead
of
framing
Rajasthan
into
a
picturesque
postcard,
Ranjan
Palit's
lens
give
us
a
closer
view
of
the
rustic
landscape
keeping
in
the
authenticity
of
the
location
backdrop.
A
Sreekar
Prasad's
editing
scissors
could
have
snipped
off
some
15-20
minutes
on
the
second
half.
Vishal
Bhardwaj's
writing
is
rib-ticklingly
funny.
Speaking
about
the
music,
'Balma'
stands
out
for
its
quirky
lyrics
and
Rekha
Bhardwaj
and
Sunidhi
Chauhan's
powerful
vocals.
Arijit
Singh's
Naina
Banjare
is
soothing
to
the
ears.
The
title
track,
'Pataakha'
adds
fun.
Vishal
Bhardwaj's
creative
touch
adds
colors
to
Pataakha
and
makes
it
an
enjoyable
fare
with
the
dynamite
performances.
Minus
the
gloss,
this
small-town
story
makes
its
way
into
your
hearts
with
his
dollops
of
desiness.
I
am
going
with
3.5
stars.