Rating:
3.5/5
Star
Cast:
Priyanka
Chopra,
Farhan
Akhtar,
Zaira
Wasim,
Rohit
Saraf
Director:
Shonali
Bose
With
a
newborn
who
is
crying
hysterically
in
her
arms,
a
distraught
Priyanka
Chopra
settles
down
on
a
bench
in
a
hospital.
The
kid
won't
survive
for
more
than
24
hours;
the
doctor
had
dropped
a
shocker
in
the
previous
scene.
As
Priyanka
tries
to
pacify
her
baby,
the
sequence
that
follows
next
leaves
you
with
goosebumps.
(Sorry,
no
spoilers
here!)
You
feel
the
pain
and
heartbreak
of
the
helpless
mother
and
want
to
reach
out
to
comfort
her.
That's
where
Shonali
Bose's
latest
film,
'The
Sky
Is
Pink'
scores
high.
The
film
begins
in
Aisha
Chaudhary's
(Zaira
Wasim)
perky
voiceover
where
she
reveals
that
she's
dead.
"Get
over
it.
It's
quite
cool
actually," she
tells
us
before
steering
the
topic
towards
her
parent's
sex
life
-
Aditi
Chaudhary
(Priyanka
Chopra)
and
Niren
Chaudhary
(Farhan
Akhtar).
She
fondly
calls
them,
her
'Moose'
and
'Panda'.
In
a
non-linear
style
of
story-telling,
the
narration
jumps
from
one
timeline
to
another
revealing
Aditi-Niren's
love
story,
how
Aisha
was
born
with
Severe
Combined
Immunodeficiency
(SCID)
due
to
a
faulty
gene
in
her
parents
('Baad
mein
google
kar
lena,
Aisha
cheekily
tells
us
while
disclosing
the
cause
of
her
short
lifespan).
In
a
tragic
turn
of
events,
the
Chaudharys
had
previously
lost
their
firstborn
Tanya
to
the
same
disorder.
However,
their
son
Ishaan
(later
played
by
Rohit
Saraf)
miraculously
isn't
affected
by
this
life-threatening
disease.
Determined
to
save
Aisha's
life,
the
middle-class
couple
travels
to
London
where
they
try
to
raise
funds
for
her
treatment.
At
one
point,
their
marriage
even
culminates
into
a
long-distance
relationship
where
Aditi
and
Aisha
live
in
London
for
the
latter's
treatment
whereas
Niren
and
Ishaan
return
to
their
house
in
Delhi.
After
a
successful
bone
marrow
transplant,
Aisha
recovers
fully
and
the
Chaudharys
return
to
India.
But
as
they
say,
all
good
things
come
to
an
end.
Aisha
develops
pulmonary
fibrosis
as
a
side-effect
of
her
chemotherapy,
in
her
teenage
years.
Unfortunately,
this
time,
her
days
are
counted.
Meanwhile,
Niren
and
Aditi
try
every
trick
in
the
book
to
save
their
child
from
the
clutches
of
death.
'The
Sky
Is
Pink' is
not
just
to
be
seen;
instead,
it's
to
be
felt
as
well.
One
might
think
that
a
film
which
revolves
around
death
and
suffering
would
be
grave.
Shonali
Bose
and
Co.
defy
this
myth.
Based
on
the
real-life
story
of
Aisha
Chaudhary,
the
filmmaker
takes
several
leaves
from
her
story
and
weaves
them
into
a
string
that
consists
of
several
heartwarming
moments
that
make
you
smile,
laugh
and
cry
with
the
characters.
This
Priyanka
Chopra-Farhan
Akhtar
starrer
is
not
just
about
Aisha's
battle
with
a
deadly
disease.
It
also
beautifully
captures
its
aftermath
and
how
one
tries
to
cope
with
grief
and
loss
in
their
own
way.
'The
Sky
Is
Pink'
belongs
to
Aditi-Naren's
love
story
as
well.
It
talks
about
how
love
and
courage
keeps
one
going
in
tough
times.
On
the
flip
side,
the
non-linear
storytelling
distracts
you
a
bit,
especially
in
the
first
half.
Just
when
you
find
yourself
connecting
to
a
situation,
Shonali
drops
you
into
a
different
time-zone.
It
takes
one
a
while
to
adjust
to
this
narrative.
Also,
the
fact
that
Priyanka
continues
to
look
her
glam
best
even
when
she's
struggling
to
deal
with
her
child's
deadly
condition,
leaves
you
a
tad
disappointed.
The
film
also
doesn't
give
you
too
many
point
of
conflicts,
which
would
have
made
the
characters
even
more
relatable.
Speaking
about
the
performances,
Priyanka
Chopra
tugs
at
your
heartstrings
as
Aditi
Chaudhary.
Be
it
as
a
girl
who
boldly
romances
her
lover
with
a
helmet
on
her
head,
a
cool
mom
who
tries
to
fix
a
date
for
her
daughter
with
her
crush
or
as
a
mother
who
is
ready
to
do
anything
just
to
bring
a
smile
on
her
ailing
daughter's
face,
the
actress
nails
every
shade
and
leaves
you
mighty
impressed.
Standing
shoulder-to-shoulder
with
her
is
Farhan
Akhtar
as
Naren
Chaudhary.
If
Priyanka's
Aditi
wears
every
emotion
on
her
sleeve,
Farhan's
Naren
is
a
father
who
too
has
an
emotional
side,
but
is
someone
who
lets
his
gestures
do
the
talking
instead.
Zaira
Wasim
brings
in
her
own
charm
and
spunk
as
Aisha
Chaudhary.
She's
brilliant
in
the
poignant
scenes
as
well.
Rohit
Saraf
lends
solid
support
as
Ishaan.
His
scene
with
Zaira
where
the
latter
confides
that
she
doesn't
want
to
die,
leaves
you
with
a
lump
in
the
throat.
Manas
Mittal's
editing
could
have
been
a
little
tauter.
With
a
runtime
of
about
2
hours
and
29
minutes,
the
film
gets
a
little
repetitive
at
places,
when
the
pace
dips
a
bit.
Thankfully,
it
doesn't
do
any
major
damage.
Kartik
Vijay
and
Nick
Cookie's
camera
work
gels
well
with
the
tonality
of
the
film.
Gulzar's
lyrics
in
'The
Sky
In
Pink'
fail
to
find
a
place
on
your
lips
after
the
movie.
Pritam's
music
works
fine
but,
it's
nothing
out-of-the-box.
In
one
of
the
poignant
scenes
in
the
film
when
a
little
Ishaan
narrates
to
her
mother
on
a
phone
call
about
getting
scolded
by
his
school
teacher
for
colouring
the
sky
pink,
the
latter
quickly
tells
him,
"If
according
to
you,
the
colour
of
your
sky
is
pink,
so
be
it.
That's
your
choice
for
your
sky.
Don't
let
anyone
change
it."
After
putting
down
the
receiver,
she
breaks
into
tears
in
the
phone
booth.
This
simple
scene
teaches
you
a
lot
about
life.
It
makes
you
realise
that
you
have
to
be
at
your
strongest
when
you
are
feeling
at
your
weakest.
I
am
going
with
3.5
stars.