PIKU Film Review

PIKU – A wonderfully warm, witty, slightly wacky story about the relationship between a Bengali architect and her ageing, hypochondriac father, living in Delhi. Shoojit Sircar of Vicky Donor success brings us his latest release, an endearing and quirky comedy/drama that you will absolutely adore. Deepika Padukone plays the titular role of Piku, Amitabh Bachchan her overbearing father Bhaskar Banerjee. Irrfan Khan plays the character of Rana Chaudhary, a taxi cab company owner, who secretly likes Piku.

Piku is a busy architect, forward thinking, opinionated yet still conventional. But as an only child also helps to care for her elderly father Bhaskar, who is a widower. Piku always seems to be irritated by her dad due to his obsessive and detailed discussions about constipation and his constant paranoia, that he has a life threatening illness. Bhaskar is extremely stubborn and outspoken which causes Piku huge amounts of embarrassment, with plenty of laugh out loud moments for the audience. She continues to be a loyal, loving daughter, regardless of how much her dad tests her patience or how snappy she has become, they both love and need each other. Bhaskar, even with his difficult nature and eccentric habits, still remains fascinating and likeable with his innocent child like expressions.

Irrfan plays Rana Chaudhary, a cab company owner who reluctantly becomes the difficult duos driver, as nobody else was willing to take them, embarking on a road trip to Kolkata, to resolve a property issue. Rana like us becomes part of the audience watching the dysfunctional relationship between father and daughter. He’s straight forward and the much needed voice of reason that’s been missing from their lives. An extremely slow burning romance builds between Rana and Piku, which is heart warming and we start to see Piku’s slightly softer side. Initially an unlikely pairing but both Deepika and Irrfan play their parts beautifully and complement each other.

The chemistry between the three main stars is wonderful and rare to see and their effortless performances are faultless. The supporting cast including Moushumi Chatterjee (as Bhaskar’s sister in law/Piku’s aunt) are all wonderful too. There are plenty of cross cultural references throughout the movie and the backdrop of Kolkata with a soothing soundtrack by Anupam Roy all add to the charm of Piku.

Director Shoojit Sircar isn’t afraid to cover subjects that many may turn away from but it worked for Vicky Donor and I’m sure it will for Piku.

The topic of constipation and bathroom habits lasts for the entirety of the film but it does so with a great deal humour and interest. Piku is so much more than that though. It’s a film about the shifting dynamics of family relationships, hope, unconditional love and loyalty. It’s a beautiful, believable story that you immediately feel part of. Piku is a delight to watch, a breath of fresh air, which makes a huge change from some of the garish glitz than Bollywood continually churns out.

Piku 8/10