The terms “moving on” and “moving away” are not interchangeable. Moving on is a choice that is difficult, frustrating, and, contrary to popular culture and literature, not attractive. Moving away simply means giving in to the powerlessness you’re experiencing at the time. Gehraiyaan, directed by Shakun Batra and starring Deepika Padukone, Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Dhairya Karwa, with Naseeruddin Shah and Rajat Kapoor in supporting roles, delves right into this kashmakash. The Amazon Prime Video release finds calmer waters after a tumultuous middle.
Alisha (Deepika) and Tia (Ananya) are cousins. Because of decisions made for them when they were little, they have grown up to be two very different people. However, everyone is a mirror of their past, particularly Alisha’s mother. And it’s something Shakun Batra discloses gradually, almost sensuously, as your interest in the picture grows. Tia’s fiance, Zain (Siddhant), is a promising real-estate developer, while Alisha’s boyfriend of six years, Karan (Dhairya), is a struggling novelist who’s just resigned a career in advertising to write his first book. When they go on vacation to Alisha and Tia’s beach house in Alibaug, a place they used to visit as kids, things start to unravel quickly.
Shakun Batra stays true to the metaphor he was attempting with the title – gehraiyaan. On the surface, Tia and Zain’s life appeared to be perfect: they were madly in love, lived in opulent homes, and flew to Alibaug from the Mumbai coast on a boat rather than the lowly ferry. Alisha, on the other hand, appears to be trapped. Floating but not quite making it to the shore. Zain and Tia’s lives may be dramatically different on the inside, as the spectator gradually learns, yet on the exterior, everything appears to be wonderful.
Alisha and Zain discover a sense of passion taking over and they can’t help but surrender to their most carnal cravings after a bit of polite flirting, a sexual tension you could cut with a knife, and some more nudging over the next few days. Was it Zain who drew Alisha in, or the notion he promoted?
The nicest thing about Gehraiyaan is that the trailer only gives you enough information to pull you in. Kissing and lovemaking scenes are slyly luring you. For Gehraiyaan’s complexity isn’t limited to Alisha and Zain hooking up and essentially cheating on their respective partners. It’s just the tip of the iceberg that is going to smash their life.
Gehraiyaan is a stylish film that is almost too tidy for its own good. Shakun was clearly striving for a Hollywood atmosphere in order to appeal to a bigger Indian audience with this drama about cheating. He had a lot of success. The unashamed ripping of clothes, voracious kissing, and flunking-each-other-on-the-bed kind of lovemaking that we saw in the trailer take up a significant portion of the film. Was everything really necessary? Perhaps it was merely to explain the fact that we’re all slaves to our appetites in Shakun’s thinking.
The Hollywood gloss, on the other hand, generated some disconnection. Tia and Zain’s slick, designer outfits fit right in with their laid-back attitude. Zain and Alisha’s opulent attire, on the other hand, stands out like a sore thumb. The only thing that makes this couple middle-class is that Alisha has to take out the trash herself, and their bathroom and kitchen tiles are not Italian, but rather construction tiles. Despite this, money is an issue for them: Alisha moans about having to carry the family alone for four years on her yoga instructor’s salary, while Karan can’t even finish the first draught of the book.
In terms of performances, the casting director must be credited first. Deepika brings out Alisha’s yearning and reluctance to get out of the hole she’s dug for herself. And Siddhant captures Zain’s loud yet courteous satisfaction in accomplishing everything he has on his own, as well as an easily injured male ego rooted in something very humble. He desires to break every deal, while she desires to be rescued. Ananya’s performance as Tia is flawless. With a warm, pulpy heart and the uttermost honesty, she brings out Tia’s high-society flamboyance. Dhairya as Karan, although having the shortest screen time, performs an excellent job. In Gehraiyaan, Rajat Kapoor as Zain’s business advisor Jitesh and Naseeruddin Shah as Alisha’s father are both brilliant.
However, Gehraiyaan’s runtime may be a concern. It’s probably too long for OTT viewing at 2 hours and 30 minutes, with no songs to break into except the ones featuring montages of Alisha and Zain’s fast-spiralling clandestine affair. Especially when there isn’t a break in between. Shakun, on the other hand, does his utmost to keep the audience engaged by including enough twists to ensure that you are never bored.
The terms “moving on” and “moving away” are not interchangeable. Moving on is a choice that is difficult, frustrating, and, contrary to popular culture and literature, not attractive. Moving away simply means giving in to the powerlessness you’re experiencing at the time. Gehraiyaan, directed by Shakun Batra and starring Deepika Padukone, Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Dhairya Karwa, with Naseeruddin Shah and Rajat Kapoor in supporting roles, delves right into this kashmakash. The Amazon Prime Video release finds calmer waters after a tumultuous middle.
Alisha (Deepika) and Tia (Ananya) are cousins. Because of decisions made for them when they were little, they have grown up to be two very different people. However, everyone is a mirror of their past, particularly Alisha’s mother. And it’s something Shakun Batra discloses gradually, almost sensuously, as your interest in the picture grows. Tia’s fiance, Zain (Siddhant), is a promising real-estate developer, while Alisha’s boyfriend of six years, Karan (Dhairya), is a struggling novelist who’s just resigned a career in advertising to write his first book. When they go on vacation to Alisha and Tia’s beach house in Alibaug, a place they used to visit as kids, things start to unravel quickly.
Shakun Batra stays true to the metaphor he was attempting with the title – gehraiyaan. On the surface, Tia and Zain’s life appeared to be perfect: they were madly in love, lived in opulent homes, and flew to Alibaug from the Mumbai coast on a boat rather than the lowly ferry. Alisha, on the other hand, appears to be trapped. Floating but not quite making it to the shore. Zain and Tia’s lives may be dramatically different on the inside, as the spectator gradually learns, yet on the exterior, everything appears to be wonderful.
Alisha and Zain discover a sense of passion taking over and they can’t help but surrender to their most carnal cravings after a bit of polite flirting, a sexual tension you could cut with a knife, and some more nudging over the next few days. Was it Zain who drew Alisha in, or the notion he promoted?
The nicest thing about Gehraiyaan is that the trailer only gives you enough information to pull you in. Kissing and lovemaking scenes are slyly luring you. For Gehraiyaan’s complexity isn’t limited to Alisha and Zain hooking up and essentially cheating on their respective partners. It’s just the tip of the iceberg that is going to smash their life.
Gehraiyaan is a stylish film that is almost too tidy for its own good. Shakun was clearly striving for a Hollywood atmosphere in order to appeal to a bigger Indian audience with this drama about cheating. He had a lot of success. The unashamed ripping of clothes, voracious kissing, and flunking-each-other-on-the-bed kind of lovemaking that we saw in the trailer take up a significant portion of the film. Was everything really necessary? Perhaps it was merely to explain the fact that we’re all slaves to our appetites in Shakun’s thinking.
The Hollywood gloss, on the other hand, generated some disconnection. Tia and Zain’s slick, designer outfits fit right in with their laid-back attitude. Zain and Alisha’s opulent attire, on the other hand, stands out like a sore thumb. The only thing that makes this couple middle-class is that Alisha has to take out the trash herself, and their bathroom and kitchen tiles are not Italian, but rather construction tiles. Despite this, money is an issue for them: Alisha moans about having to carry the family alone for four years on her yoga instructor’s salary, while Karan can’t even finish the first draught of the book.
In terms of performances, the casting director must be credited first. Deepika brings out Alisha’s yearning and reluctance to get out of the hole she’s dug for herself. And Siddhant captures Zain’s loud yet courteous satisfaction in accomplishing everything he has on his own, as well as an easily injured male ego rooted in something very humble. He desires to break every deal, while she desires to be rescued. Ananya’s performance as Tia is flawless. With a warm, pulpy heart and the uttermost honesty, she brings out Tia’s high-society flamboyance. Dhairya as Karan, although having the shortest screen time, performs an excellent job. In Gehraiyaan, Rajat Kapoor as Zain’s business advisor Jitesh and Naseeruddin Shah as Alisha’s father are both brilliant.
However, Gehraiyaan’s runtime may be a concern. It’s probably too long for OTT viewing at 2 hours and 30 minutes, with no songs to break into except the ones featuring montages of Alisha and Zain’s fast-spiralling clandestine affair. Especially when there isn’t a break in between. Shakun, on the other hand, does his utmost to keep the audience engaged by including enough twists to ensure that you are never bored.
