Margarita, With A Straw Review

What is it all about?

Immaculately casted and beautifully heartfelt, ‘Margarita, With A Straw’ is a highpoint in today’s age of Indian cinema.

Shonali Bose second feature as a helmer is a free wiling open minded entrancement into the world of Laila -a woman with cerebral palsy and her physical and emotional needs, desires, strength and weakness told in an utterly assured and profoundly moving fashion giving humanity and choice back its good name.

The Story

Young Delhi university student Laila (Kalki Koechelin) is a girl with cerebral palsy. The aspiring writer is motoring her life in a wheelchair monitoring her emotional and physical desires by getting intimate with her classmate Dhruv (Hussain Dalal) also a cerebral palsy but dreams for the university band lead singer Nima (Tenzing Dalha).. finding rejection.. Laila gets an admission to New York University and moves with her mother Shubhangini (Revathy).

Living in New York, Laila meets Khanum (Sayani Gupta) and embarks on an exhilarating journey of self-discovery, faith, belief, loss, pain, gain, struggles and triumph.

The writers Shonali Bose (story, screenplay and dialogue), Nilesh Maniyar (co-writer) & Atika Chohan (Hindi dialogue) constantly make this story sip the warmth with its realistic, comic, non preachy and non heroic approach making us easy to connect with Laila just as a girl next door with demands and desires to the pleasure and dismay of the audience as per their norms and believes.

What to look out for

'Margarita, With A Straw' is a point of triumph for Shonali Bose it’s a movie which proves that the director had excelled herself to become a better talent after her striking work in Amu in 2005.

As a true filmmaker Shonali makes you feel invited by the charm of Laila by making you enter through her wheel chair and motors her every turn making you feel the sense of entrancement and entrapment in this beautiful world of Laila and her demand driven by circumstance, choice and fate.

Co writer Nilesh Maniyar helps Shonali to add flesh to Laila without making any point balancing the thoroughness of vision and storytelling.

In this beautifully written screenplay Laila takes very less time to become the girl next door.. we don,t want her to win some race, emerge triumph, play a super hero and shout at her extra ability to achieve in spite of her physical hurdle.. cuddled with lightness, warmth, charm and terrific mother daughter bond.

In all probability Margarita, With A Straw may be the first Indian movie that’s concentrates on the understanding of the physically disabled character rather than creating pity.

'Margarita, With A Straw' is perfectly casted where Kalki Koechelin gives the performance which can be called as the one she was born for.. going well beyond and blossoms in her way as Laila discovering herself as a actress of unique talent. A turning point in Kalki’s acting career Kalki’s Laila act is super strong contender for the year’s top acting honours.

Revathy as Laila’s mother gives a class act. The actress with extraordinary talent is so natural and the bonding with Kalki is delightful. The bai episode and the hospital scene are gems..

Sayani Gupta as Khanum is a perfect foil to Laila’s flesh and soul.. playing a half BanglaDeshi and half Pakistani girl who is not ashamed of her sexual orientation adding layers to Laila’s complexity.

Other actors Hussain Dalal (Dhruv), Tenzing Dalha (Nima), Kuljeet Singh (Kalki’s father in the film) William Moseley (Jared - Laila’s Amreican interest) chip in with valuable support.

Brilliantly crafted Anne Misawas camera is on a soothing song making Magarita feel better to the eyes. Mikey McCleary music flows with the mood. Monisha R Baldawa editing has smarts.

What not

The love making scenes are tender and smooth.. it’s not easy to believe that Laila and her partners didn,t face any problems during the act. This looks like coming straight from a fairy tale. Shalini and Nilesh should have given a realistic touch over here. During the end reels we see Laila physical condition showing signs of improvement.. that was not required.. it contradicts the basic idea..

Conclusion: Immaculately casted and beautifully heartfelt ‘Margarita, With A Straw’ is a movie that takes disability with dignity - a highpoint in today’s age of Indian cinema giving humanity and choice its  good name back with a degree of sophisticated grace. A must for those who understand humanity and good cinema.