A No-Spoiler Review Of A Brutally Honest Movie – Udta Punjab

You cannot do a brutally honest review of a movie that is brutally honest itself.

Udta Punjab hits you hard everywhere – but mostly in your guts. And it hurts a lot, not only because it is hard hitting, but also because it makes you laugh too. And your stomach is already sore from the beating it gets from the grim parts.

Moreover, it holds back no punches and gets to the business as soon as it starts. The movie starts intensely, slapping, swearing and stays that way – intense – throughout the 2 odd hours.

The movie is so real, it is surreal

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The whole movie is Punjabi. As in – the dialogues are completely Punjabi, except for some instances. Shahid, Kareena, and Alia have done a brilliant job at speaking colloquial Punjabi, and Alia does an awesome job at speaking a mixture of Bhojpuri and Punjabi.

Oh, the language is crass, but you never ever cringe, because it sounds so incredibly natural.

We are just not used to movies like these.

We are not used to actresses without makeup, saliva drools while brushing, and dangling number plates from motorbikes.

Alia Bhatt is unrecognizable with her tanned/freckled skin sans any makeup and you can see the craters left by pimples on actor Diljit Dosanjh’s skin.

 

The movie alternates between comedy and tragedy so smoothly, you catch yourself laughing at a tragic scene

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The movie evokes genuine laughter, from the belly, and then BOOM! It hits you just when you thought it got light, and you kind of feel a bit sheepish and embarrassed. This smooth transition between moods is the stuff of crisp and brilliant screenplay.

 

The movie acts like a drug, and makes you touch peaks of emotions you were certainly not expecting

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You feel scared when Alia Bhatt is scared, you feel neurotic when Shahid Kapoor is neurotic, you feel love and happiness when Diljit Dosanjh is happy and you feel rage when you see the struggle the addict makes to get out of the addiction.

You feel hope, you feel pain, you feel anxiety, you feel disbelief, you feel like crying.

And you were NOT ready for it at all.

 

The performances leave you awestruck

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Shahid and Alia take the bloody Oscar for this Academy award be damned. Alia is a – what do the classy reviewers call it? – a powerhouse, from the start of the film. Her performance is inspirational – you feel the surge of hope and defiance inside yourself.

Shahid gets you high in the movie – he makes you go “OH YEAH!”, makes you laugh even when you are supposed to be hurt.

Shahid is the drug, Alia is the reality you face after the drug.

Diljit and Kareena are the character actors, simple and provide the respite you desperately need after the rollercoaster performances by Alia and Shahid.

The movie engulfs you in some scenes with its brilliant camerawork and music Alia’s visions and Shahid’s singing take you to another plane altogether. The music is enchanting, but you do not realize it is there until you come out of the cinema hall.

The end is satisfying.

And the audience at my cinema hall gave it a massive applause.

I am a very skeptical asshole. I do not clap at movies, however good they are.

But look who was joining the audience at clapping, standing up and all that –

ME.

The movie received two applauses by the audience at the end of my screening, I joined it both.

It is highly recommended. Go watch it. It is worth your money and more.

Honest rating – 4.5/5 stars.

Cover Image Source 1, 2. 

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