Review of Piku (2015) by Akshay H — 14 May 2015

With memorable performances and heartwarming script, Piku is definitely one of the year's best films.

Shoojit Sircar (Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe fame) has given us another fine film with lifelike characters and story. It may not have a big story at length as most of it character driven. The cast is strong and their performances even stronger. Amitabh Bachchan shines in another memorable performances as expected.

Piku (Deepika Padukone) lives with her father Bhaskor Bannerjee (Big B) in Delhi. She's single and has a hard time dealing with her father's obsession with his constipation. Yes, literally that's the center of discussion for more 70% of the film and yet the writers have done magnificent job making it so interesting for us. Bhaskor, is also overly-concerned with his health even if he looks fit and fine. Piku wants to move on with her life, but her father's routine keeps her from that. The starting half and hour or so is slightly less interesting but builds up relation between Piku and Bhaskor effectively. Then comes Rana (Irrfan Khan), owner of a taxi service who has to drive them all the way to Kolkata from Delhi to their ancestral home. Even if the journey feels like a typical road movie, the characters and their quirkiness keep you hooked.

While the journey is full of fun without any dull moments, it gets a bit emotional towards the climax. But nothing is overly done keeping realistic and simple. Irrfan Khan is reliable as always and shines even in a smaller role. Deepika Padukone is definitely one of the best actress in Bollywood right now and she has given another gem of a performance. Even if Piku is bugged constantly by her father, she still is as stubborn and has strong love inside for her father. This gets highlighted clearly. But the stand out act, is without any doubt by Big B as Bhaskor. Be it the accent or the expression, everything is spot and you will be remembering the character of Bhaskor for a long time.

The story delivers a few messages about old age and importance of our ancestral roots. It puts forth realistic situations from which we can learn a thing or two. The music is beautiful and the Bengali theme adds magnificently to the sweetness of the film. The breezy two hours length never feels too long. Piku is a treat not to be missed!

RATING: [4/5].