MARGARITA WITH A STRAW MOVIE REVIEW

A girl with cerebral palsy falls in love with another girl who is blind, discovering her bisexuality. While you may be carried away by the story to be an emotional drama of how the two lead characters manage their disabilities, Shonali Bose gives an all new angle to the story.

Laila, played by Kalki Koechlin studies in Delhi University and her mother ‘Aye’ played by Revathi is her friend, confidante and guide. The story takes a different direction when she is in her final year of college and is exposed to porn websites, turning aware about the various sexual desires of any common human.

Further, many other characters unfold in the story and the whole film is about this beautiful journey of her life. Shonali has given primary focus towards her lead character and her relationship with her mother.

This beautifully portrayed emotional journey between a mother and a daughter whose language of love is understood only by the two, is a high-point in the film. Scenes where she mentions about her first love and its rejection and when she confesses her sexual orientation to her mother are outstanding, as the maturity with which the screenplay and the dialogues are treated during these moments is brilliant. While there is always a conflict of emotions in Laila’s mind, there is her mother with much clarity and understanding who supports her at every stage of her life.

With the smart use of silence for important scenes, the portrayal of unsaid emotions through actions and reactions were achieved by the lead characters with excellence. Mickey McCleary takes credit for the background score.

The flawless performance intertwined with the innocent yet witty emotions of Kalki is sure to impact every mind in the theater even after the film is over. Be it the love making scenes of Laila and Khanum (played by Sayani Gupta), or the consummation of Laila and Jared (played by William Moseley, Chronicles of Narnia fame), Kalki has aced every minute of every scene. Her boldness in approaching delicate scenes and the way she has pulled off the physical imparity has taken her one step higher in her career. Needless to further mention about the ever-convincing veteran ace Revathi who couldn’t have been a better fit for this role. As a mother and a fighter against cancer, though conservative her positive attitude towards her daughter and life makes her unconventional. Supporting the delicate situations equally, Sayani Gupta’s role is a must mention and she has performed incredibly well.

What makes the film, a tight one hour forty minutes long intriguing story, is the way the shots are edited by using simple cuts and not giving in too much into the melodrama, kudos to editor Monisha R Baldawa. By using maximum number of close-up and extreme close-up shots focusing on the portrayal of emotions with minimal dialogues, cinematographer Anne Misawa has created the intended effect.

What happens in the mind of a girl whose motor activities are stale? It is nothing but what happens in every other normal girl. This film assures that, be it an adrenaline rush while looking at someone or getting turned on while watching porn, the sexual desires of a physically impaired person are no different from the rest. 

If it was Rani Mukherjee in Black in 2005, it is Kalki Koechlin in Margarita with a Straw in 2015.