‘Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar’ is an interesting watch as a commercial film but it doesn’t have a tight enough script to deliver a solid product

The movie opens with an unsettling sequence – the camera fixed to an obnoxious trio of sexist men in a dangerously speeding SUV, and you are instantly reminded of a similar sequence from Steve McQueen’s 2018 movie Widows.

While the latter used this set up to develop the character of the mayor, the exact framing established the world created by Dibakar Banerjee and Varun Grover.

Banerjee as a film-maker has thrived himself on creating products that defy expectations with mix genres and tones.

The opening sequence sets up what initially feels as a breathless chase movie; The protagonists are two unlikely individuals bonded together by circumstance – a girl from Panchkula with an MBA degree named Sandeep Kaur (Parineeti Chopra), and a gruff Haryanvi Police Officer, Pinky Dahiya (Arjun Kapoor) whose career has hit a dead-end.

Before you chuckle at the interchangeable naming conventions here, you realize that their dynamics too flip-flop and are interchange at a dime, as the two runaways go through a journey which is unusually whimsy and yet spicy in its black humour.

The issue with Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar arises immediately after.

It could be echoed that the journey is important the destination, but if your pacing changes from a racing SUV to a bullock cart – you have a problem!

Part of that is due to the shift in the genre.

Without using the traditional exposition dumps, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar reveals itself as a redemptive arc for both the central characters.

While Sandeep facilitates a banking scam and steals money from millions, Pinky is stuck in a strange situation and finds a way out of the rut that is his career.

All these genre subversions and commentary on social hierarchy between men and women comes at the cost – the film’s pacing that inevitably causes the narrative to slip at times.

It is disheartening to see the man behind Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! [2015] and Khosla ka Ghosla [2006] deliver a film so incoherent.

What’s worse is the use of amateur comedic segments between Raghubir Yadav and Neena Gupta’s character that are out of place, and delivering an ending which feels haphazard and tired.

It’s as though Grover and Banerjee lost their hold on the script.

It is disappointing as there are great ideas in the film and Sandeep aur Pinky Faraar has a potential of becoming a commercial potboiler, but its execution fails it.

The commentary on misogyny and patriarchy is noteworthy.

The film also proves that good direction can produce performances ranging from decent to borderline great from even the most ordinary of actors.

While Kapoor’s heavy Haryanvi accent almost renders him unintelligible, his portrayal of Pinky is a silent brute.

It is Chopra though who impresses you with her acting chops again, proving that she has the talent but requires a steady hand of a director.

Final Verdict:

While the faces on the poster won’t inspire confidence, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar is still an interesting watch as a commercial film but as a Dibakar Banerjee film, it doesn’t have a tight enough script to deliver a solid product.

Pops:  [3/5]

Writer / Director: Dibakar Banerjee
Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Arjun Kapoor, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Jaideep Ahlawat
Runtime: 126 minutes

Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar is now streaming on Amazon Prime

NOTE: THE VIEWS AND OPINION EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.
Edited by Nidhi Sahani