Pankh poster

Pankh

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)

quick review:

Disturbing abstract stuff. The entire film feels like one huge hallucination. Even if you are ready to take the flight of fancy with a boy who's seriously troubled because his mom made him play girl-roles in films when he was young, it won't be a fun ride at all.

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Running time: 90 minutes
Genres: Noir
More Movie Info

The tagline of the film says "The unbearable lightness of being", a lovely book by Milan Kundera. But, I couldn't figure how that relates to the film. All I can do is the make this superficial observation - it is anything but light.

The film starts with the a child-star's mom being devil-incarnate. And there is one more. Now, these moms are absorbed in their need to live vicariously and imposing their aspirations on their children. So absorbed that they are not only willing to sacrifice their child's sexuality, but also their sexual orientation. The focus here though is the mental trauma that the child goes through. Ominous stuff this. Enough for me to say aloud, "can we please stop this? NOW…"

The hallucinations the lead character is going through are surreal but so is what is supposedly reality. There are certainly deeper layers but the way the subject was approached and exhibited didn't leave me interested enough to think about it. This had a lot to do with the theatrical performances. The actions-reactions looked too staged. Ironically this works in Bipasha Basu's favor. She looks gorgeous and plays the enigmatic dream-girl really well.

The grainy look and feel - maybe intentional, maybe budget-induced, maybe both - also works towards unnerving the audience.

- meeta, a part of the audience

17 reviewers(?) - 1 yays 2 so-so 14 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

Thumbs up, by Khalid Mohamed, Passion for Cinema : ...Sudipto Chattopadhyay deals with the real, yes, but in such a hallucinatory style that his film becomes more than just a simplistic plot about the ghastly deeds behind the doors of glamour. ... full review

So-So, by ibnlive, IBN Live : ...Amit Purohit seemed like he was trying too hard to fit the role of a ‘tapori’ stunt man. His stunts were cool but could not say so much about the acting.... full review

So-So, by SpiceZee Bureau, Zee News : ...The film has few lighter moments although Mahesh Manjrekar has tried his best to keep audience in splits.... full review

Thumbs down, by Aparajita Ghosh, Apun Ka Choice : ...Sanjay Gupta being the producer, it’s a given that ‘Pankh’ will try to overwhelm its viewer by dint of its visual appeal.... full review

Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...Frankly, PANKH made no sense to me and at the end of the screening, I only felt sorry for myself since I wasted two precious hours of my life on something that wasn't worth it.... full review

Thumbs down, by The Narcissist, Cinemaa Online : ...Its duration being a short 90 minutes, it needed every minute on the main plot. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ... PANKH is bold and in-your-face alright, but very, very crude... full review

Thumbs down, Indicine : ...Bipasha Basu looks quite attractive but franky has nothing much to do in Pankh.... full review

Thumbs down, by Sanjukta Sharma, Live Mint : ...most of it driven by faux intellectual drivel and a servile love of everything “European artsy”.... full review

Thumbs down, by Tushar Joshi, MiD DAY : ...Like Jerry's Bipasha who's a figment of his imagination, an allegory that offers his inner demons a temporary sanctuary and refuge, the film too seems to be playing much in the director's mind than on the reels. ... full review

Thumbs down, Movie Talkies : ...All this abstraction and surrealism seems more like a narcissistic exercise and obscures the main focus of the movie. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Anupama Chopra, NDTV : ...There are some moments of startling beauty in Pankh – Sudipto obviously has visual flair - but mostly the film feels like a bad acid trip in which you are trapped with a slew of unsavory characters.... full review

Thumbs down, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ... Pankh, long in the making, is heavy on its message and bizarre in its theme with pretension of profundity.... full review

Thumbs down, by Sampurn, real bollywoood : ...First timer actor Maradona Rebello appears to have given it his all and has come out with a very impressive performance.... full review

Thumbs down, by K K Rai, STARDUST : ... Even Bipasha Basu, the stunningly beautiful bollywood babe who comes in different avatars (nine to be exact) in the film, fails to uplift the tempo of the film for the audience.... full review

Thumbs down, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ... Too surrealistic, too unfocussed, this gender-bender tale engages, but only in bits and parts... full review

Thumbs down, by flyingrodent, Upper Stall : ...They come across as too twisted and though there is a hint of a bittersweet life for all of them, the less than average performances and the over the top darkness that surrounds them does lead to a disconnect and disinterest in the events unfolding on screen. ... full review

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This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Parental Guidance:

NOT FOR KIDS!

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Pankh - Cast, crew, links

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90 minutes
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