Such a simple and delightful watch! While her predecessors with such content used preaching or depicted unreal solutions Rao is very subtle in her approach. Admirably, nothing is lost in translation. Laapataa Ladies could be an imagination and villages back in 2001 might not exist. No dramatic shifts. It’s a straight flow of characters into our hearts.
So, these new dulhans (brides) from rural India, almost similar in their costumes and expressions follow their bridegrooms on the same train. A train so crammed with people and their silly talks. Rao finds her best spot to fit in a dowry reference here. Very casual and very patriarchal. Very annoying comparison between two bridegrooms from different statuses. At night, in dim light, counting stations peeping through the windows of the compartment anybody might go a bit hazy. Deepak took his new bride and reached home.
Here Pushpa Rani enjoys a slight sarcasm. Sized half a tent-covered cloth (ghunghat) on your face, how do you ensure it’s your husband? Naturally, she followed the one who confidently woke her up from sleep. On the other end, an innocent and petrified Phool finds herself hiding in a washroom at the railway station. Yeah. Brides are swapped.
Kira Rao now lets the story of Laapataa Ladies develop organically in their new abodes. Jaya’s motivation is her strong purpose in life. She realizes her new relatives are good people. The only challenge is the local inspector Manohar (Kishan). I am so overwhelmed by his performance! For the elder bride, Jaya was a new world. Small revolutions light up that house. Phool’s mother had taught her to cook and clean. Her local guardian, the tea stall owner Manju (a wonderful Chhaya Kadam) teaches her how to make a living out of it and what independent living means to her. Rao’s strong voice against the ills of patriarchy is well executed by this character.
After a lost and found spin of their own identities, Laapataa Ladies is now ready for the world. Beautiful craft, cast, and sensible direction. Everything is in place. Sparsh Srivastava, Nitanshi Goel, and Pratibha Ranta – brilliant fresh faces too around the corner.