Film Review: Udta Punjab
Date: June 17 2016
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh
Rating: 4 stars
On a dark night you can hear the trees rustle, the streets are desolate but a lot is happening in the bushes, in the corridors, in the fields and in the alleys of a buzzing city. Punjab’s pop singer Tommy Singh/Shahid Kapoor is flying on the stage at his concert and his followers, singing his songs are flying with him.
On a sunny morning a young worker/Alia Bhatt spots something suspicious in the fields and later discovers a precious packet that transforms her life.
Sartaj Singh/Diljit Dosanjh belongs to a family of cops who have surrendered to the system while Doctor Preet Sahani fights the system from outside.
Udta Punjab is not just about them, it is about the entire state – those fighting the drug menace and the addicts fighting themselves!
As the mercurial, obsessive junky singer Shahid Kapoor is magical. Ali Bhatt is haunting in every frame and Kareena Kapoor the only soothing presence in the dark, disturbing film where brutality is upclose and pathos stomach churning.
I watched three-fourth of the film through the veil of my duppatta; you will have to be brave too for the sake of your country.
Our gratitude to writer Sudeep Sharma and director Abhishek Chaubey, for awakening us to the moment of truth…!!
@bhawanasomaaya