Tribhanga Hindi Movie

Feature Film | 2021 | Drama | 1h 35min
Critics:
Tribhanga - Tedhi Medhi Crazy is a well-intentioned film about a dysfunctional family. Director Renuka Shahane has a good theme and some fine performers to work with here. Unfortunately, however, the promise in the material or the casting never quite translates onto the screen properly.
Jan 18, 2021 By Sreejith Mullappilly

Where To Watch:
Streaming:
   Netflix

Renuka Shahane's Tribhanga - Tedhi Medhi Crazy is about a dysfunctional family, with mothers and daughters who never quite understood each other at their early stages in life. Kajol plays Anuradha, an actor and Odissi dancer. Her mother, Tanvi Azmi's Nayanthara, is a writer looking to have her autobiography written by Milan played by Kunaal Roy Kapur.


The movie begins with Nayanthara going to a comatose state, which brings her daughter and granddaughter physically together. As Kapur's Milan tries to get details about Nayan from Anu and her daughter, Masha, he realizes that the family is emotionally disconnected. And, as the movie moves along, he and we understand the reasons for that estrangement.


This Netflix film is well-intentioned, but sadly, the execution is not up to the mark. The main problem with it is the performance of Kajol as the actor-dancer. Kajol, a usually reliable performer in commercial Hindi cinema, does not quite get the beats of the character early enough. A lot of acting is about internalizing the emotions of the character you play. That means if you are sad, angry or happy, it has to be shown in a way that it comes from your subconscious self as an actor. Internalizing is certainly not about dropping the 'F' bombs every few minutes as Kajol does here.


For a large part in Tribhanga, I felt sorry for Kapur's character. His main role here is to be at the receiving end of the F words that come from Kajol's mouth. There is no subtlety in either the language or the performance. You could say that that is the nature of the character, but it is virtually intolerable to even watch it. After a point in the movie, we do get to see the charming side of Kajol and some good moments of acting from her. Maybe that is when she started to better understand her character. No wonder why we often say hindsight is perfect vision.


Kapur, too, looked a tad too coy for the role. Here, he is playing an unmarried man with not enough confidence. But I thought the performance seemed off. That lack of confidence thing never seemed integrated into the character. It only manifests as a dull, awkward performance.


Tanvi Azmi is a wonderful actor, and she is the only one who gets some of the things right here in that capacity. But unfortunately, her character itself does not have a lot going for it. All she does here is give a few interviews, and of course, sleep in a coma. Then there is Mithila Palkar; cute as she is, the actor does not have a role with enough meat. The same applies to Vaibhav Tatwawaadi who plays Robindro, the brother of Anu.


Tribhanga seems to have gone down well with the women and older audience. Many have liked the theme of the film of a daughter understanding her mother a little later in life. This is the same theme in last year's Shakuntala Devi, and a dozen other films. The best things about the movie are its length of 90 minutes and that thoughtful title.


Sreejith Mullappilly

   

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