*Spoiler Alert*
Most of our lives, we have flung around words like mental, crazy, mad, insane very casually. We weren’t ever stopped by anyone as it didn’t seem offensive then. But you eventually grow up and observe things you’ve always known but with a different perspective. Today, those words mean something, they represent hordes of people who are carefully ignored and laughed at. Because you fear them as well as bully them as they seem weak to you.
The Oxford dictionary defines mental as “relating to disorders of the mind.” Judgemental Hai Kya represents a new genre of Hindi Cinema that isn’t afraid of portraying the truth on screen. It conspicuously separates the ‘mental’ from ‘psycho’ which is an altogether different topic.
The movie takes liberties that were never seen before, which is what makes it a must-watch on your weekend fun schedule. Judgemental Hai Kya follows Bobby Batliwala Garewal, a young woman who is diagnosed with acute psychosis. She witnesses cruel domestic harassment first hand. She soon starts seeing a cockroach everywhere. 20 years later, Kangana Ranaut as Bobby gives flight to the character with her quirky sartorial choices. An independent-artist aura combined with a ‘babyish’ character that sits within her and pops up every time something goes south.
Her hope-to-get-laid-tonight boyfriend questions their relationship and even wonders if they are actually siblings. It’s a hilarious take (and a diss) on all the horny boyfriends out there who think a relationship is equal to sex! Bobby always wins the argument and if she thinks she won’t, she always has a knife handy.
Rajkummar Rao plays Keshav Shravan, a charismatic, young hunk, who instantly attracts Bobby’s attention. He seems to be perfect to her wherein begins the story of doubts, murder, and a huge coincidence. The way the film handles direction is nothing to write home about but it has its spotlight on the main characters which go hand in hand with the screenplay but it falters somewhere in between. The dialogues are what you’ll take away. “Ye kalyug hain yahaRavan Sita ko nahi Sita Ravan ko dundh rahi hai” is a subtle innuendo to women’s fight with the everyday devil.
There aren’t any songs and that is a good thing as a distraction would have marred the continuity. The background score is intriguing and aptly suits the storyline. The whole story revolves around Bobby, her madness, piles of origami and the cockroach. Bobby’s character evolution is shown with the origami when during childhood, colourful papers were used to make the said origami but in her adulthood, she used newspaper clippings of mostly domestic harassment cases and murders.
Kangana Ranaut gives a powerhouse performance and yes, it’s cliched to say that it’s her best performance – which makes a point of how much of a talent she is that she keeps giving her best performance with every film.
She doesn’t mince with words, like in real life. In a crucial scene, when Bobby is told to trust as a part of a play, she unequivocally denies it. Rajkummar Rao has gotten close to being the equal performer in the film but somehow the spotlight remains on Kangana.
When a character is made out of a mind’s eye, it is a drawing of the person who is playing it. Kangana played the entire game with her eyes alone, where she portrayed gleam in every situation, whether it’s fear or satisfaction. She made us root for an unbelievable character and this lady is effortlessly brave in handling such roles. This unequivocally proves her potential as an artist. A few instances really stand out. For example, when Bobby breaks a producer’s nose for getting too close and gets sued, when she’s called insane by a man who is unable to explain her wrongdoings. These are not-so-subtle hints at how women get treated in real life.
The film is definitely flawed but it makes us think about the real-life situation of people who actually go through this treatment. It also makes you want to ditch the usual masala films Bollywood has been offering and watch more of this genre.