OTT Review: Darlings

Director: Jasmeet K. Reen
Cast: Vijay Varma, Alia Bhatt, Roshan Mathew, Shefali Shah
Banner: Red Chillies Entertainment
Music: Vishal Bhardwaj, Prashant Pillai
Producers: Alia Bhatt, Gauri Khan, Gaurav Verma
Release Date: 5-08-2022

Darlings is Alia Bhatt’s latest film which she has also co-produced with Shahrukh Khan. The film has Vijay Varma and Shefali Shah in key roles and is about a young married woman(Alia Bhatt) who goes through trouble in her marriage. It is directed by Jasmeet K Reen.

Plot

Badrunissa(Alia Bhatt) is a young girl from Mumbai who falls in love with Hamza(Vijay Varma) and marries him. Trouble in her marriage starts when Hamza starts physical abuse on Bardunnisa. On the other hand, Badru’s mom, Shamsu(Shefali Shah) lives on the same floor and sees her daughter get tortured on a daily basis. One fine day, Shamsu gets so irritated with Hamza’s behavior that she asks her daughter to kill her husband. Did Badru listen to her mom? and how did the mom-daughter plan the revenge on Hamza is the whole story.

Performances

Alia Bhatt shows what she is capable of yet again. She gets under the skin of Badrunnisa and gives a knockout performance. Be it her husband fearing nature or the manner in which she makes a deadly transformation in the latter part is showcased superbly by Alia. Shefali Shah is choosing some solid roles off late and gets one superb character in Darlings. The manner in which she shows her madness in this crazy story gives an edge to the film. Vijay Varma shocks yet again with his negative role. The small nuances that he brings to his role is amazing. The love-hate chemistry between Vijay and Alia is good to see on screen.

Technicalities

Prashanth Pillai’s BGM is riveting as it gives the film the push it needs at regular intervals. The budget is quite low and happens mostly indoors. So, the camera work needed to be rustic and it is on point most of the time. The dialogues written for Vijay Varma and his ideology are superb. Garima Mathur’s production design is realistic. Editing is super sharp barring the first ten minutes. The screenplay is a big asset as the loopholes in the plot are nicely covered.

Analysis

Darlings is partly about domestic violence and how a wife revolts against all odds. Naturally, to establish the scenario, domestic violence is shown in plenty during the beginning. Even though the stars do well in their parts, some scenes look repetitive. But what drives the narrative is the sensible narration by Jasmeet. The best part of the narration is that her story resonates with many problems that a common woman faces in India.

The second half is where the fun lies. The comedy created is situational and evokes good laughs. The combo of Alia and Shefali is a dream and the manner in which they teach a lesson to Hamza is thought of well. For instance, the way the mother and daughter communicate through the window is lovely. The manner in which emotions are unleashed in a fun yet engaging manner drags your attention.

But the film has its own share of flaws. Hamza gets kidnapped but he never cries for help. There are many such instances which are illogical. To create some comedy, director Jasmeet goes off track many a time before she gets hold of the narrative in the latter part. The situations are predictable but the manner in which Jasmeet narrates them is what makes the difference.

Alia Bhatt is in supreme touch in Darlings and makes sure she holds her attention with her act. She has chosen a subject where she can perform and also entertain the audience with an interesting subject. One wonders why the makers did not have a theatrical release for this film. Seeing the form Alia Bhatt is in as of now, Darling would have made good money despite its shortcomings. On the whole, it is surely worth all your time.

Bottom Line -Satirical Thriller