Modi is the flavour of the season.
However, a 3-hour potty flavour is a stench hard to take. That is in offer in
Shree Narayan Singh’s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. He is constipated, potty
concerned. There is no dictate that as a nation open defecation is almost a
national emblem. It needs correction. It is not a minute early. However, when
popular cinema becomes political propaganda, questions throw up serious issues
of credibility.
Keshav (Akshay Kumar) falls in love with Jaya (Bhoomi Padnekar). Living under
the patriarchal of his Dad (Sudhir Pandey) and his Brother (Divyendu Sharma).
Everything is fine until Jaya is asked to join the ‘lota’ gang which would
require the ladies in the village to go out for open defecation in the fields
in twilight hours. After a few futile attempts to build a toilet in the home,
she walks out of the matrimonial home. A real life incident of a lady asking
for divorce on the ground that the house does not have a toilet becomes the
theme of the story.
What works: Bhoomi Padnekar (heroine) and Divyendu Sharma are so
spirited and honestly engaging that you are tempted to sit through potty drama
for nearly 3 hours. The topic is obviously of great national concern and
therefore relevance helped. Then there is Akshay Kumar. Purple form. Except
Entertainment, he hasn’t put a foot wrong in the last few years. This outing
again places him in amazing form. He brings a signature sincerity to the toilet
visit.
What doesn’t: Everything else. The film maker hasn’t eaten enough to
engage you for 3 hours in the toilet. The flush isn’t working. Propaganda with
pot shots at the Congress and awesome reference to the party in power gives the
film a needless political hue and robs the film of its artistic credentials.
Hopefully, some day, film makers here will understand the value of brevity and
learn to use sharp scissors.
L. Ravichander.