The Ribbon Hindi Movie Review

Hidden in the midst of all the glitter of our times is the affairs of humanity that point to the fact that something is wrong, seriously wrong. Even as newspapers repeatedly report of child abuse, we seem to be increasingly desensitised to their occurrence. Call it bizarre coincidence but the film opens to empty houses on the day when the news channel reports the rape of a two-year-old in Delhi.
Director Rakhee Sandilya takes you through a morbid experience of a young couple who are ill equipped to face the challenge. The 107 minutes film starts with ambitious Sahana (Kalki Koechlin) unwilling to take on the burden of motherhood at the threshold of her career. On the other hand, her husband Karan (Sumeet Vyas) sees it as a logical extension of matrimony. Sahana soon gives in. The script meanders to establish the working middle class and how they are required to cope up with career and domestic life. This takes more than justified screen time. Late in the narrative the film maker lays down the premise of her concern. The child of the young couple is sexually abused by the school caretaker. However, once the premise is established, the V tur is taken and the script moves fast and sharp. It gives you some very worrisome and stomach curling moments. It throws up the question of child safety in the context of our urban life. It thankfully does not offer one too many solutions or even deal with any moralistic angle. It exposes the problem and does not even pretend to offer a solution. Beware, it says.
A film of this kind (particularly the chosen grammar) requires its central characters to be genuine. Kalki is of proven record and she delivers as so often does. May be a couple of times a little over the top but that is being judgemental on how one reacts. Sumeet Vyas is perfect. He carries the role of an understanding husband and a worried father and shifts gears with amazing ease. He is too good and perhaps that could be his undoing in Hindi cinema. The film brings back memories of the Basu Bhattacharya trilogy on marriage in the earlier part and lays bare the challenges of contemporary young couples who are out there fighting hard to strike a balance between career and family. It seems to suggest that the major crisis could be attributed to this priority. Nothing can be farther from the truth. But the diagnosis to the social problem is too complex and best left for discussion elsewhere.
The film makes for compelling viewing and is surely among the better ones released this year. Miss it if you do not like serious cinema. Go for it if you believe cinema is also about social chronicling .

L. Ravichander.