I Want To Talk (English, Hindi)

You know the film is going to have an October touch to it. You are looking forward to that with a dash of Piku on the side. And surely enough I Want To Talk starts out snappily. In fact, the first few minutes feel overbearing with the Smart Alek protagonist. But you know it is all building up to him being humbled. And you are right. Humbled he is, but not beaten. Expectedly, that is what the movie settles in to be about. And that predictability is fine. The problem is the plainness of it all. I Want To Talk needed more of the dry humour that we see sprinkled about in fits and bouts. A lot more.

And that is all it manages—a tear or few towards the end when it is too late because you are ready for the film to be over.

For instance, it was fun to see the digs taken at marketing—the profession and the industry. It was nice to see Arjun Sen (Abhishek Bachchan) stay true to his character as he uses his experience in marketing to deal with what life throws at him. But this all fizzles out and emerges in spurts making the narrative uneven. Obviously, I am not asking for it to be all fun and funny. But the lightness that carries the weight of it all in Sircar’s other slice-of-life films is sorely missing.

It doesn’t help that logistical questions remain unanswered. Just a one-liner about money and work doesn’t satisfy the curiosity aroused, especially in a story that is based on true life, “Did these people never work at all? What did he do for money? Insurance? How come his lifestyle improved?” “Did he gain support only a few years of handling it all by himself? How come the support shows up in weird bursts?” It continuously felt like we were being led from one episode to another rather than the flow that is life.

Thankfully, Abhishek Bachchan has inherited the quality of letting the character consume him. Yet again, he makes ‘being difficult’ look so easy. Of course, a lot of the work towards the end is done by prosthetics, but we know he would have carried it without the makeup too. Walking the thin line between being convincing and being manipulative, he makes Arjun a character you borderline root for.

Yeah, that’s the issue, right? Such a tender story handed out to you on a plate because it’s based on a true life. And that is all it manages. A tear or few towards the end, when it is too late because you are ready for the film to be over.

The lightness that carries the weight of it all in Sircar’s other slice-of-life films is sorely missing.

Much like the obvious metaphor in the tattered duffle bag, Arjun carries with him that the writers felt obligated to explain, here’s another one for you. As much as you appreciate the simple, no-frills approach to film-making, that bag begins to resemble your tattered patience too.

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A lot of the film is in English.

– meeta, a part of the audience