ASHOK’s FIVE brings you Anurag Kashyap’s #ChokedPaisaBoltaHai now streaming on #Netflix. If you are remote flirting with the latest films and shows on #Netflix and wondering what to see, I must begin by stating that Choked is exactly what it is. There is a pipe that is choked and spews cash, there is a middle-class couple choked in suburban Mumbai, their marriage is getting choked, she choked on her voice in a reality singing show and all this is guaranteed to leave you gasping for air or make you reach out for your irritating neighbor's nape to choke!
1. Anurag Kashyap’s new film promises an intriguing premise set against his classic rendition of the socio-political milieu like only he can. The thought of hard cash emerging from a pipe set against the announcement of demonetisation is a brilliant idea and all that one needed to do was to spin a yarn. What you get instead is a spin that’s a china-man and leaves you foxed!
2. The film does a wonderful job of setting up the context. There is Sarita Pillai (Saiyami Kher in a delectable performance) who is caught between a failing marriage and trying times at the bank where she is an employee. Her husband, Sushant (Roshan Mathew of Muthoon fame) wants to be a musician but is jobless and plays caroms with buddies near home. They know that their marriage is failing and are frustrated. Amruta Subhash plays their neighbor who is typically hyper, sarcastic and often just focused on her wants. The scene where the couple fight on the bed over their son who is fast asleep stands out for the way in which the claustrophobia of Mumbai is depicted in the melting pot of middle-class frustration, shattered dreams and lack of a pressure fuse.
3. #Choked does have some shades of what Anurag Kashyap brings to the table – very busy screenplay, hectic pace of narration, metaphorical references, intrigue and a tongue-in-cheek-humour that reeks of political messaging on the sly. The varied reactions to Modi’a announcement of demonetisation in 2016 are reflective of this. Nihit Bhave’s screenplay does justice to the fragility of marriage, duplicity of people, thwarted dreams of the middle-class and angst of unrealized potential. Sound design by Gautam Nair and background score by Karsh Kale are standard fare but often out of sync with the screenplay.
4. There is a certain listlessness and dragging feel to the story as the plot progresses. The film does not do justice to the premise and meanders into a futile dance-and-song exercise that becomes meaningless. The character Reddy who threatens the couple is out of place and this thread leaves many open ends. Saiyami Kher is the only saving grace of the film as she lives the character completely, sometimes the harassed bank cashier, or the middle-class local train passenger and also the harried wife and mother at home. Her dialogue to a customer at the bank “Bank mein paisa milta hai, sympathy nahi. Haath jodhiye jinko vote diya tha” is a veiled jibe at the government.
5. In summary therefor, you have a film that gets you slightly intrigued, lacks clarity at an overall level, meanders meaninglessly for the most part and ends up leaving you feeling nothing!
I am going with a 1.5 on 5 for Choked-Paisa Bolta Hai. I can sit back and think of ten interesting possibilities for a middle-class citizen who chances upon a steady stream of cash unexpectedly but is hit by monetisation and needs to manoeuvre her way out. It is a shame to have let this plot run out of steam in the manner it does!
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