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Shakun Batra's movies always come with great anticipation. His Kapoor & Sons had the trifecta of a great story with rich characters, stunning visuals and a unique rhythm. Gehraiyaan trailer had the same promise. But it is much more than that.
There are very few movies in Hindi cinema that dare handle taboo subjects. We approach them with gloves in place, if we ever do. The fact that this movie talks about extramarital relationships was a given but saying that is just scratching the surface of what the movie explores.
Families catching up is always electric. There is affection, of course, but there are past events and evolving dynamics that could turn anticipation to apprehension. This is what ensues when Alisha Khanna meets her cousin, Tia. Both whose pasts that started out on similar grounds have changed so much, there is nothing left in common. The three protagonists, Alisha (Deepika Padukone) Tia (Ananya Pandey) and Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi) carry baggages from their pasts which overshadows their entire life. It affects their ambition and their love life. Before understanding Gehraiyaan we need to understand how trauma affects us, how it changes us permanently.
The word "generational trauma" has been the heard and spoken for some time. But it is not just neo-spiritual or pop-psychology buzz word (or phrase). Sure there are many ancient epics and stories about this exact phenomena and although we have a spiritual understanding if this, it is good that modern research in neuroscience is also pointing to this truth. Generational trauma is a very real thing.
Consider this, there have experiments on trees where they were shaken or exposed to vigorous winds. It stunted the trees growth for three generations. Trees are the most resilient beings on this planet and if trauma affects them for so long imagine what it does to humans? Along with diet and environment, how the close people around us treat us also affects our bodies and minds.
Alisha's memory of her mother and unresolved issues with her father have been affecting her too. Keeping her in a loop of failures and dissatisfaction.
We are with all the characters as their own motivations push them to take decisions and remain oblivious to what is right in front of them. Since the sea is such a part of this movie, Deepika's slow breakdown in this movie can only be described as a process of erosion. Alisha is every modern woman who understands the need for physical and mental health, she practices yoga. She is also ambitious. Yet her optimism slowly burns out and it is great to see her building herself up and falling down. Tia has blinders which keep her from seeing the truth. Zain's blindness comes from his ambition. And together their issues are rooted in the past they are trying to run away from. Naseerudin Shah as Alisha's father and a man linked to all these stories is a man bent with pain and carries the past on his face.
Gehraiyaan is clearly going to be one of the best movies to come out of 2022. Not only does Shakun Batra prove himself to be a consistently good storyteller but he also brings together a young team with the capacity to deliver his complex storyline.
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