Film Review: Udta Punjab is a punch to the gut

The last time I came out with my mind reeling from a movie theatre was after watching Dev D, in 2009. And the next was after watching Udta Punjab, 7 years later, today. There is only one key name that is in common with both films: Anurag Kashyap. Even though he has not directed the film, there is little doubt that besides producing it, he has been essential to ensuring that Udta Punjab reaches the audience as uncensored as possible. He should really take a bow, already.

Udta Punjab is a rare feat of a film that touches the darkest corners of human existence and still manages to intersperse it with entertainment. Shahid Kapoor has probably delivered his career’s best performance to date, and this when he has done films like Haider. He is no Hamlet here, but he has perfected the haunted face of the drug addict who finds it hard to stay in control or perform, when he needs his fix. Alia Bhatt has relatively few dialogues, but has a lot to express in what is an almost unbearably painful sequence to watch. Her descent from a hockey clutching young girl to a suffocating prisoner in a condition she walks into out of nothing but sheer naivety, is as heart breaking as it comes.

Kareena Kapoor as the angelic, conscience driven doctor whose back story is never revealed, but clearly one that fuels her mission, brings out a rare softness we haven’t seen in the actor often enough. Diljit Dosanjh’s Hindi film debut is sweet as it is serious, he wins the audience over with his honest portrayal of a cop who hasn’t quite reflected on the situation around him, or his own actions. There is not one supporting character who doesn’t perform their role to the T either. A special shout out to the young boy who plays Balli, a role that requires urgency as well as understatement.

Ultimately, though, Udta Punjab belongs to deft storytelling, hard-hitting direction and all-in-all an entire team’s effort, where the highlight is truly the issue of the drug menace in Punjab. From the average Punjabi household in Punjab and Delhi to facebook threads and busy evening parties, the drug problem has been discussed everywhere it was perceived as significant and with all the seriousness that it deserves. Strangely enough, though, the issue has remained out of the spotlight until now. And Udta Punjab manages to achieve just that. In the days leading up to its release, more awareness has been created in the media and by the media about the issue than ever before. And box office collections or not, the film is symbolic of the power of cinema today to aid in bringing real change.

In an exchange in the film, Diljit Dosanjh’s character, says to the person he is speaking with: “Yeh baat aapki aur meri nahin hai, yeh baat hai, Punjab ki”. The second person turns around and says “Punjab kya tere daddy ka hai?”. This response essentially sums up the larger point the film is making: Till such time that everyone sees themselves as a cog in the wheel, out for their own benefits irrespective of the cost to others, the rot keeps spreading. But as soon as we start viewing ourselves as part of a collective whole, rather than only as individuals, positive change can be initiated. And it is fantastic to see the film industry do exactly that.