Breaking Free: Darlings and the Art of Dark Humor

“At any given moment you have the power to say this is not how the story is going to end.― Christine Mason Miller

If Gangubai Kathiawadi showed the complete potential of Alia Bhatt, Darlings is an extension of it. I believe Alia to be performing on other sensitive topics like this showing her versatility. The dark comedy, Darlings, is a realistic depiction of the mind of a victim of domestic violence. This movie is a spectacular tale, not of revenge but of human nature. The movie shows that when people are pushed to the edge, even the most harmless ones will react to save themselves. The movie is well made public service film that deconstructs the crutches that allow patriarchy to amble into living rooms.

Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shaw, Vijay Varma, Roshan Mathew

Director: Jasmeet K. Rem

Synopsis:

The story is set in a fictional Chawl in Mumbai that has largely Muslim inhabitants. The story starts with bubbly Badru waiting for Hamza and Hamza calling her "Darlings". Three years later, they are married and living in Chawl which is a large building divided into many separate tenements. Hamza is an alcoholic, has major anger management issues, and is manipulative. He beats Badru over small matters and then goes up to her the next morning flattering her with futile verbosity. Badru; a superstitious and annoying optimistic woman ignores the toxicity of the situation thinking it's a momentary lapse, every day.

Shamsu, Badru's mother who lives a couple of doors away, always reminds her daughter of the story of frog and scorpion where the scorpion manipulates the frog to help him cross the river and promises not to bite him. But in the middle of the river, the scorpion bite and says that it was his nature. Zulfi, the butcher and the aunty running the parlour; all are annoyed by the domestic violence. Badru loses her patience when her baby dies during pregnancy and plans to take revenge on her husband. The first hour of the movie is about Badru being beaten black and blue every night by Hamza and the second hour concentrates on Badru finally snapping up and taking a full-blown "revenge" on Hamza. In a nutshell, the movie is about female solidarity- the determination to survive.

Review:

Darlings belong to Alia Bhatt and expectedly, she rises above the script to make this another feather in her cap. The movie spends no time beating around the bush and gets to the point five minutes into the movie. Every time, Badru is beaten up, the scene changes to aunty running a parlour downstairs and feeling sad for Badru the next morning. The chemistry between Alia and Shefali is a fun energy. Shamshu and Badru's relationship is the high point of a film that shines bright. Director Jasmeet negotiates the universe of Badru and Shamshu without being insensitive.

The balance of restraints, infused with dark comedy elevates the narrative and dialogues carry the film forward. Some of the dialogues of the movie are really praise-worthy:

• The world's changed for the people on Twitter, not for the likes of us.
• The divorce stage is the worst, who will marry her then?
• Why would I abuse you if I don't love you? Why would you take it if you don't love me?
• Some men are scorpions dear, they never change.

As French author - Eugene Sue says, "The revenge is a dish best served cold.", Darlings care about the revenge taken uniquely, felt with anger, sadness, inspiration and freedom. Shefali with her stellar quality of living and breathing the characters she plays, Vijay with his frustrated dark presence and Zulfi with his organic performance keep the audience hooked up till the end. Though the plot is not new to dealing with domestic violence, it gives a subtle message to generate awareness of it. The music too is situational with amazing cinematography.

Flaws and Weakness:

The fact that Badru has been tortured horribly and she still is continuing to live with her husband for so long is annoying to watch. Few scenes feel repetitive. Some scenes are too long which affects the pace. The kidnapping scene was getting too stretchy. The movie is rather slow at the start to establishing characters. But the second hour boggles down for some part of the time. On the flip side, the latter hour and a few key aspects could have been handled even better which could have made it exceptional. Nonetheless, Darlings is a good watch. The award-worthy performances by the lead cast and dark comedy make it a good watch.

Personal View:

Domestic violence is a common subject around the world. A movie reminds us that wherein on one side there is extreme support for gender quality but still there is a huge section of society where the wife is called "Darlings" but how much that word really meant or being expressed is still a question mark. For every woman who is a victim of domestic violence, make a note that you don't need anyone to give you respect, love and security. Grief does not demand pity; it requests acknowledgement. Always believe that there is always help. There is always a way out.