Films made on infidelity are often ignored and disliked by the masses simply because they frown on the subject. From the get-go, Mirch looked like it was meant for urban audiences and of course, with its rather contemporary star cast consisting of Konkona Sen Sharma, Raima Sen, Boman Irani, Shreyas Talpade and Shahana Goswami, you can pretty much be sure the film is going to be incredibly enticing. Vinay Shukla of National Award winning film Godmother comes back with a new topic and a rather starry cast.
Mirch follows the lives of a newbie director who goes on to make a film depicting the life of his main protagonist: Panchantra. However, his film is deemed as far too un-commercial and short. He then adds more twists and turns in his film, which makes his film complicated and stranger but a winner. Simultaneously running to the film is the story of four women and their struggles with modern day society as they discover themselves and look at their marriages through more modern eyes. They find themselves struggling to conform with social norms and instead realize they perhaps aren’t fit to be such a society.
Without giving away too much, the film basically hints on sexual difference and inequality that still exists in the Indian society. In fact, as an audience member, you walk out questioning the number of times you’ve been downgraded because of your gender. Vinay Shukla walks away with quite an impressive film to his name. The issue at hand is incredibly relevant to and prevalent in current times, which makes the film a great watch. While his first offering Godmother, was more rustic and groundbreaking, the first cannot be said about Mirch. The film is basically a new age take on modern relationships and how as Indian’s we have to stray away from our otherwise old thought processes. What doesn’t work for the film is the mere fact that hardly anyone has even heard of the film. It’s that small a film despite its huge and talented star cast. However, what makes the film most interesting is the area it covers a number of areas ranging from the gay-straight quotient, to infidelity, getting caught and cheating in general.
The performances are fabulous as expected by such a fabulous cast. Whether it’s Konkona’s subtly or Shahana’s power, the actresses really come out looking like rock stars. While the actors in their own right are incredibly underplayed which they should be in the telling of this story. Mirch is a small film where less means more, simply because it is relatable to most relationships. However, it is a film that in all honesty, will only appeal to the metro audiences because the films subject is limiting. Mirch, much like the title suggests is about the spice of life in various forms. Some like hot, others more salty. But whatever your choice, this Mirch is definitely worth a watch.
