Zwigato (2023) :
Movie Review -
Known for her realistic and intense movies, Nandita Das brings the relentlessness of life to the big screen with Zwigato, starring Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami. We know life is hard for most people, be it in any part of the country. Some people struggle to earn even regular bread daily, while others have to put in extra effort to do so. Zwigato is mostly about poverty and a family that is hit by it. We have witnessed such topics in classic movies like The Crowd (1928), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Do Bigha Zameen (1953), and Bicycle Thieves (1948). Even to some recent so-so-good attempts like City Lights (2014). Zwigato is the same story, but without the heat of poverty and low-level conflict that aren't fit for a movie screenplay. The entire show starts with poverty and ends with poverty, but where is that artistic and intelligent film we were supposed to see?
Manas (Kapil Sharma) was a manager at a watch company that has been closed for a while. To earn income, he becomes the delivery boy for the Zwigato company. His wife, Pratima (Shahana Goswami), wants to add a few more bucks to the family income and therefore tries for a couple of low-profile jobs. They have two children, one girl and one boy-both school students-and Manas' old mother at home, who is bedridden. Grappling with the app on his phone and the world of ratings and incentives, Manas finds it difficult to make a decent living. His wife is afraid of joining the job as a janitor in a mall, much to her husband's disapproval. The fears of these new experiences are coupled with the joys of a newfound independence, and that's all there is to Zwigato's story.
Seeing Kapil Sharma in such an intense avatar is a different experience, but the responsibility was too huge for a newbie like him. Kapil has been known for his hilarious comedy and punches on TV and the one hit film of his career, so it's difficult to accept him in such an avatar. It's nothing extraordinary, though. If an ordinary performance is all that matters, then Kapil has a new show here. Shahana Goswami represents a typical Indian housewife that every woman will relate to. Goswami is a fine actress, and she proves it yet again with Zwigato. The film rides only on Kapil and Shahana's shoulders, and thankfully, they deliver enough. The supporting cast is hardly noticeable, with two child artists and cameos by Gul Panag, Swanand Kirkire, and Sayani Gupta.
Zwigato fails at the screenplay and, to some extent, at its basic writing too. It's a simple, one-tone story with literally no conflicts or interest as far as the cinematic experience is concerned. Manas lives an ordinary life like any other delivery boy; if there is nothing extraordinary or terrible happening with him, then why should the audience care about his life? It's just a daily life affair that happens to crores of people in India. We know it already; we see it every day. Then what's different that Zwigato has to show? That's the biggest mistake in writing. The dialogues are dead, and the screenplay is tedious. What are those pauses for? A group of people trying to catch a tempo, while Manas comes in the frame after 40 seconds? What did those people indicate? Did it have any reference to the film? There are so many slow mos like this that have nothing to do with the narrative, yet they are there just to expand your boredom.
From the technical aspects, Zwigato has done a fair job considering the low cost of making it. The background score is okay. Actually, there are no such events that need an elevated background score, so who's to blame here? The first scene in the film starts with shaky frames, and I thought there would be a lot of experiments with the framework. But I was wrong. Again, what did those train sequences mean? Illusional happiness for a lower middle class couple, na? Sorry, Nandita, you missed it by miles. Nandita is known for realistic narratives, and Zwigato is a realistic concept too. It's just that it's a pointless script. There is no motive, no wide appeal, no cinematic experience, not even an artistic feel. So in short, it has nothing to look forward to. Well, we didn't order that. Why did they deliver it to the wrong address then?
RATING - 4/10*
Known for her realistic and intense movies, Nandita Das brings the relentlessness of life to the big screen with Zwigato, starring Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami. We know life is hard for most people, be it in any part of the country. Some people struggle to earn even regular bread daily, while others have to put in extra effort to do so. Zwigato is mostly about poverty and a family that is hit by it. We have witnessed such topics in classic movies like The Crowd (1928), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Do Bigha Zameen (1953), and Bicycle Thieves (1948). Even to some recent so-so-good attempts like City Lights (2014). Zwigato is the same story, but without the heat of poverty and low-level conflict that aren't fit for a movie screenplay. The entire show starts with poverty and ends with poverty, but where is that artistic and intelligent film we were supposed to see?
Manas (Kapil Sharma) was a manager at a watch company that has been closed for a while. To earn income, he becomes the delivery boy for the Zwigato company. His wife, Pratima (Shahana Goswami), wants to add a few more bucks to the family income and therefore tries for a couple of low-profile jobs. They have two children, one girl and one boy-both school students-and Manas' old mother at home, who is bedridden. Grappling with the app on his phone and the world of ratings and incentives, Manas finds it difficult to make a decent living. His wife is afraid of joining the job as a janitor in a mall, much to her husband's disapproval. The fears of these new experiences are coupled with the joys of a newfound independence, and that's all there is to Zwigato's story.
Seeing Kapil Sharma in such an intense avatar is a different experience, but the responsibility was too huge for a newbie like him. Kapil has been known for his hilarious comedy and punches on TV and the one hit film of his career, so it's difficult to accept him in such an avatar. It's nothing extraordinary, though. If an ordinary performance is all that matters, then Kapil has a new show here. Shahana Goswami represents a typical Indian housewife that every woman will relate to. Goswami is a fine actress, and she proves it yet again with Zwigato. The film rides only on Kapil and Shahana's shoulders, and thankfully, they deliver enough. The supporting cast is hardly noticeable, with two child artists and cameos by Gul Panag, Swanand Kirkire, and Sayani Gupta.
Zwigato fails at the screenplay and, to some extent, at its basic writing too. It's a simple, one-tone story with literally no conflicts or interest as far as the cinematic experience is concerned. Manas lives an ordinary life like any other delivery boy; if there is nothing extraordinary or terrible happening with him, then why should the audience care about his life? It's just a daily life affair that happens to crores of people in India. We know it already; we see it every day. Then what's different that Zwigato has to show? That's the biggest mistake in writing. The dialogues are dead, and the screenplay is tedious. What are those pauses for? A group of people trying to catch a tempo, while Manas comes in the frame after 40 seconds? What did those people indicate? Did it have any reference to the film? There are so many slow mos like this that have nothing to do with the narrative, yet they are there just to expand your boredom.
From the technical aspects, Zwigato has done a fair job considering the low cost of making it. The background score is okay. Actually, there are no such events that need an elevated background score, so who's to blame here? The first scene in the film starts with shaky frames, and I thought there would be a lot of experiments with the framework. But I was wrong. Again, what did those train sequences mean? Illusional happiness for a lower middle class couple, na? Sorry, Nandita, you missed it by miles. Nandita is known for realistic narratives, and Zwigato is a realistic concept too. It's just that it's a pointless script. There is no motive, no wide appeal, no cinematic experience, not even an artistic feel. So in short, it has nothing to look forward to. Well, we didn't order that. Why did they deliver it to the wrong address then?
RATING - 4/10*