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Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai (2020): Movie Review

Is the Chokehold that Gripping?

Movie Review: Choked

Dir: Anurag Kashyap

   Set in and around the Modi government's demonetization policy, Choked tells the tale of a middle class couple who are trying to make ends meet. Choked is by far the most accessible Kashyap film, and tempts us into its darkly pleasant atmosphere, without asking the viewers to ruminate on what’s been shown to them. Is he, as of recently (the earlier example being Manmarziyaan, that showed us a quirkily mad love story) trying to have a more direct and straightforward conversation with his audience? 

   While Choked plays well with emotions and has the director's signature style of squabbles ensuing from nowhere (the bedroom fight between the couple while their kid sleeps in between them, is hilariously strange), it lacks the layering and depth that make one to root for a Kashyap film. Maybe, this time he doesn’t want his audience to do that, and is in for a rather immediate approach.

   Saiyami Kher (whose Hindi debut was Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Mirzya) excels in her role as the breadwinner of the family, while her husband (Roshan Mathew) is this subdued, lazy and immature character with a very low percentage of male ego (this being a great plus). Roshan's character is in fact an inversion of all the sturdy male characters that we often see onscreen. While, Saiyami's character, who's a bank employee is so well balanced that her taut face lets out emotions only when it’s absolutely necessary.

   The film presents two kind of chokes: the first one being  the husband Sushant's indifference that makes Sarita desperate and the other one being an actual choke in their kitchen-sink pipe. The film is a conflict between this very personal/domestic issue and the larger politics happening in the country. Kitchen sink getting clogged is no big deal, but what if wads of plastic wrapped currency notes that are nudged into the drainage pipes, is an attempt to avoid their confiscation as black money? The film also offers a critique on the capricious politics of the country, that tries to use the currency ban of 500 and 1000 Rupee notes to their own advantage.

   The Music done by Karsh Kale is a major takeaway from the movie. He interplays between tabla and drums and brings in a never-heard-before ambience to the movie. Anurag Kashyap continues to amaze with his unique taste for music. How reassuring it is to see a person experimenting with his music choices in an industry where every other song (almost) sings the same.

   Anurag Kashyap seems to be shifting grounds to a more visual-induced storytelling  realm (his short in the Ghost stories anthology also saw such a depiction). Although these films too has the grittiness and friction of his earlier films, the metaphors on display seems to be jutting out and are artificial at times. Wild comparisons (in the form of metaphors) could be the best thing that could happen to a movie if done with care, and if they go wrong, one would feel like the film itself is made to boast about such a comparison. Kashyap's film doesn’t seem bloated or fake in this manner, but it surely lacks depth—maybe he just wants us to have a safe look into the well from its brim and not dive into it.

Note: The usage “black money” seems to be a coinage by the Whites and I am left with no other popular alternative for the same.

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