India Lockdown review: Madhur Bhandarkar's film fails to touch the right chords

2/5

In the movie India Lockdown, directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, the pain that the people of India went through because of the terrible global pandemic is shown. The film shows how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the lives of four Indian families and how it affected the Indian people. In the first story, an elderly man named Mr. Rao (Prakash Belawadi) struggles to handle all of the household responsibilities by himself. In the other narrative, played by Prateik Babbar and Sai Tamhankar, the hardship of the displaced daily labourers is the central theme. The third story is about Shweta Basu Prasad, who plays the prostitute Mehrunissa and shows how the brothels had to deal with the silence. The final story is about a middle-aged independent woman (Aahana Kumra) who kills her loneliness by spending time with her cute, young neighbour.

India Lockdown is an anthology film. In a movie that wants to study sexuality as much as it wants to explore desperation and decadence, four different stories vie for the audience's attention. It's an intriguing, albeit inconsistent, blend.

Prakash Belawadi plays Mr. Rao, a lonely old man who lives alone, in a story that shows how unsafe the elderly can feel. The misery of uprooted daily wagers who must walk home is the subject of another story. Prateik Babbar plays Madhav in another story that quickly shows how bad things are for the poor. The movie's most intriguing plot involves how a Mumbai brothel deals with the effects of a statewide lockdown, and Shweta Basu Prasad portrays Mehrunissa in it. A fourth narrative, concerning a young boy's first experience with faithfulness, is dead weight and has been skipped in favour of other, more promising material.

The lockout presents unique obstacles for each of these characters. One struggles to get enough money to feed themselves, while another struggles to deal with the loneliness and uncertainty the lockdown brings. Each person has a unique story to tell, and Madhur Bhandarkar works to make the movie relatable to everyone in the audience.

The best thing about India Lockdown is that Madhur Bhandarkar was able to show four important points of view in less than two hours. The story also emphasises the imbalance in society in a few sequences, and the impactful dialogue written by Amit Joshi, Aradhana Sah, and Madhur Bhandarkar effectively depict this perfectly. The emotional impact of several scenes is increased by Rohit Kulkarni's background music.

Madhur Bhandarkar's film lacks conviction. Making a movie about the pandemic era was a difficult task that Bhandarkar accepted since it was a terrible time that no one ever wanted to experience again. His desire to show real-life stories through his lens has been praised in the past, but this time he missed the mark because the story doesn't work.

Also, despite the movie's best efforts, it doesn't make you feel anything. You might not even feel moved when there are scenes that should make you sad. The soul of the movie is in danger, just like our ability to deal with the problems we faced during the lockdown. The fascination is still merely surface-level.

Talking about his performances as Rao, Prakash Belawadi, a gifted actor, does Rao's character justice. Both Shweta Basu Prasad and Sai Tamhankar accurately portray their respective roles. However, despite their sincerity, Aahana Kumra and Prateik's performances fall flat.

India Lockdown by Madhur Bhandarkar is a sincere film that will take you back to the time of lockdown, but the story lacks empathy and conviction and is not told in a very impressive way.