It’s an impressive feat when ‘women telling women’s stories’ isn’t just a catchy motto but translates into powerful storytelling on screen. Earlier this year, Kiran Rao’s Missing Ladies earned all the love and praise for its gentle story and lovely performances, and now Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, who is making her debut with the feature format, has come up with a heartwarming film with Sharmaji Ki Beti. (Also read: Kalki 2898 A.D. (Hindi) Movie Review: Nag Ashwin delivers a chaotic sci-fi epic; the brilliant second half makes up for a dull start,
Celebrating women and womanhood across different age groups, the film is like a cup of hot masala chai with a slice of lemon that soothes your senses. It is simple, real, fun and feels like a group hug with the women telling each other how special they are. The narrative weaves together the stories of three different women who share the same surname, Sharma. While these tracks run parallel, their characters collide with each other at one point, which is enough to make us feel the impact. The film has many strong points, yet its simplicity and lack of pretension makes the film work. The film gives you a good dose of laughter, and though it is not a full-fledged comedy, you cannot forget the excellent comic timing of each actor in their own place.
Five stories
Sharmaji Ki Beti talks about the real and relevant issues that modern and middle-class women go through on a daily basis while dealing with existential crises in urban cities. There is a teenager, Swati Sharma (Vanshika Taparia), who thinks she is ‘abnormal’, and is upset about being the only girl in her class who has not ‘menstruated’ yet. Her mother Jyoti Sharma (Sakshi Tanwar) is climbing the professional ladder by teaching in a coaching class, but is losing the respect of her daughter, though she has an extremely caring and supportive husband in the form of Sudhir (Sharib Hashmi), who always supports her. In another house, Kiran Sharma (Divya Dutta) from Patiala is trying her best to adjust to the fast-paced lifestyle of Mumbai and is fighting loneliness even with her husband Vinod (Praveen Dabbas), who is almost non-existent in the marriage.
Kiran’s reluctant mother in Patiala is busy making reels or spending time on the PlayStation instead of listening to her daughter’s sad stories. Kiran’s daughter, Gurveen (Arista Mehta), who is also Swati’s best friend in school, has no time for anything else except worrying about her short hair and being confused about what she wants from life. Finally, Tanvi Sharma (Saiyaami Kher), an aspiring cricketer, is under constant pressure from her boyfriend Rohan (Ravjit Singh) to look ‘feminine’. How their stories match yet remain individual is the beauty of Sharmaji Ki Beti.
Kudos to Tahira Kashyap
The confidence, courage and conviction with which Tahira has written her characters is commendable. She does not hesitate to make all these women accept their shortcomings and embrace their existence and be proud of who they are. All these women have their own struggles, and though the degree of difficulty may vary, they should never forget that there is a superwoman within them. While the film touches upon many relevant issues, it chooses a light-hearted approach to storytelling that saves it from being preachy.
Moreover, the nuances and details in the screenplay make the story of Sharmaji Ki Beti even better. It is these little things that make you laugh and these nuances keep you hooked. There are parts in the film when even the most serious situation turns into a funny scene. For instance, Kiran dreams of wearing a superwoman costume and flying in the air to save people when a building catches fire! There are many such scenes and each one is better than the last. And then there is Jyoti’s constant reminders on her mobile phone, ranging from maid’s salary to kitchen chores and even spending time with her husband. While you love the friendship between Swati and Gurveen, the mother-daughter relationship is equally endearing. The scene where Gurveen reveals a secret to her mother or when Swati realises that her mother is not doing anything wrong if she chooses to work are some beautifully written scenes that leave you emotional.
I would like to praise Tahira for resisting the temptation to cast any ‘stars’ in her directorial debut. It is admirable that she has let these women be the stars of the story. Sakshi Tanwar, a fine actress, has given an honest performance depicting the struggle of all working mothers. She brings the right balance in expressing strength and weakness.
Actor: Winner and Winner
Talking about the young actors – Vanshika and Arista – both are the heartbeat of the film and there is never a dull moment with them on screen. Their friendship, bonding, comic timing and dialogue delivery are all top notch. Vanshika, in particular, is outstanding with her mature and nuanced acting with her expressions, body language and control over her shots.
Saiyami Kher’s role of an aspiring cricketer seems to be an extension of her character in Ghoomar, and though she is representing millions of women who choose their dreams over relationships, her character and story seem the weakest. Also, she has very little to offer in terms of expressions and movement, so it’s largely an okay performance.
The most striking feature of Sharmaji Ki Beti is Divya Dutta’s heart-warming performance as a housewife on a journey of self-discovery. She is the epitome of strength, perfection and resourcefulness. She is so impressive that you smile with her, cry with her, feel her pain and suffering, yet she lights up the screen with her presence. Watch the climax scene with her husband, it is one of the high points of the film.
One thing I felt the film could have avoided is falling into stereotypical tired tropes, like calling housewives useless women, or calling working mothers bad who neglect their kids, or calling career-oriented women selfish who don’t value relationships, this somewhere contradicts the whole idea of ​​celebrating these women. At a point, you feel the narrative has overdone its capacity, it’s easy to ignore the chaos.
Sharmaji Ki Beti is a biographical film that is important because it shows women as strong, flawed individuals, without exaggeration or beating the drum of feminism.
The film is now streaming on Prime Video.
