‘I Want to Talk’ Review: A Life Affirming Drama Surrounded by Death

There’s an exceptional lack of sensible films in the landscape of Hindi Cinema, the retrogression proceeding at an exponential rate every Friday, complemented with a new pandemic of re-releases that aren’t worthy of any respectable person’s Ubi Sunt. Therefore, it’s always a relief when this barren landscape of Hindi Cinema is moistened by an actual sensible film. Read our I Want to Talk review.

At its core, Shoojit Sircar’s I Want To Talk revolves around a Father-Daughter relationship, unfolding across various time-periods, as the daughter comes of age and father whose life progresses one surgery at a time. The film opens with Arjun Sen (Abhishek Bachchan) navigating the peaks of his marketing career, chasing the American dream, as he’s hit by a singular discontinuity on the curve of his life as he’s diagnosed with laryngeal cancer.

Arjun – whose backup plans have their own backup plans – for the first time in his life feels like a boat with mast but no sail, drifting alone in his sea of abyss, as the emperor of all maladies knocks at his door. Planning a Thelma & Louise exit from this world, Arjun takes a step back, reflects and chooses survival. Undergoing all these harsh surgeries while striving to strengthen the bond with his locus in the void, his daughter, Reya.

Where Sircar’s sensibilities as a director comes into play is with the way he deals with this dark subject matter. Never acquiescing to kitsch sentimentality in order to convey the sentiments. It’s probably not as nuanced throughout its runtime, but it never dwells in its misery to manipulate its audience through contrived melodrama.

Sircar builds a natural rhythm in the first half, over which the movie glides effortlessly. The movie isn’t graphic either, though the descriptions of the procedures are certainly teeth-grinding, the gloom is countered with situational humor, and yes he manages to insert scatological jokes as well.

The movie understands the power of silence, using silence as a tool for sustained strains of sorrow for self-reflection; and if you hear a ringing sound in the silent moments, then it’s probably the tinnitus gifted by the abrasively noisy Bollywood films.

While the first half of the film feels earnest, the second half comparatively feels contrived at times with the way film obviates the narrative difficulties. Various narrative elements alongside humor feels forcefully shoe-horned in, compromising the naturalistic flow it attains in the first half. However, taken as a whole, the positives outweigh the negatives as the film wraps up with a denouement, that eschews melodrama and emphasizes genuine catharsis.

The film, lensed by Avik Mukhopadhyay, looks beautiful, some of these shots are just eye-soothing. Sircar seamlessly infuses the characters with their location, in a way only he can, the world feels very lived in. Performances all across are nice, Abhishek Bachchan in particular gives a very balanced performance, he fits the archetype of Arjun Sen perfectly.

All in all, Shoojit Sircar’s I Want To Talk is a neat reminder of one simple human truth, that you can dance even with devil knocking at your doorstep; as it also reflects on the regret of omission, the words that you failed to speak to your loved ones.

I Want to Talk is directed by Shoojit Sircar and stars Abhishek Bachchan and Ahilya Bamroo. I Want to Talk is now playing in theatres in India.

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