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Darlings (film)

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Wikipedia article




'Darlings' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language drama film co-written and directed by Jasmeet K. Reen, in her directorial debut, from a screenplay by Parveez Sheikh, and produced by Gauri Khan, Alia Bhatt (in her debut production), and Gaurav Verma under the banners Red Chillies Entertainment and Eternal Sunshine Productions. The film stars Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma and Roshan Mathew in the lead roles.

It was released on Netflix, on 5 August 2022. 'Darlings' received critical acclaim with praise towards storyline and performances of Bhatt, Shah and Verma. The film received more than 10 million watch hours in its opening weekend, highest for any non-English original Indian film worldwide.

Plot



Hamza Shaikh is an alcoholic who beats his wife Badrunissa "Badru" Shaikh (ne Ansari) after drinking, every night for 3 years of their love marriage. Badru finds many ways to make him quit drinking, one of which is insisting Hamza have a child. Hamza is constantly in a tiff with the rest of the society members for a renovation of the chawl they reside in. Badru attends one of the meetings in which the final decision on the renovation of the building is to be taken. Badru attends the meeting, despite Hamza asking her not to, and is beaten up again. Zulfi, who does odd jobs around the chawl, often visits Badru and her mother Shamshunissa "Shamshu" Ansari. He is aware of the torture Badru suffers from each day. He files a complaint against Hamza for physical abuse. Hamza is arrested but promises Badru he will quit drinking once they have a child. Badru gets Hamza out of jail and suffers more abuse at the hands of Hamza, who doesn't change. Hamza then finds out that his liver is cirrhosed and he needs to quit drinking or he'll die. That evening, upon returning home, Hamza learns that Badru is pregnant with their child, and he pretends to quit drinking to keep his promise. In reality, he quit drinking due to cirrhosis and not because of Badru's pregnancy. Meanwhile, Hamza is hell-bent on knowing who filed the complaint against him. He eventually finds out that Zulfi did it and that Badru knew about it the whole time. Despite knowing that Badru is pregnant, Hamza still hits her, suspicious that Badru and Zulfi are having an affair. He is suspicious that the child borne by Badru is not his. Hamza beats Badru brutally and pushes her down a flight of stairs, which results in her suffering a miscarriage. On this day Hamza was not under the influence of any alcohol, this portrayed the real demon in him. After being hospitalized and losing her child, Badru vows to treat Hamza just the way he treated her.

She comes home and feeds him sleeping pills, ties his hands and feet, and beats and tortures him, just like he did to her. Meanwhile, Hamza's boss at work comes home to enquire about him. Badru and Shamshu lie that he has gone to the village as his father died, but are unable to get away with it. They tell him that Hamza is sick. Badru starts injecting the shots inside Hamza, which her mother got with the help of Kasim. Hamza escapes by lying to Zulfi, when the women go out to shop. Badru and Shamshu get shocked upon coming home. immediately the police visit to enquire about Hamza missing, as he is a union govt staff. They take doubt about an affair between Zulfi and Badru and try to arrest Zulfi. But Zulfi claims that he is in love with Shamshu. the police are confused and ask them all to come to the station. Shamshu kisses Zulfi and confirms her desire. Hamza has come to the police station, only to tell the police that Badru and her mother are torturing him. The police don't believe his story since he looks drunk. Badru, Shamshu, and Zulfi arrive at the police station to bring him back home. Shamshu and Zulfi suggest they tie Hamza to a railway track to kill him. Badru records a video of Hamza where he mentions he is running away (to indicate he has committed suicide). They tie him to the railway track when Badru realizes that she is turning out to be just like Hamza and unties him just before a train passes by. Hamza now released vows to take revenge on Badru, when he is run over by a train. On the way back home, Shamshu comes clean to Badru that her father also brutally abused the former, even after Badru was born. Shamshu one day too killed Badru's father and took Kasim's help in disposing of the body. She then filed a missing complaint about her husband but the police could never find him. Shamshu assures Badru that she took the correct decision of leaving him for good before he died. Badru also believes that this is the consequence of Hamza's actions. A few days later, they hold a funeral for Hamza. Badru smiles, roams around the city independently happy that she is free now, hoping for a better future.

Cast



* Alia Bhatt as Badrunissa "Badru" Shaikh (ne Ansari)

* Shefali Shah as Shamshunissa "Shamshu" Ansari, Badru's mother

* Vijay Varma as Hamza Shaikh, Badru's husband

* Roshan Mathew as Zulfi, Shamshu's love interest

* Rajesh Sharma as Kasim Kasai

* Vijay Maurya as Inspector Rajaram Tawde

* Santosh Juvekar as Janardhan Jadhav

* Kiran Karmarkar as Ticket Collector Damle, Hamza's boss

Production



In March 2021, the film was announced, revealing that Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma, and Roshan Mathew had joined the cast, with Gauri Khan, Gaurav Verma, and Bhatt serving as producers, under their respective banners Red Chillies Entertainment and Eternal Sunshine Productions. The film marks Bhatt's first production venture. Later that month, it was revealed that Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar had signed on to do the music of the film, with the former composing the songs and the latter writing them. Principal photography began on 3 July 2021 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and wrapped up on 7 September 2021. Though initially planned for a theatrical release, the film's distribution rights were sold to and acquired by Netflix India in February 2022, for 75-80 crores (US$9.6-10.3 million).

Marketing



In March 2021, a promotional video and motion logo of the film were released. A teaser poster featuring the official logo of the film was released as well.

In May 2022, Netflix India released a promotional announcement video for the film, featuring the cast. An announcement video revealing the release date for the teaser trailer was released in July 2022. On 5 July 2022, the film's official teaser and two posters were released. On 25 July 2022, the film's official trailer was released; a launch event was held in support of it.

Music



{{Infobox Album

| name = Darlings

| type = soundtrack

| artist = Vishal Bhardwaj Mellow D And Ajay Lobo

| released = 2 August 2022

| genre = Feature film soundtrack

| length = 10:23

| language = Hindi

| label = Zee Music Company

| producer = Prashant Pillai

| misc =

}}

The film score is composed and produced by Prashant Pillai, while the soundtrack is written by Vishal Bhardwaj and Mellow D with lyrics by Gulzar and the latter.

Zee Music Company released the film's official three-track soundtrack album on 2 August 2022; the lead single "La Ilaaj", sung by Arijit Singh, Vishal Bhardwaj, and Debarpito Saha, was released some hours prior to it.

Release



'Darlings' was released on 5 August 2022 on Netflix.

Following the acquisition of the film's rights by Netflix in February 2022, Red Chillies Entertainment announced that the film skipped theatrical release, and will digitally premiere as an original on the streaming platform. In July 2022, the film's release date was announced as 5 August 2022.

Reception



Viewership

'Darlings' had the highest global opening for a non-English Indian film, with audiences spending more than 10 million hours watching it in its opening weekend, according to a statement released by the streaming service to the BBC.

Critical response

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 75% based on 16 reviews. 'Darlings' received critical acclaim with praise towards storyline and stellar performances of Bhatt, Shah and Varma.

Pooja Biraia Jaiswal of 'The Week' awarded 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Except for a few instances here and there, 'Darlings' feels as real as can get. You cannot but feel a part of the narrative yourself, when you root for the victim and feel agonised by her misery". Devesh Sharma of 'Filmfare' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The proceedings take on absurdist hues at times, but that sort of adds to the lure of the film. Watch 'Darlings' for its message and for the fine acting displayed by the entire ensemble class". Tina Das of 'The Print' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Darlings' is a dark comedy par excellence, helmed by powerful performances by Alia Bhatt and Shefali Shah". Renuka Vyavahare of 'Times of India' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "'Darlings' makes a compelling case study on domestic violence but it wouldn't be what it is, if it wasn't for Shefali and Alia. Both actresses speak through their eyes and make up for the dreary pace at times with their outstanding performances and chemistry". Umesh Punwani of Koimoi gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "'Darlings' is Bollywood getting as close as it could ever be (to date) to 'Andhadhun'. The 'tragedy mein comedy' treatment gives this a soul as Alia Bhatt ends up being the heart of this film". Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "'Darlings' is a well-rounded effort by Jasmeet K. Reen, supported by bold ideas and clever imagery". Pratikshya Mishra of 'The Quint' awarded the film a score of 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Satire is a tough tool and 'Darlings' wields it well. Even though sometimes the satire might not translate and the pacing might wobble, the pros heavily outweigh the cons". Film critic based at 'Bollywood Hungama' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "'Darlings' is a hilarious entertainer and at the same time, it is also replete with some hard-hitting moments. The performances of Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah and Vijay Varma are award-winning and serve as the icing on the cake". Fengyen Chiu of 'Mashable' awarded the film a score of 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Domestic violence has been depicted in several Bollywood movie before, but 'Darlings' has done it in a very creative and fresh way. Some aspects of the plot were indeed predictable, but some aspects also catch you off guard. All-in Alia Bhatt and Shefali Shah is definitely a must watch and will make you cry, angry, frustrated, and happy throughout the movie". Shilajit Mitra of 'The New Indian Express' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Darlings' entices and thrills, even if I wish the film had gone all out. I wish it had killed its darlings". Avinash Lohana of Pinkvilla rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Darlings' stays consistent even in the second half, and a few high points scattered periodically in the script keeps you hooked to the narrative. Watch it for the message and the performances".

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "'Darlings', which ploughs a dark furrow all its own while making judicious use of genre elements while shunning standard narrative tropes, is watchable all the way". Namrata Joshi of 'The National Herald' wrote, "The cast of 'Darlings' makes it a riveting watch. Varma is terrifying and Roshan Mathew as believable as the tender man. Ultimately, it's all in the hands of the forever solid & reliable Shah and Bhatt, matching her in every beat". Anupama Chopra of 'Film Companion' wrote, "'Darlings' is very much its own film. There is generosity of spirit, which makes it eminently watchable". Tushar Joshi of 'India Today' awarded the film 3 stars (out of 5) and wrote, "'Darlings' is a film with a message. It touches upon the subject of domestic violence and addiction. Alia and Shefali's timing and Vijay Varma's acting save 'Darlings' from becoming just another film with a social message". Bohni Bandyopadhyay of CNN-IBN gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah and Vijay Varma's black comedy brings out laughs in tragic situations, but is ultimately a story about shattered hopes and dreams".

Nandini Ramnath of 'Scroll' wrote, "'Darlings' has both laugh-out-loud comedy and suppressed giggles. Reen's control over the lengthier sequences, backed by Anil Mehta's sinuous camerawork and Nitin Baid's elegant editing, is strongest when Hamza drops the mask and lets the misogyny show". Shubhra Gupta of 'The Indian Express' rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Alia Bhatt, Vijay Varma, Shefali Shah and Roshan Mathew deliver excellent performances in a film that is aware of what it is. A few forced comic touches spoil the effect though". Anna M.M. Vetticad of 'Firstpost' rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "This clarity and a certain energy are missing for the most part from the rest of 'Darlings'. Full marks to the squad for risk-taking. On the execution front though, it barely gets a passing grade". Published Palestinian Bollywood writer, Ahmad Rashad Arafa, called the film "stridently fresh and refreshingly measured" singling out the film's "ability to gently swing from sanskar toxicity to pragmatist emancipation."

References






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