A film that could have been so much more
where she blurts out random words, meaningless sounds and shrieks, with the condition becoming aggravated when she is nervous or upset.
She wants to teach because years ago, a teacher stood up for her and she understood the impact she could have if she stepped out into the world and did the same.
After five years and 18 unsuccessful attempts, a prestigious school in Mumbai agrees to give her a shot. Her class is a bunch of unruly teenagers from a bad neighbourhood, who have little in common with the other students of this posh establishment. Hichki begins well, with a focus on Naina’s struggles, at home and outside it.
Director Siddharth P Malhotra drives his point home a bit too hard as he struggles to evoke tears, and so we get a loud background score, people standing and clapping in slow motion and the person of interest drifting alone against a crowd of busy Mumbaiites.
The melodrama takes focus away from the class struggle at the school, undermines their anger and their secret yearning to be seen as equals. In order to give Naina more room to shine, evil characters are created without justification, to cushion her saint-like character. She, in a way, becomes bigger than the cause. To Malhotra’s credit, Hichki is good enough to make you cry, multiple times. The film is also well-paced, at 118 minutes. Mukerji is sassy, confident and holds it all together.
She gets able support from Neeraj Kabi and the bunch of adolescents, but the screenplay could, and should, have had more depth. It goes, instead, for the easy wins and effortless resolution. It’s well-intentioned and will move you, but it could have been so much more.