Fair balance of humour and emotion
PANGA
Direction: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Actors: Kangana Ranaut, Jassie Gill, Richa Chadha, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Panga is an honest, relatable ode to motherhood and a reminder that there can be dreams and second innings, even for women who choose lives of sacrifice.
Director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari helms a story of hope that is subtle, moving and a joy to watch; just what you’d expect from the woman behind Nil Battey Sannata and Bareilly Ki Barfi. Kangana Ranaut makes it an immersive experience.
Ranaut plays Jaya Nigam, a one-time national kabaddi champion who is now a middle-class wife and mother working with the railways. When her son Adi (Yagya Bhasin) is seven, he learns what she gave up, and begins to push her to make a comeback, at the age of 32.
What starts out as an effort to please her son reignites something deeper in Jaya. She begins to push herself to compete, against girls that are almost half her age; she begins to feel pride again, in something that hinges on just her.
Kangana is in her element and proves once again why she is in a league of her own as an actress. Richa Chadha, as a kabaddi coach and Jaya’s best friend, is nuanced yet fun. Neena Gupta as Jaya’s mother shines in the limited screen time she is given. And Bhasin truly lights up the screen; he has talent, charm and comic timing.
There’s a fair balance of humour and emotion through the film. In detailing the minutiae of her characters’ lives, Tiwari ensures that they never become stereotypes or caricatures. Most striking is the underlying message at the heart of this endeavour — that everyone deserves a chance to chase a dream. Expect it to slow to a crawl in parts, but Panga is, in all other ways, a delight.