I Want to Talk movie review: Abhishek Bachchan sells resilience in this self-help guide

I Want to Talk movie review: Abhishek Bachchan sells resilience in this self-help guide

A scene from ‘I Want to Talk’ Photo Credit: @Risingsunrsf/Youtube

Someone who loves exploring the complex relationship between physical functions and the larger purpose of life Piku And octoberDirector Shoojit Sircar turns to a real-life cancer survivor to tell a medium story of resilience and recovery.

The career of Arjun Sen (Abhishek Bachchan), a hot-shot marketing man, comes to a sudden halt when he is diagnosed with several fatal diseases. After an initial period of denial, he surrenders to fate, refuses to become a statistic, and engages himself in a long battle with the disease. Soon, we learn that her relationships are also not in good health. At work, he is a fanatic. At home, he is divorced and has a daughter (Pearl Dey/Ahilya Bamru), who suspects him of being involved in some kind of drama to arouse sympathy. At the hospital, he brings sketches and Googles information so that his doctor (Jayant Kripalani) doesn’t take him for a ride.

Arjun is not a hero. In fact, it is hard not to dislike him but he is real as we find a lot of people around us or inside us. When the doctor removes a large portion of his stomach, he describes himself as “eyeless”. He really seems like one for a while. After a poor prognosis, he turns his body into a project and begins to use his marketing skills to recover his limbs and bond with his daughter, Reya. Shoojit also does a similar job of making us feel for Arjun’s struggle, but along the way, a true story starts to feel like a manipulative setup, ironically a word Arjun dislikes.

I want to talk (Hindi/English)

Director: Shoojit Sircar

Mould: Abhishek Bachchan, Johnny Lever, Jayant Kripalani, Ahilya Bamru

Runtime: 122 minutes

Summary: After his soaring career was interrupted by a medical diagnosis, Arjun Sen decided to improve his body and his relationship with his daughter.

The screenplay, written by Ritesh Shah, based on the life and book of Arjun Sen, suffers from the problem of how to keep it interesting and introspective without giving away everything about the subject. To make it all the more evocative and complete, one remembers the deft touch of Shoojit’s longtime collaborator Juhi Chaturvedi. The film appears to address an audience more concerned about the side effects of anesthesia than the financial burden of fighting the disease, with a great recall value. We see a picture of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in Arjun’s living room and at one point he says that pain is a promise that life always keeps but somehow the depth in the writing and imagination is not enough. The author probably plucks the low hanging fruit to create something like the exploits of ‘Surgery Sen’, the title the marketing head gives himself after more than a dozen surgeries.

Abhishek is the perfect choice for a role that demands constantly shedding the stubborn, perhaps soul-searching exterior to give insight into a persistent, tireless soul. The actor gives up even the last drop of vanity to embrace a complex character wholeheartedly. He not only looks the part but makes an honest effort to express what is not on the page. As a daughter torn between two parents, young Ahilya provides her with a spirited company. The film comes to life when a daughter struggles to raise her father. Johnny Lever as the helpful maintenance worker, Kristin Goddard as the brilliant nurse and Kripalani as the affable surgeon are strategically placed to provide some lively counterpoints to Arjun’s view of the world around him.

Shoojit once told this journalist that he does doctorate in whatever subject he wants to pursue. But the beauty of research-driven art lies in its restrained expression. Here it is either silent or screaming to attract attention. After a point, I Want to Talk takes on the tone of R.Balki’s writing where self-awareness gets in the way of honest storytelling and the film starts talking like a self-help guide with illustrations .

I Want to Talk is currently playing in theaters

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