Chaos and Charm: ‘Laapataa Ladies’ Delivers Delightful Drama

Recently I watched ‘Laapataa Ladies’, a comedy film, directed by Amir Khan’s ex-wife, Kiran Rao and here is my review!

The film stars Nitanshi Goel as Phool Kumari, Pratibha Ranta as Jaya / Pushpa Rani and Shreya in disguise, Sparsh Shrivastava as Deepak Kumar, Chhaya Kadam as Manju Maai and Ravi Kishan as Inspector Shyam Manohar.

The film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival September 2023, and was theatrically released on 1 March 2024.

The film tells the story of two young brides who lose themselves during a train ride.

This 2-hour 2-minute film, set in 2001, begins with the marriage ceremony of Phool Kumari with Deepak Kumar in a little fictional hamlet, in the make-believe state of Nirmal Pradesh and essays, the couple’s journey back home.

Clad in fineries and foot long ‘ghoonghats’, not one, but three newly-weds find themselves squeezed in an overcrowded, unreserved compartment.

What follows is a situational laugh riot as two of the brides get switched. Phool married to Deepak Kumar, gets left behind in the train as in confusion and darkness, Deepak, asks another similarly attired and veiled bride named Jaya to join him deboard the train.

On reaching home, he realises his folly, but Jaya, for reasons of her own does not want to join her husband.

Thus enters, Ravi Kishan as Inspector Shyam Manohar, an extremely greedy and corrupt police officer, but with a heart of gold, who is approached by Deepak who is eager to find his wife.

The situation is knotty (naughty), Jaya does not want join her husband, Deepak and his family are desperate, Phool, stationed at another station awaits any news of her husband and Jaya’s husband, Pradeep, a dodgy and greedy character, has lodged a complaint at another police station for his missing wife.

Inspector Shyam Manohar, suspects Jaya, but Jaya and her ghoonghat, always come in the way of a speedy resolution to this mega communication confusion.

The film is a delight to watch. Real life locations, superb casting, wonderful dialogs and great dialect, speaks of exceptional Direction.

The script is immaculate and the pace is oh-so perfect. Your mind does not even waiver for a second and you are hooked to the narrative from the word go!

You connect with each and every character, which is etched out to perfection. But it is the acting powerhouse, Ravi Kishan, who steals the show. He owns every scene he is in, and his dialogs hit home.

The overarching idea of freedom to choose and fight for what you desire, even in adverse circumstances is unmissable. A very positive film, it addresses the concept of different strokes for different folks. While Phool wants a steady, happy married life, Jaya wants to study; the film brings out their emotions and struggles in an innocent and hearty way.

Everything about the film is superlative and is a must, must watch! A big shout out to Kiran Rao and here’s hoping to see a lot more from her in the very near future!!