Piku....the potty tales








Piku. The name is typically Bengali. Bringing back memories of a well known movie by the late  Satyajit Ray. However, the current movie is entirely different in flavour  from the other one. Piku circa2015 is funny, touching and entirely postmodern. An emotional rollercoaster by Shoojit Sircar, and a" hatke" theme that makes you ask for more.

A cranky septaugenarian widower Bhaskar Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan), and his daughter Piku ( Deepika Padikone) share a bittersweet relationship. The father is immersed all day in his potty troubles ( constipation) , to the extent that this becomes the centre point of his existence, much to the frustration of his busy architect daughter , who receives the potty updates in the middle of her office meetings through the amused  office secretary! 

Naturally, their house is a battlefield, with Bhaskar targetting everyone from the maid to the house help  boy, with his antics. His daughter is no shade lighter, targetting the daily drivers who take her to the office, courtesy the local cab rental agency. She becomes a terror with her demands for overspeeding and rough driving ,much to the irritation of the owner of the agency, the redoubtable  Chowdhury (Irfan), a civil engineer -turned cab agency owner, who suffers from an equally tumultuous family life, with his mother and separated sister .

Piku takes everything with a pinch of salt , driven by daughterly  responsibilities. She comes across as a dominating woman, who bulldozes everyone on the way to achieving her aims. However, Chowdhury is one who matches her. And so, they clash, in a subtle, swanky urban manner, till things come to a pass.
Meanwhile,  Bhaskar has his own time to glory, drinking himself crazy at his sister in law's anniversary ( who is one more of the quaint characters, having been married for the third time) , dancing sway the night  to old nostslgic Bengali tunes and then collapsing in the morning. Not before he turns away Piku's prospective suitors at the party by declaring her to be " financially and sexually independent" and " not a virgin".
 .
Bhaskar decides to take a trip to his beloved Kolkata ( where all devout Bengalis' hearts must belong ) .. And by what ? A “rocking " train ? A " swaying" plane? No, he wants to have none of these; he hits upon a car hired from Himachal Tourist Service, owned and  operated by Chowdury!  And on this morning of the great journey, frightened by the great Piku,  the cabbie runs away. Leaving  Chowdhury to stand in.
And this begins the great journey of a cranky man, his dominating but loving daughter.,a perplexed servant and a caustic driver. They  drive through the great Indian plains, carrying a sizeable luggage and daddy dear's toilet seat ( called " Sinhasan"). Throughout the road, Bikash irritates Chowdhury with his antics, and the latter develops an attachment with Piku, understanding her position as a harried but loving daughter.

Reaching Kolkata, they put up at Bikash' s ancestral house, " Champakunj". The initial thought by Bikash's brother, who stays there, is that he has come to sell off the house , but his apprehension is soon put to rest by the old man.

The antics continue, whether. It is in going out into the streets riding a bicycle, heating things up on the  dinner table, or in general creating a ruckus about everything. Chowdhury and  Piku go out to explore Calcutta together . In fact, he is instrumental in getting Piku not to sell the house, persuading her that heritage is meant  be maintained forever. The understanding between them makes it a  love story that could have been. 

All this excitement takes a toll on Bikash, and having passed what he calls his " best" motion ever, he passes away peacefully in his sleep. There follows a condolence meeting in Delhi, where a visibly shaken Piku brings forth memories of a bittersweet father- daughter relationship. Bhaskar Banerji, RIP.

Watch Piku for the delightful study of human characters. Watch it for understanding the meaning of father-"daughter relationships. Watch it to understand modern day human behaviour. But watch it, above all, to appreciate that , at the end of the day, no matter how cranky or obnoxious it gets, it is social relationships that keep people  going. " Piku " makes you laugh a lot and cry a bit , and leaves you asking for more.



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