With this movie I have truly become a Vidya Balan fan…I know she is a great actress with line up of some amazing movies in her kitty but it takes talent of another level to play a character like this and make the audience fall in love with her. She has failed 12th standard 3 times; she has sisters and father who criticize her all the time; She is housewife who has a hundred dreams. Her husband loves her but is not exactly supportive of her career when she takes the call to pursue one. When she goes live on radio for the first time as a contest winner, she sings unmindful of how she is sounding, the RJs on the other side crack up with laughter. Vidya Balan plays her with such charm, confidence and infectious energy. But I ended up rooting for her because she doesn\’t make the character silly. For me personally the highlights of the performance were the nuances in subtler and vulnerable moments. In standout scenes where she is accused of neglecting her child or when she is explaining her situation at home to her boss, the acting is so fine I found it hard to hold back tears. But other actors are almost as good too! Manav Kaul plays her endearing husband with such depth- conveying affection, concern and emotional vulnerability so subtly that he doesn\’t need much dialogue to make us understand his predicament. Neha Dhupia as a supportive boss and Vijay Maurya as an eccentric poet are amazing too. Apart from the performances, the direction is also commendable. There are innumerable moments in the film where difficult emotions are conveyed without much dialogues. Also there are some fine touches to the story- like how the couple are much in love despite a rift in their relationship, or character of a perceptive female cab driver, or easy camaraderie between Sulu, her boss and her colleagues… My only problem with the film was it\’s length, I wish it was atleast shorter by half an hour. But otherwise a brilliant film, not to be missed…
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