Kangana Ranaut in an interview, while talking about the conviction in the Preeti Rathi case, made an important observation. The actress, who has seen women harassment at close quarters when her sister Rangoli was attacked with acid said, “Hanging people is not enough. Our society is responsible for cultivating such a mindset. For men, rejection is a very big deal.” Pink goes well with what the actress said as the film doesn’t just focus on the crime committed. It also exposes what certain men still think of women and their views will put any responsible citizen to shame. This is one of the landmark films of the year and is bound to be remembered for years to come!

The story of the movie: Minal Arora (Taapsee Pannu), Falak Ali (Kirti Kulhari) and Andrea Tariang (Andrea Tariang) are based in Delhi. They attend a rock show where they meet Rajveer Singh (Angad Bedi) and his friends. At their insistence, the girls go to a nearby resort with them for dinner and drinks. Here, Rajveer molests Minal and the latter, in a fit of rage and as self-defence, brutally injures the former. The girls then escape and their life becomes hell. Trouble arises when they go to the cops. Rajveer is well-connected and uses his power to harass the girls. However, the girls find a ray of hope in Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan), a lawyer, with bipolar disorder.

Pink is very unconventional in its approach and that’s reflected from the opening credits itself. There’s absolutely no music and the girls are mentioned before Amitabh. All this sets the mood of the film beautifully. No time is wasted and the film comes straight to the point. The details are not unveiled but one can sense something horrible has happened. Viewers feel the chill when the girls are harassed in the most shocking manner. Even the mere sight of Minal or Falak going out in the city at night scares the viewers as all knows the reputation of Delhi at night time. Deepak Sehgal however hardly has anything to do in this hour and his mysterious presence adds to the impact. The silver lining occurs when Deepak takes up the case of the girls and from here on, the film goes on to another level. The courtroom scenes are explosive and novel not just in execution but writing as well. The manner in which defence lawyer Prashant Mehta (Piyush Mishra) portrays the girls as being ‘character less’ is quite a shocker. Deepak’s arguments however are clapworthy and it’s great the way he puts forward his points and also ridicules the feudal mindset that still exists in society. If his monologue in the middle of second hour is great, then his speech in climax is even better. The film ends on a rocking note.

Pink is embellished with some award winning performances. Amitabh Bachchan is in solid form and yet again, he brings something different to the table. The way he roams around with the mask adds to the mystery. His contribution is hardly there in most portions of the first half. But whenever he appears on screen, he rocks the show. He dominates much of the second half and is bound to be loved by one and all. The three girls give their best shot. Taapsee Pannu gives her best performance in Bollywood and the manner in which she shows range of emotions without going overboard even for a moment is splendid. The way she gets intimidated in court and also hits back at the molesters is just amazing. Pink is going to take Taapsee to places! Kirti Kulhari’s career is bound to get a new lease of life after Pink. She impressed with Khichdi: The Movie and especially with Shaitan. The next few films of hers weren’t that great but now with Pink, she is surely going to get noticed. She’s a powerhouse performer and she sparkles in each and every scene. She hits the bullseye with her scene with the defence lawyer. Andrea Tariang looks lovely and makes great use of the opportunity. She doesn’t get to deliver long dialogues but yet she impresses by getting the whole thing just right. The scene where she is asked about North Eastern roots is damn good. Angad Bedi is in top form and like Taapsee, this is his best Hindi film. He impresses from the beginning itself especially when he gets a phone call but he tells his friend to take it. But the scene where he rocks the most is his confrontation with Deepak. Great job and eager to see him in a diametrically opposite role in Dear Zindagi! Piyush Mishra as always adds a lot to the film. His performance is not as legendary as his act in Happy Bhag Jayegi but nevertheless, he is very good. Vijay Varma (Ankit) is an actor to watch out for. He takes the film to another level with few sequences in the first half. Raashul Tandon (Dumpy) and Tushar Pandey (Vishwa) are okay. Dhritiman Chatterjee (Judge) underplays his part very nicely. Dibang (senior inspector) is good while the actress playing Haryanvi cop is just superb. Others do a good job.

Shantanu Moitra, Anupam Roy & Faiza Mujahid’s music is okay. Only one song features in the film – Kaari Kaari – and its well-placed. Shantanu Moitra’s background score is restrained and subtle. Meghna Gandhi’s sets are quite realistic. Avik Mukhopadhayay’s cinematography is impactful, especially in the courtroom scenes. Story is interesting and it is the need of the hour. Ritesh Shah’s dialogues are sharp while his screenplay is very effective. Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s direction is gritty and engaging. The film does drag at places but at some places, it’s quite quick, and some answers are left unanswered. How come Deepak was able to give such an impressive performance in the court the second time? Also, his medical condition wasn’t properly put forward. Even his way of reacting in the finale is a bit bewildering. But on the positive side, Aniruddha has handled the sensitive subject deftly. At some places, he doesn’t go the usual commercial way and this works big time. Here’s hoping he makes more films – Bollywood need good storytellers like him!

Some of the best scenes:
1. The opening scene
2. The landlord visits the girls
3. The landlord gets threatened on the streets
4. Falak blasts Rajveer on the phone
5. Minal gets arrested
6. The intermission point
7. Deepak questions Andrea
8. Deepak questions the lady cop (outstanding)
9. Deepak questions Minal and his monologue
10. Defence lawyer questions Falak
11. The climax

On the whole, Pink is one of the landmark films of the year. It talks about a very important issue in our society but it never gets preachy. Storyline is very novel and engaging and the direction, though unconventional, works big time and will be loved. The performances are exemplary and take the film to another level. This is definitely a film you must not miss and here’s hoping it gets a tax-free status soon. It deserves it!

My rating - **** out of 5!