The Netflix anthology ‘Ankahi Kahaniya’ gives us three heartfelt short stories that touch upon various romances, all with their own themes.
The three-part anthology stars Abhishek Banerjee, Zoya Hussain, Kunal Kapoor, Nikhil Dwivedi, Palomi, Rinku Rajguru and Delzad Hiwale.
Directed by: Saket Chaudhary, Abhishek Chaubey and Ashwini Iyer Tiwari
Run Time: 1h 50min
Ratings: 4.5/5
Cast: Abhishek Banerjee, Zoya Hussain, Kunal Kapoor, Nikhil Dwivedi, Palomi, Rinku Rajguru and Delzad Hiwale.
Story 1
Directed by Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, the first short story introduces to us a lonely character named Pradeep (Abhishek Banerjee). Pradeep works at a clothing store and while he’s a master at sales, his social skills would give him the ‘shy and reserved’ tag. However, Pradeep starts feeling a little extra companionless when he realises all of his surrounding people have love interests, regardless of their age. This is when he finds love in quite an interesting material – a female mannequin. Despite everyone else thinking him to be silly for such public display of affection towards a materialistic object, Pradeep carries on with his desires.
The story brings alive the sort of romance one might never accept in society. The underlying meaning to this story undoubtedly is the fact that loneliness can be conquered by the company of materialistic things too. While the mannequin acts as an object that keeps the protagonist from dissolving into a depressing realm of life, the beautiful film also shows not everything is as it seems from the outside.
Story 2
A young girl who goes by the name Manjari (Rinku Rajguru) leads quite a frustrated life in Mumbai. Coming from a noisy household, the girl is often seen grimacing at her surroundings. That is until she runs into the single-screen theatre errand boy (Delzad Hiwale) who safe to say, falls in love with her at first glance. While the two keep bumping eyes into each other on multiple occasions, the pair don’t speak much. However, there’s always time for ice-cream and the beach!
Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, the second short film is yet another romance that leaves words in the air, unsaid, but still present. The strong body language portrayed by Rinku Rajguru is the highlight. One can understand exactly how the character is feeling by the simple tilting of her head. The story talks about the silent kind of love that people succumb to in order to escape what must be their daily routine. There is comfort in each others’ silence and for now, that’s all that matters.
Story 3
The final part of this much loved anthology is directed by Saket Chaudhary. All it took for this romance to alight was Tanu’s (Zoya Hussain) spouse cheating on her with Manav’s (Kunal Kapoor) wife. The heartbreak washes over the two of them like waves during a storm. It’s hard, it’s salty and it’s painful. But Tanu and Manav find love once again and this time, it’s with each other. However, the impact of their previous relationships leave behind them doubts, a full blown identity crisis and a lot of unshed tears and frustration.
The ending was as good as expected, with such a banger start. The moral to learn from this short story would be that it’s okay to love again. Heartbreak only comes with another awaited heartwarming story but only if one has the patience to wait for it. While the splendid demonstration of betrayal and melancholy by Kunal and Zoya couldn’t go unnoticed, we must applaud Palomi Ghosh for another stunning performance.