Ever since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, the need for cleanliness has been stressed by the government through various campaigns and Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar have tried to propagate the same through their film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. But does the film work? Read on…
Set in a small town of Mathura, the film revolves around Keshav (Kumar), a 36-year-old man under the thumb of his traditionalist father Pandit ji (Sudhir Pandey), who strictly believes that a house where ‘tulsi’ is worshipped should not have a toilet on its premises. When Keshav manages to win the heart of the progressive Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar) by relentless stalking, his world is turned upside down when the bride refuses to relieve herself out in the fields and demands an indoor toilet. Torn between his traditionalist father and his modern wife, Keshav must do some ‘jugaad’ to save his marriage…
Though both Akshay and Bhumi have played their roles earnestly enough, I was quite confused with the way their characters are etched. The writers seemed confused about whether Keshav is a modern man or a Neanderthal (For example- Keshav goes on and on about the dignity of women, but doesn’t think twice before stalking Jaya when he starts liking her) whereas Jaya, who is a ‘topper’ and an ostensibly strong woman, turns into a shrinking violet when facing her father-in-law. It is quite evident that not much attention was paid while writing these two characters. However, veterans Anupam Kher and Sudhir Pandey have done a decent job.
As for the film, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is not a bad film as such, but it neither is the kind of a film that will inspire you or tug at your heart-strings or open your eyes about something. It made me feel that the makers did want to send across a message, but were not too passionate about it either and as such, the film lacks a strong emotional connect, though the issue tackled in the film is quite a serious one. The makers have gone out of their way to laud the Government in every way, including gushing about the demonetization scheme in one scene. The treatment is ham-fisted and half-hearted and the result is a preachy and patchy fare, which doesn’t entertain much beyond provoking a reluctant chuckle in a few scenes.
In conclusion, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is something that you may not mind watching on your television, but not in a cinema-hall.
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Set in a small town of Mathura, the film revolves around Keshav (Kumar), a 36-year-old man under the thumb of his traditionalist father Pandit ji (/movietalkies/media/post_attachments/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/toilet-3-1.jpg)
Though both Akshay and Bhumi have played their roles earnestly enough, I was quite confused with the way their characters are etched. The writers seemed confused about whether Keshav is a modern man or a Neanderthal (For example- Keshav goes on and on about the dignity of women, but doesn’t think twice before stalking Jaya when he starts liking her) whereas Jaya, who is a ‘topper’ and an ostensibly strong woman, turns into a shrinking violet when facing her father-in-law. It is quite evident that not much attention was paid while writing these two characters. However, veterans /movietalkies/media/post_attachments/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/toilet-4-1.jpg)
As for the film, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is not a bad film as such, but it neither is the kind of a film that will inspire you or tug at your heart-strings or open your eyes about something. It made me feel that the makers did want to send across a message, but were not too passionate about it either and as such, the film lacks a strong emotional connect, though the issue tackled in the film is quite a serious one. The makers have gone out of their way to laud the Government in every way, including gushing about the demonetization scheme in one scene. The treatment is ham-fisted and half-hearted and the result is a preachy and patchy fare, which doesn’t entertain much beyond provoking a reluctant chuckle in a few scenes./movietalkies/media/post_attachments/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/toilet-5-1.jpg)
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In conclusion, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is something that you may not mind watching on your television, but not in a cinema-hall.