Ankahi Kahaniya Review: The Anthology Film Is Beautifully Presented With A Great Credit Idea
Cast: Rinku Rajguru, Abhishek Banerjee, Kunal Kapoor, Zoya Hussain, TJ Bhanu, Nikhil Dwivedi, Palomi Ghosh
Director: Abhishek Chaubey, Saket Chaudhary, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Platform: Netflix
Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
The anthology film ‘Ankahi Kahaniya‘ was released on Netflix at 12 noon on September 17. We watched the film as soon as it was released. The total length of this film is one hour and fifty minutes. Credit-credit all in all. It has three stories. How interesting are these ‘Ankahi Kahaniya’ will tell you further. Loneliness and the unknown city is an emotion that has been shown in many films before. Ankahi Kahaniya is one such attempt to show the loneliness of big cities through three stories. The first story is directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, the second story is directed by Abhishek Chaubey and the third story is directed by Saket Chaudhary.
Ankahi Kahaniya Review: Episode Wise
1. Pradeep Aur Pari (Ashwani Iyer Tiwari)
The first story has been directed by Ashwani Iyer Tiwari, the maker of films like ‘Nil Battey Sannata’, ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’. Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain and Nitesh Tiwari have jointly written this story. This is more a story of loneliness than a love story. This is the story of lakhs of people living in Mumbai or any metropolis. Those who leave their homes and families in villages and towns are becoming machines day by day in big cities. The story of the film is very simple. This is the plus and minus point of this story. Meaning, nothing special happens in the story that should be remembered. Abhishek Banerjee is in the lead role in the film. According to the demand of the story, Abhishek has done a good job. The work of Rajeev Pandey, who plays a small role of Shenty, who works in the shop with him, is also good. We told you in the trailer review that this story looks the most interesting. But alas, this story sits the weakest in the film compared to the other two stories.
The Story
The first story is a love story. Love story of Pradeep Lahoria. These brothers have settled in Mumbai from Gadowar. Works at a clothing showroom named Delight. Where the ladies section is responsible for them. In the room where he lives, his Rumi is engaged in Gutargu with his girlfriend all day. When he escapes to the shop, Shanty, who manages the gents section in the shop, goes to meet the ‘setting’ every evening in his tongue. Everyone’s love is running side by side, except Pradeep. In such a situation, one day the angel comes in their life. Which is a mannequin. That is, the effigy. Pradeep starts talking about his heart with Pari. Just like a girlfriend, takes care of the mannequin. Obviously the world does not understand this love of Pradeep. Just can’t say more than that. Watch what happens next in the film.
Review and Analysis
The story of Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain and Nitesh Tiwari makes you uneasy inside. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari adds to this uneasiness with every scene and makes you feel awkward inside, thanks to background music by Achint Thakkar and very emotional dialogues by Piyush – Shreyas – Nitesh Tiwari. As Pradeep names his first love, Pari, every dialogue from that first meeting to the last goodbye makes the film a little better. Charu Shree Roy’s editing does not allow the story to be left out of nowhere.
Star Performances
The main cast of the film is Abhishek Banerjee who will pull you like a magnet in his story with every scene and every dialogue. If Abhishek Banerjee is in any film then you should watch that film. Perhaps someone other than him could have made the film scary but Abhishek adds emotion to his uneasy romance as well. You would like to share their loneliness. But still you will not be able to feel the depth of that loneliness and that is why this film will make the film uncomfortable. Abhishek Banerjee is accompanied by a few stars in the film – Rajeev Pandey as his friend Shanty; Vibha Chhibber as his mother and TJ Bhanu as his fiancée Shashi.
2. Nandu and Manjari (Abhishek Choubey)
Abhishek Choubey, who made ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Sonchiriya’ and a few days back in Netflix’s ‘Ray’ series short film ‘Hungama Kyun Hai Barpa’ with Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao, is the director of this second love story. Screenplay and dialogues are jointly written by Hussain Hydari and Abhishek Chaubey. This story is from the nineties. And the best part is that it does not come anywhere by writing. Rather, Abhishek has creatively depicted this time period with Nirma’s jingles, old notes, clothes and other things. The story of this film is based on the Kannada story ‘Intermediate’ written by Jayant Kaikini. There are very few dialogues in the film. Abhishek has brilliantly conveyed the message with small scenes.
The Story
The second story is also a love story. There are two people in it. Nandu and Manjari. Nandu works in Prakash Talkies. And it seems that alone works. From ticket booking to ticket checking. From cleaning toilets to selling samosas at intervals. Nandu has to do all the work. The second one is Manjari. There is a mother at home who got her out of college. Brother kills. Neighbor Hares. Still the mother ignores all this. Manjari knows embroidery. From which she earns money. Manjari goes to Prakash Talkies with her friend every week to watch movies. Here Nandu and her meet. The love story of both begins. Know the next matter by seeing yourself.
The story is about the first love happening in teenage. In which everything seems pleasant at first. The hero-heroine, who shows the true love of the whole life in three hours in the film, is seen inside each other by the lover-girlfriend. But after some time the real reality hits. The film stars Rinku Rajguru and Delzad Hiwale in Sairat. Both have acted well. Rinku is counted among the skilled actresses. But Delzad has also done a good job in the film. It is expected that after this film, he will have more projects. Although the ending of this film seems incomplete. Perhaps the name of the story is ‘intermission’, so it has been done deliberately. Whatever the reason, the story is weak but the direction is excellent.
The Review
Inspired by Jayant Kaikini’s Kannada story Intermission, the screenplay and dialogues by Hussain Hydari and Abhishek Choubey fail to tie the film together. Abhishek Chaubey’s movie is not as good but the direction saved the film. The music of this film is given by Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor which is flawless. Sanyukta Kaza’s editing could have saved the film from making the film cumbersome, but it doesn’t.
3. Tanu Aur Manav (Saket Chaudhary)
The third story is different from the previous two stories. This story is not of love but of compatibility. The two main characters of the story are Manav and Tanu. Same trouble is going on in both of their lives. Which both are trying to solve together. Can’t tell much about this story. The matter will be spoiled.
Saket Chaudhary, director of ‘Hindi Medium’, is the director of this story. Which is written by Saket himself along with Zeenat Lakhani. This story is from the posh world, unlike the previous two stories. Story wise this story is the best. In which Kunal Kapoor and Zoya Hussain have performed very well. This story is more about deception than love. It shows that there is no right or wrong. There is a game of situation and time.
The Review
The story of Zeenat Lakhani and Saket Choudhary is the story of two men trying to build a bridge between fantasy and reality. The film has its ups and downs but falls completely flat immediately after every good scene. And this continues to happen in this story. Avinash Singh’s dialogues do not leave much impact. Editing of Kamlesh Robin Parui is handled by the film. The music of this film is given by Rishab Shah but that too does not seem to have much impact on the story.
Ankahi Kahaniya Review: The Last Words
This review would be incomplete without appreciating one particular aspect of this anthology. The film is beautifully presented with a great credit idea. The opening credits of Ankahi Kahaniya hit the screens with beautiful illustrations designed by the team at Studio Kokaachi. Ankahi Kahaniya is a good attempt and this effort does not let you get bored anywhere.
