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Nonika Singh
Khad ja baby saah te le la. Indeed, Sonakshi Sinha as Baby Bedi goes breathless right from the moment we set eyes on her. She is all there, first as a medical representative hopelessly trying to sell medicines and later as the inheritor of a sex clinic. Yes, you read that right. As far as concepts go, Khandaani Shafakhana does seem to be treading hitherto unexplored terrain.
For how often have you seen a woman trying to wear the mantle of a ‘sexologist’ aka hakim who cures sexual problems? Especially in a small town like Hoshiarpur (makers get the milieu just right) where people are likely to more than balk at the mention of the three letter word.
Sex, as it is almost a forbidden word in our cinema, has begun to tumble out of the closet only recently. The film not only throws the word in our face but terms like erectile dysfunction are bandied about normally. All very well, about time to discuss the taboo. And as the director promised, the line between vulgarity and sex talk is suitably maintained.
Though it does try to be risqué and questions why sex maladies deemed gupt rog be kept gupt; it veers and swerves right back into the safe zone. While making a case for sex education, it talks about the need to bring out the socially impermissible out in the open. Yet, in order to stay well within the norms of decency, it holds back. With a woman director at the helm and the central protagonist a female, clearly sensibilities are not offended. But not provoked either
No doubt Sonakshi carries her part well. Gutsy and responsible, traditional and brave, the sum of her many parts is interesting. Her interaction with her patients has the right degree of bashfulness and unabashed zing. The film hinges on her slender shoulders and she carries the burden effectively, but can’t transform it into joyful viewing.
Of course, there is a bevy of talented actors at hand to support her. Besides the sombre Kulbhushan Kharbanda and overtly boisterous Annu Kapoor, there is Nadira Babbar. In case you miss the connection, the gifted actor of theatre gives a cue that goes by the name of Raj Babbar, who we all know is her spouse. Varun Sharma, the star comic quotient of Fukrey franchise, is very much a part of this film.
No surprise for the Fukrey director Mrighdeep Singh Lamba is one of the producers of the film. Sharma gets his comic timing in many scenes. His interchange of word feminine for feminist brings a smile as do his cryptic comments on how in the age of Facebook and whatsApp one can have nothing to do.
But the film, while amusing in parts, is no laugh riot. Rather it gets a bit too loud and dramatic at certain junctures. Despite the presence of another fine actor Rajesh Sharma as the judge, the courtroom drama is well high on drama. And lest you think we have forgotten Badshah who makes his acting debut, well we hear him before we see him.
Playing himself, no, not Badshah but a famous Punjabi singer, his swag is perfect and in the anti-climax he emotes and fares fairly fine. But like the film, he is not expected to move out of his comfort zone. Khandaani Shafakhana despite the brave veneer stays well within a prescribed limit and finally ties up the loose ends with a convenient swivel. But the sleight of hand, the shafa that could make it a cut above the rest is missing.
Like the endless stories Baby keeps telling to all who would lend her an ear, what stays with you more than the story is the moral/message. From the word go, we are reminded sex is not a dirty word. But haven’t we heard that before. No wonder, here it is more a reiteration of what we already know and no revelation at all.
nonikasingh@tribunemail.com
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