Savour this Margarita

Nonika Singh

Few films in India tackle the issue of people with special needs and fewer still delve with sensibility and sensitivity. Margarita With A Straw is that rare film that rises head and shoulders above not only the run-of-the-mill that Bollywood produces but also among the sensitive portrayals and dares to move into the forbidden terrain.
Like the title of the film the movie too is unusual. And, no, Margarita is not the name of cerebral palsy afflicted heroine of the film. She is Lalia, inspired from real life character of Malini, director Shonali Bose’s cousin. Slipping into her wheelchair is Kalki Koechlin who is so good that not for a single moment do you recall her from her previous performances or forget that she is not suffering from the affliction.
Suffering of course is a wrong choice of word here .... for the film not even once allows you to wallow in her misery or evokes pity. In fact, cerebral palsy itself is explained in one line—it impairs motor ability but not one’s intelligence. So if the mind is alive and kicking…. won’t it yearn and desire too? For quite a while the sexual needs of Laila are fore grounded in ample measure. Right from her buying a vibrator to her smooching a guy sailing in a similar wheelchair to her crush on a young musician of her college band to a lesbian relationship... much time is devoted to her sexual escapades. While neither the camera nor the director shy away from taking us into the bold and erotic zone...the intimate moments are adeptly handled and are not meant to titillate or shock. Rather it only underlines Laila’s need for a private life of which sex is an integral part.
Finally it’s a tale of self-realisation and self-discovery. Like all of us, Laila too finds herself through ups and downs of life, death and a maze of relationships. Among her many relationships the one that truly tugs at your heartstrings is the one she shares with her mother. Revathi as the mother of the special child is brilliant and epitomises woman power. She is clearly in the driving seat not just of her matador in which the husband (Kuljeet Singh) sits quietly and stoically in the passenger seat. It’s she, the Aai, who sits at the head of the dining table…it’s she who decides to send her special daughter to  the US for further studies. Yes, in more than one way the film knocks down several stereotypes. Normal-abnormal, gay-bisexual, it looks at so many aspects of life without being judgmental. Above all it steers clear of weepy melodrama and overt sentimentality, never ever aiming at the least common emotional quotient to arouse sympathy for it strong willed lead. Subtle and nuanced in the most magnificent way it manages to touch you poignantly. And that along with its remarkable climax is its biggest triumph. Go sip this Margarita (which by the way is the name of the cocktail) not just with a straw but with all your senses, especially those that respond to the sound of music and background score. The movie which has been a toast of several international film festivals of course resonates on more than one count.