Many times, while watching a poignant drama, one thing that strikes me is how they play with silences. Dialogues are important, background music heightens the drama, but it is the silences intertwined in the narrative that can truly add the soul to a film. The long pauses, where not just the characters but the audience also get to introspect and take a moment to immerse themselves in the experience, are what elevate the cinema-viewing experience.
That is exactly what Shoojit Sircar does in his latest release, I Want To Talk.
Featuring Abhishek Bachchan, it tells the story of Arjun Sen, a brilliant marketing guy who decides to give life a shot. The audience is introduced to Sen as a man who cares about business above everything else. He knows how to ‘manipulate,’ a word he dislikes, but one that becomes a part of his identity. He can manipulate the masses into buying a pizza, focusing on the cheese pull alone, or convince himself that he is not really an absentee father. However, a sudden cancer diagnosis, with his life now given a timeline of less than 100 days, changes something in him.
Watch the trailer of I Want To Talk here:
If you have been watching Bollywood films for long, you might guess that this is the point where background music will be used to heighten the tension. What will this man, whose whole world has just collapsed, do? Pensive, sentimental music might even overtake the narrative. And then motivational music. Thankfully, none of that happens in I Want To Talk.
In this film, director Shoojit Sircar chooses to highlight the resilience of Arjun Sen by just letting the narrative speak. There is a certain aloofness, yet a lot of soul with which he treats the character and the film. In fact, instead of highlighting how the character defeated his fate, the film focuses more on Arjun, the father, to drive the story forward. It is through his interactions with those around him—his daughter Reya (Ahilya Bamroo), his healing coach and friend Nancy (Kristin Goddard), and Dr. Deb (Jayant Kripalani)—that the story unfolds.
Shoojit Sircar has his signature way of dealing with subjects in his films. Many might consider it slow, and there is no denying that. But that’s the same quality that makes them heartfelt and poignant. He did it with October and Sardar Udham Singh, and he does it with I Want To Talk. The film is a display of Sircar’s craftsmanship and his grasp of the film. If you are into heartfelt dramas, the pace of the film will not bore you. Instead, it will make you more invested in the character through its fly-on-the-wall-style storytelling. Arjun Sen’s journey feels personal, and that is all thanks to how Sircar chose to execute the film. Kudos to Ritesh Shah too for bringing a story like this to life.
Sircar also intersperses the narrative with comic elements. It is brilliant how he introduces relief through Sen’s interactions with Dr Deb. It’s never forced; it’s just there, like it is in life.
If Sircar wove the story, it was Abhishek Bachchan and his performance that brought it to life. He is impeccable as Arjun Sen. This isn’t an easy role to play, with the emotional layers and complexities, yet Abhishek does it flawlessly. His submission to the story and the director is evident as he transforms into a man who just wants to keep his promise of dancing at his daughter’s wedding.
So, despite over 20 surgeries and all the curveballs thrown at him, he decides to fight, and it is Bachchan who embodies it all. The pain, the patience, the hopelessness turned to hope, the fight, and seeing close ones pass—the character can take a toll on an actor mentally. It is also physically challenging. However, Abhishek Bachchan does it all with tenderness. He is not afraid to take risks, and this film is clearly proof of that.
Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography also helps in capturing the stillness and silences, without over-dramatising the events.
If you want to take a break from all the sound and fury of action and larger-than-life films, this one is for you. It will make you cry, laugh, and just enjoy the journey.
4 out of 5 stars.
