Gehraiyaan: A deep and convoluted journey of ambition & love

Gehraiyaan…

All of us are guilty of wanting that life, luxury yachts, and chartered planes. But the question remains that are we willing to put in the effort, are we willing to make the necessary sacrifices?

And, when you mix ambition with love and desire it forms a tremulous cocktail, a whirlwind of mixed and conflicting feelings.

Gehraiyaan is about the depth of human emotions and how it conflicts with ambition. It is about the idea of being molded and shaped by the circumstances.

How unsuspecting seemingly innocent people commit acts of unspeakable terror. But are we just a culmination of our mistakes? Can we ever come to terms with our mistakes or even get out of its death grip?

A dialog in the movie towards the end kind of sums it up for us. “Your life is much larger than your mistakes”

And on that note let’s talk about the movie itself.

Plot

Alisha & Karan

Alisha is living with her boyfriend Karan in a small apartment in Mumbai. She’s trying to make ends meet by putting in extra hours as a yoga instructor. Karan is an aspiring writer who quits his suffocating corporate job to pursue writing but is struggling to finish his first book.

The shift in the conventional power dynamics of the couple does not sit well with them from a psychological standpoint and both of them are seen struggling to communicate and share with each other their worries. On one side Alisha is expecting Karan to finish his book at some point and give her a hand with the daily expenses and on the other hand, Karan is not ready to show his first draft to Alisha fearing judgment and ridicule.

Alisha & Dad

Running parallel is the tension between Alisha and her dad. We are shown glimpses of Alisha’s past where her mother is seen arguing with her dad about moving back to Nashik.

Her dad quits the family business and moves to the suburbs of Nashik, and her mother can’t come to terms with that decision. She feels suffocated and eventually succumbs to those thoughts and commits suicide. Alisha ever since has never been able to talk to her dad eye-to-eye and blames him for the death of her mother.

Zain & Tia

Amidst the psychological turmoil, the other side of the spectrum is portrayed by Alisha’s cousin Tia and her boyfriend Zain. Tia is shown as ancestrally rich with her parents into some kind of business abroad.

Zain is ambitious and is a hustler, the kind of a guy who does not hesitate to cut a few corners to get what he wants.

He’s on the verge of getting huge funding for his business proposal and is all set for a luxurious life with Tia by his side.

The cross connections

The plot progresses with Alisha and Tia meeting after almost a year and Alisha and Zain hitting it off almost immediately.

United by the baggage of their troubled past that slowly unravels with time, Zain and Alisha become inseparable, both of them cheating on their respective partners

That is when their already complicated lives spiral further down into chaos.

What is shown as glimpses here and there reveals that Alisha, Tia, and Karan grew up together. Alisha and Tia haven’t kept in touch, but Karan and Tia are quite tight and seem to share everything. Trouble brews when Karan shares his first draft with Tia before sharing it with his girlfriend Alisha. All is not well on Tia and Zain’s front as well, as Zain finds Tia a bit overbearing and a bit too idle for her own benefit. Tia’s family is a bit too intrusive. Not to mention, the constant reminders of how much money they have invested in Zain’s business. All of this soon overwhelms Zain and is drawn towards Alisha’s free spirit and her entrepreneurial drive.

Troubled waters

Zain is trying to close this mega-deal of his and all seems to go well for him, when out of the blue one of the primary investors is arrested and that puts a lot of financial pressure on Zain.

Despite having promised Alisha that he’d sever all ties with Tia and her family by paying her money back and breaking it off with Tia, Zain ends up borrowing even more money from the family to save his business from the recent development with his investor.

A pregnant Alisha feels threatened as she sees Zain backing out on his promises. She decides to confront Zain and gives him an ultimatum. End it with Tia and tell her about Alisha.

What happens next is a true test of human emotions, and brings out the extent to which a person can go given the right circumstances.

I have seen many movies with epic climaxes, but this climax somehow hit very close to my heart. In the end, secrets are revealed, newer bonds are formed. The climax paints the entire cast in a light that was previously impossible to imagine.

Characterisation

One of the best parts of Gehraiyaan is its casting. The cast seems to have assumed their natural selves with Deepika playing the intense and complex character of Alisha.

Ananya plays the easy-going and girl-next-door character of Tia.

Zain played by Siddhant Chaturvedi of the Gully Boy fame was surprisingly good. His effortless acting skills and a very charming attitude were something to look for.

The supporting cast was exceptional with a couple of veteran actors such as Naseeruddin Shah playing Alisha’s dad, and Rajat Kapoor playing Zain’s Partner. They really added the required depth and complexity required by Gehraiyan (no pun intended)

Final thoughts

This is definitely a good film and deserves a watch. The entire story falls into place with the final reveal and that makes for a very satisfying conclusion.

I would rate the movie 78 out of 100.

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