If there’s anyone in the Hindi film industry who never ceases to surprise audiences, it’s Alia Bhatt. This is her first foray into producing and fuck did she deliver; Darlings is one of the most stridently fresh films to come out of Bollywood in an unbearably hot minute.
Domestic abuse is addressed so much in Bollywood films, it might as well now be de rigeur. But there’s usually an arguably left-wing slant to the way it’s addressed, which strikes a cord of dissonance to the millions of Indians who don’t prescribe to Second-wave feminism.
Darlings is antithetical to that. The whole film is. The characters are ruled by a pendulum that gently swings from sanskar toxicity to pragmatist emancipation, from crushing drama to pain relieving comedy. These aren’t violent swings, they’re nimble and moderate. The same pendulum dominates our lives, but rarely makes an appearance on Hindi celluloid. That’s cause for celebration for Darlings.
If only all the shit songs in the film were removed, it would have been perfect.
Still, I can’t wait for filmmaker, Jasmeet K. Reen’s sophomore effort.
Darlings is now streaming on Netflix
