In Masaan, we see Deepak (Vicky Kaushal) studying hard in hopes of a better life in the city. It is ironic that we, as an audience, find profundity in characters “yearning to be urban”, but if an urban kid tries too hard, he would be instantly ridiculed. Bitti watches pirated Hollywood films, struggling to process the English subtitles. And we see Pritam (Rajkummar Rao) transform from a meek saree seller to a hip urban character with shades, with the song “Badass Babuaa” picturised for Rao’s character. In BKB, we see Bitti (Kriti Sanon) secretly taking a drag before she hands the cigarette to her dad. There is a certain chasm between urban and local characters. What is heartening is that the stories are deeply rooted in that geography and it is not merely used as a plot device. In Masaan, we could feel the inner conflict of a man who belongs to a family that cremates the dead to earn a living. In BKB, we see a worried father telling his daughter to sit with both legs on the side when she is sitting on a bike with a stranger. It is not so much that these films are set in small towns, but the sensibilities of the characters are local too. Have you noticed the rise in stories set in different parts of India, away from metropolitan cities? BKB, Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Masaan (2015), and Badhaai Ho (2018), are just a few examples of such movies. I could spend an hour reviewing this movie, but that is not the agenda of this article. While the story is a classic love triangle, what interests me is how well the characters have been written. We all have our go-to movies, the ones that we eventually turn to after unsuccessfully scrolling through whatever streaming platform we are on. Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) is a romantic comedy film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.
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