Tribhanga, 2021.

Tribhanga – Tedhi Medhi Crazy is essentially a story about a family; three generations of women, their struggles and aspirations.

The film begins with Anuradha, a Bollywood actor- dancer, rushing into the hospital after hearing a news about her mother, Nayantara who is a well known writer. Both women, Nayantara and Anuradha, are fierce and headstrong whereas Masha, Anuradha’s daughter is a bit different from rest of the family. She is a housewife who is ready to make compromises on anything as long as she leads a “normal” life that she was deprived of in her childhood.

The drama unfolds primarily through Milan’s perspective, who starts out as Nayantara’s aide in writing an autobiography. Much of the film focuses on the relationship shared by Anuradha and Nayantara; the sentimental-painful memories of her mother that Anuradha has hidden in some part of her mind. As much as they loved each other, they were not able to express it properly leading to some tension. The storyline is so beautiful that it captivates your attention and you can almost feel that you’re a part of their dysfunctional family.

One of the scenes that I personally appreciated the most was when Anuradha herself explains through the language of dance: Nayantara is Abhanga, a slightly mad genius; Mashsa is Samabhanga, completely balanced; and Anuradha is skewed and weird, she is Tribhanga.

The film incorporates multiple elements from sexual assault, domestic violence and professional ambitions however the 90- odd minutes were not enough to bring attention to everything in an organised manner. It however triggers an interesting thought in our minds that when a mother chooses something for her child, she only wants the best and sometimes forgets that the best might not be what the child would appreciate at that stage. But does that mean parents shouldn’t choose for their children?

As complex the story was shown, the ending could have been ruined easily instead it was so beautifully put together. It truly makes us wonder how even the smallest decisions of ours affect our lives as well others around us.

All in all, this Netflix original is a brilliant emotional, thought provoking film even though you might find it stretching unnecessarily in between a few scenes. As brilliant as the storyline, cast and acting was, Director Renuka Shahane could have run the film a few more minutes to achieve the full potential of her film.