Universal and Focus Features deliver what I would call a fun ride. Bollywood meets power puff girls meets power rangers! It was a breath of fresh air, something different and something you will probably start to see a lot often after the success of RRR.
We are introduced to Ria and Lena, 2 sisters of Pakistani descent living in Britain with their parents. Ria is a student who dreams of becoming a stunt woman (interesting career choice) and Lena is an aspiring artist. Ria is navigating the path of a teenager, dealing with bullies, parents, teachers, school work and friends, whilst all at the same time trying to further her stuntwoman obsession into a reality. Lena is an art school drop out and is going through some form of depression trying to ignite her passion for art again. She eventually catches the attention of the neighbourhood throb heart and they eventually get engaged. With Ria on the course of losing her sister to her new fiancé, it sets off a tale of events of trying to save her sister from the deadlocks of marriage.
The movie explores the sisterly affection between Ria and Lena. They also display the alternative sisterhood with Ria and her friends. Using numerous tools to traverse this. Firstly the age gap. 2 young women at different stages of their lives with different goals. With both not fulfilling their parents high expectations due to the cultural standards of the community we get a front row seat to the parental disappointment. With the story heavily focused on muslim traditions they are still successful with applying a light hearted family comedy charm. Half way in, the story does take a real dark unexpected turn which I definitely didn’t see coming.
There’s a quote that hits it goes “arranged marriage is just outsourcing the capital of your emotional investment” hahahaha
The action is where this movie shines. From the fights in the school to the child planned kidnap heists, all very entertaining. The conventional martial arts on show here is dazzling. It’s well choreographed and actually had me in a trance in the sense where I was wondering was all this just characters imaginations or are they actually throwing each other through walls. That was part of the engagement, it was never confirmed. You just had to accept that everyone just seemed to be skilled super powered fighters lol. There are instruments they use to make these scenes even more enthralling. Gimmicks you can even call them. They have these versus announcements with the camera shots pan to the individuals with their name and some kind of animal audio for example an eagle. It makes it jolly but at the same time momentous. There’s even a call out shot to The Matrix’s Trinity.
One for the future, Priya Kansara! She played Ria Khan. She’s expressive, animated and she seems like she can actually kick ass. Rita Arya shows her experience. She does a great job of steering us through being sorrowful, cheerful, happy then eventually kick ass. Nimra Bucha was the highlight of the movie for me. She played the big bad. She’s evil, sinister and conniving. That laugh as well (shivers)! Some honourable mentions Seraphina Ben and Ella Bruccoleri provided large amounts of the comedic value here. They were a dynamic duo. Anytime on screen together we were due some laughs. Coupled with Shona Babayemi and Priya the chemistry felt authentic and genuine.
Overall I like the film. It’s a one watch for me where you just enjoy the ride and let it go. No sequel needed or expansion. It’s funny, it’s witty and it tells a not so much straight forward story but enjoyable one. I’d recommend it, even a cinema trip I’d say.
Did you see that plot twist coming? Who was your favourite character? Was their action all imagination or do you think it was real? React and comment below…
