'Ardh' review: Rajpal Yadav brilliant, botched-up execution brings down value
What's the story
The Hindi film Ardh was released on ZEE5 on Friday (June 10).
The movie features Rajpal Yadav, Hiten Tejwani, and Rubina Dilaik in her Bollywood debut.
The long-awaited direct-to-OTT release has been directed by music composer Palaash Muchhal in his directorial debut.
But does it live up to the hype created by its intriguing trailer?
Here's our detailed review.
Plot
Film focuses on upward social mobility
Yadav plays Shiva, a theater actor with a decade-long experience.
He travels to Mumbai aka the "city of dreams" to become an actor and yearns for upward social mobility.
He desires to create his niche despite coming from a non-filmy background.
However, circumstances force him to act as a transgender person named Parvati and beg for money at traffic signals.
Narrative
Title 'Ardh' foreshadows Shiva's journey brilliantly
Ardh has its heart in the right place and tries to portray the plight of struggling actors who run from pillar to post to turn their luck on its head.
The title deserves a special mention which is an obvious nod to Lord Shiva's Ardhnarishwar avatar (half male, half female).
That Yadav's character is named both Shiva and Parvati also weaves into this idea.
Shortcoming
Missed potential: Could have focused on pathos of transgender community
Throughout its runtime, Ardh struggles to be a scathing social commentary.
It never reaches the poignant effect created by, say, Eeb Allay Ooo! that also focused on dreams and aspirations.
The film could have also brought out the pathos of the transgender community—about how begging is their only resort in a society marred by social and financial stigma.
However, that doesn't happen.
Cons
Disjointed writing, screenplay bring down quality of experience
The screenplay is severely disjointed.
Several scenes pop out without weaving much into the narrative, lending it an extremely cluttered feel.
While everyone else takes the backseat in this one-man show, Yadav's performance should have been complemented by a stronger storyline.
Ardh mostly seems to languish under the weight of its own ambition, making it not frustratingly bad, but not remarkably good either.
Performances
An out-and-out Yadav film, Dilaik doesn't get enough meat
Yadav proves that while he can easily nail comic roles, his acting chops are much sharper and more versatile.
The veteran actor brings a certain sense of vulnerability that instantly reminded me of his characters in Main, Meri Patni...Aur Woh and Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon!
Rubina Dilaik, however, is completely wasted in a film that leaves her platter painfully empty.
Positives
Thankfully, we get a closer-to-reality ending
The film has its moments, yes, and the initial scenes about why Yadav cross-dresses are somewhat watchable.
Toward the end, the film has a rather emotional scene that finally gives Dilaik something to do, so that's another highlight.
Muchhal doesn't opt for an easy, lazy cliche ending and that's refreshing. It may not exactly be cathartic, but it is at least closer to reality.
Verdict
Watch 'Ardh' only for Yadav's performance
The film doesn't fall into the must-watch category and undoes the hype hatched by its relatively better trailer.
Barring a few emotional scenes, it mostly comes across as a muddled mess that had all the potential to be poignant but leaves you with a sense of underwhelming nothingness instead.
If you wish to give it a try, Yadav is the only reason.
Verdict: 2.5/5.