PIKU

Director: Shoojit Sircar

Writers: Juhi Chaturvedi

Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan

Strength: Story, Acting

Weakness: Maybe slow for some audiences

Runtime: 123 minutes

Rating: 4/5

PLOT: A quirky comedy about the relationship between an ageing father and his young daughter, living in a cosmopolitan city, dealing with each other's conflicting ideologies while being fully aware that they are each other's only emotional support.

REVIEW: Piku is the story of a cranky old Bengali widower Bhaskor Banerji (Amitabh Bachchan) who subjugates his paternal instincts to the health, or the lack of it, of his alimentary canal. The more trouble that the crotchety gentleman has clearing his bowels, the more difficult he becomes for everyone around him, including a harried maid who he summarily accuses of kleptomania. Mr. Banerji has a formidable counterpoint is an equally strong-willed daughter, Piku (Deepika Padukone), a busy architect who, despite the challenges that her dad poses every waking hour, takes the man's frequent mood swings in her stride. Caught between the two is a cab service owner Rana Chaudhary (Irrfan Khan) who, as the baffled outsider in the course of a road trip that threatens to run off the rails, gives both father and daughter perspectives that promise to deliver them from the stalemate they are trapped in.
What is truly surprising, and impressive, is that director Shoojit Sircar puts just enough spin on this wild whimsy to keep it whirling engagingly over its running time of two hours and a bit.
He is aided, of course, by a remarkable cast of actors who plunge headlong, and with full conviction, into the film. 
Piku isn't only about a man and his toilet travails. It is also about ageing, filial responsibility and nostalgia for what is gone forever. It is an absolute must watch for people of all ages.

Reviewed by S.M. Intisab Shahriyar