Review: Laapataa Ladies

"Laa Pata Ladies" is a simple yet remarkable film, which primarily presents positive views in society. Since it's just been released on Netflix, there's an opportunity to watch it now, although it was released in theaters earlier. Typically, in any film, if a woman separates from her family and lives alone in society without guidance, many negative characters surround her, which is somewhat natural. But this film shows positive characters and their empathetic views, which is also natural because every society is a mix of good and bad people. 

The direction of the film is by Rawal, who previously directed "Dhobi Ghat." The story starts with an interesting twist, where two couples, each with their faces covered in long veils, travel in a packed car. They all fall asleep during the journey, and one husband wakes up at the exact station and takes the wrong wife "Jiya" instead of his own "Phool" and leaves his wife behind in the train.

Upon reaching home, he realizes she's not his wife. When the train stops at a station, it's revealed that her husband isn't on the train either. Jiya's husband searches for his wife for a while but finds solace in the motorcycle he got as part of the dowry and curses his wife, then goes home.

No society can be entirely good or bad, and this fact is shown in the film. Society provides shelter to both women and helps them reach their destinations. In Hindi films, women are being beautifully portrayed as having the right to make their own decisions, and in this film, Jiya fights for that right, while Phool is determined to go back to her love. The film also portrays police characters positively, along with negative ones, showing a well-rounded perspective.

There are very few films that peek into social views that are not commonly understood as issues. "Laa Pata Ladies" is one of them.

If possible, do watch it!