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Why Is Darlings On Sanya's Mind?

Alia Bhatt held a screening of her debut production, Darlings , and invited her friends to watch.

The star, who is pregnant , could not join them but her co-stars, Shefali Shah and Vijay Verma, made up for her absence.

Darlings will stream on Netflix from August 5.

Shah Rukh Khan , who one of Darlings' three producers via his wife, Gauri Khan , invites his Jawan co-star Sanya Malhotra for the screening.

Aahana Kumra puts her best foot forward.

Kirti Kulhari had starred with Shefali Shah in the medical mystery, Human.

Mimi actor Sai Tamhankar arrives.

Ridhi Dogra .

Shefali Shah plays Alia's mother in Darlings .

Vijay Verma plays Alia's husband .

Ishaan Khatter joins Vijay.

Vineet Kumar Singh 's political Web series Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti released last Friday.

Eijaz Khan makes it a point to watch the film despite his injury.

Sunil Grover .

Aditya Srivastava shows support to his Human co-star, Shefali .

Director Anees Bazmee .

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Darlings Film Review: A Dark Comedy That Explores Why Women Stay In Abusive Marriages

Trigger warning : Mentions of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence

“ Darlings ”, directed by debutante Jasmeet K Reen, starring Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, and Vijay Varma in lead roles, is a dark comedy that revolves around an abusive marriage and how a mother-daughter duo navigates through it.

In many aspects, Darlings is quite a refreshing watch – be it the intersectional space the protagonists belong to, the witty exchanges between a worldly-wise mother and a rosy-eyed daughter, and the excellent performances by the cast that stay true to the genre.

Darlings introduces us to two women – Badrunissa Shaikh (Badru) and Shamshunnisa Anzari (Shamshu) played by Alia Bhatt and Shefali Shah respectively. Badru lives with her government employee husband Hamza Shaikh (Vijay Varma), who beats her up night after night, for whatever trivial reason that angers him. The following day he would promptly try and make up with Badru by pinning his anger and abuse on his alcoholism, with proclamations of love.

In the same chawl as Badru and Hamza, lives Shamshu, Badru’s mother – a feisty, independent, single woman trying to set up a Dabba business with the help of her friend Zulfi (Roshan Mathew). Shamshu, unlike Badru, sees right through the kind of man Hamza is and keeps asking her daughter to leave the abusive marriage. But Badru sticks on, with an unshakable conviction in her husband’s ‘ love ’, hoping that she can fix amza and his ways.

Why do women stay in abusive marriages?

More often than not, it is the hope that the man would mend his ways, that makes a woman stay in an abusive marriage. In Badru’s case, she has no children to stick on for, and has a very supportive mother who urges her to come back home. Despite this, Badru sticks on because she believes Hamza loves her and that it is upon her to change him.

Where does Badru get this notion? Clearly not from her mother. Badru holds a mirror to a huge number of women who are conditioned and gaslighted by the patriarchy into believing that love and abuse can co-exist. Whenever Hamza senses that Badru’s devotion towards him is down by a notch, he is quick to cajole her with hollow promises and grand gestures of love.

Perhaps the greatest takeaway from Darlings would be that open communication between a mother and daughter might as well be the best tool to break cycles of violent, generational trauma. As the story unravels, the audience learns that Shamshu has seen it all and done it all – and that the fight inside comes as a result of this

Even when she eventually files a police complaint against him, he manages to use her desire to have a child to his advantage and walks free after convincing her that his abusive nature comes from his alcoholism and it is separate from the man he is and his love for her.

Director Jasmeet K. Reen shows how deep patriarchy has its claws lodged within women by brilliantly contrasting Badru’s gullible nature with her mother Shamshu’s no-nonsense attitude and her impatience with her daughter defending her abusive husband. Despite Bardu knowing that her mother is her safety net and encountering a too-good-to-be-true police station that seems to be very supportive of taking action upon her complaints, Badru sticks on until the day she realises that it is not alcohol that stirs the demon in her husband, but he himself is the demon she must slay.

Also read: Understanding Symbolic Violence Through Kumbalangi Nights & Thappad

How open conversations help to break violent cycles of abuse

As the viewer feels sorry for Badru, who endures violent physical abuse day after day, a sigh of relief is heaved when she meets her mother Shamshu, every day after Hamza leaves for work. Despite Badru not acting up on her mother’s advice to leave Hamza, she is well aware that she can confide in Shamshu and can count on her mother, come what may.

Perhaps the greatest takeaway from Darlings would be that open communication between a mother and daughter might as well be the best tool to break cycles of violent, generational trauma. As the story unravels, the audience learns that Shamshu has seen it all and done it all – and that the fight inside comes as a result of this.

Shamshu leads by example and reinforces that being independent and alone is much safer for a woman than leading a conventional, outwardly-normal, socially accepted marital life like that of Badru. What women need more than anything are fellow women like Shamshu, who offer safe spaces and assure that leaving an abusive relationship will only make them happier. For Badru, luckily, that friend is her mother.

Darlings Movie Review: Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma Shine Bright in Netflix's Dark Comedy

Despite being anchored on a plot with immense possibilities, Darlings does falter at places when a character like Shamshu disses divorce as dangerous, that no one would marry her daughter again, and says that the world has only changed for those who are on Twitter. Darlings slips at places from the dark comedy it sets out to etch into being slightly slow and melodramatic, but as though like a quick afterthought, it slips right back on track to being enjoyable and witty.

Badru is not an aspirational hero but rather, a cautionary tale on how the patriarchal society has made women believe love and abuse can co-exist. Darlings holds a mirror to the conditioning and gaslighting that makes a woman unable to acknowledge the complex structures of violence around her, let alone break free of them

The title track composed by Vishal Bharadwaj and penned by Gulzar is refreshing and endearing, but a continued smattering of cutesy plurals throughout the movie seems forced in places. Alia Bhat does a great job as the naive, hopeful, young Badru, especially in the first half where she oscillates between being abused and loved in repeated intervals by Hamza.

Vijay Varma is perfect as Hamza and he is successful in communicating the sadism and toxicity very effectively. In no instance has he dramatised or exaggerated the character. Rosshan Mathew’s Zulfi is a very refreshing and well-written character, and the actor has done justice by portraying Zulfi as a lovable, good-hearted, boy next door.

Also read: Maid: Netflix Series Addresses The Complexities Of Generational Trauma Between Mothers And Daughters

Darlings Teaser: Alia Bhatt-Shefali Shah Are Mysterious Duo in This Dark Comedy - Watch Video

Topping all these delightful performances is Shefali Shah’s brilliant portrayal of Shamshu, which is nuanced and done with the correct amount of restraining needed to balance the lightness of the narrative with the gravitas of the topic. It is interesting that the movie is set completely in a Muslim milieu and all the characters – good and bad – are from within the community itself and it strays away from the usual Muslim stereotypes in Bollywood.

Badru is not an aspirational hero but rather, a cautionary tale on how the patriarchal society has made women believe love and abuse can co-exist. Darlings holds a mirror to the conditioning and gaslighting that makes a woman unable to acknowledge the complex structures of violence around her, let alone break free of them.

The film is streaming on Netflix.

Meenakshi Sajeev is a poet and Corporate Communication Strategist. She is the author of the anthologies “One Woman Island” and “The Unlabelled Happy Woman”. She can be found on Instagram and Facebook .

Featured Image Source: Mint

“Badru holds a mirror to a huge number of women who are conditioned and gaslighted by the patriarchy into believing that love and abuse can co-exist.”

I watched the movie and didn’t see any patriarchy. I just saw a woman who didn’t have common sense.

Comments are closed.

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Darlings Reviews

Even if it was a watery, bland, middling attempt at being an exploitation film (which, FYI, it clearly wants to be), I would’ve recommended it. But this movie is so hellbent on furthering negative stereotypes that it simply can’t be recommended.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 20, 2023

It’s a tense, creature-like performance that keeps Darlings on track as a clutter-breaking dramedy. Without him, Jasmeet K. Reen’s daring debut might have struggled to bridge its disparate tones.

Full Review | Feb 10, 2023

Darlings is further proof that no matter the length of the role, Shefali Shah never fails to astonish. It's a full-circle performance, so much of Shamshu is revealed yet so much is left to explore.

Full Review | Jan 31, 2023

“Darlings” is a film filled with different elements, both cinematic and contextual, some of them positive, some of them negative. As a total, however, the sum is definitely on the minus, with the movie emerging more annoying than entertaining.

Full Review | Original Score: 5 | Jan 22, 2023

A pretty engrossing film that will have you on the edge of your seat for most of its runtime.

Full Review | Dec 13, 2022

The film executes the satirical component flawlessly. The comedic aspect does not completely overshadow the seriousness of the subject matter; neither does the severity of the issue turn the film into a gloomy watch.

Full Review | Sep 1, 2022

Bhatt and Shah are a terrific double act.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 25, 2022

The idea of playing domestic abuse for comedy is offensive and unjustifiable, and for those reasons Darlings fails badly from the start.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Aug 10, 2022

More a comedy of errors than the black comedy revenge thriller it desires to be.

Full Review | Aug 10, 2022

The cast of Darlings makes it a riveting watch. Varma is terrifying and Roshan Mathew as believable as the tender man. Ultimately, it’s all in the hands of the forever solid & reliable Shah and Bhatt...

Full Review | Aug 9, 2022

Darlings, with strong performances by Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah and Vijay Varma, has lots going for it.

When a film deals with a matter as serious as domestic abuse, the least one expects is that the writers would round off every argument made during the course of the narrative, so as to avoid perpetuating misconceptions. Darlings does not.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 8, 2022

Vijay Varma fleshes out an extremely unlikeable man whose notions of love border on the sociopathic. Roshan Mathew, too, thrives on bringing a quiet efficiency to his performances.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 8, 2022

The proceedings take on absurdist hues at times, but that sort of adds to the lure of the film. Watch Darlings for its message and for the fine acting displayed by the entire ensemble class.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 8, 2022

Alia Bhatt gives one of her best performances in Darlings, a story about a woman's revenge on her violent husband.

Full Review | Aug 8, 2022

There are several reasons to watch this film, but Shefali and Alia’s brilliant performances top the list.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 8, 2022

Alia Bhatt, Vijay Varma, Shefali Shah and Roshan Mathew deliver excellent performances in a film that is aware of what it is.

Despite the sorry state of Hindi cinema, it's not entirely difficult to make an assured debut these days. But with Darlings, Reen does something more admirable: she resembles a daring storyteller who refuses to play to the gallery.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 5, 2022

Abuse and absurd don’t mix but Darlings pulls it off by asserting humour as the other side of pain.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 5, 2022

The delicious and biting progression of Darlings is wasted on badly edited sequences that fail to capitalize on its extremely pulpy dark comedic aspects.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 5, 2022

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Darlings Review : A satirical portrayal of love and abuse in a marriage

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Users' Reviews

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

Somnath Chakravarty 727 days ago

The reviewer should have mentioned Vijay Verma's sublime performance as well.

User RAGHU 812 days ago

A Well Made Satirical and Thought Provoking Dark Comedy.

PratikShah 834 days ago

Enjoyed the movie, new concept, small actors, good direction

Hope 843 days ago

Nice movie.. A serious issue of domestic violence is dealt with real scenarios, dilemmas and dollops of humor.. All the actors have played their role very well making it a movie worth watching..

prashant parekh 852 days ago

Alia 0 Shefali 5 Movie 0

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