172 reviews
The fragility of relationships
The film slices together three generations of women from one family in a human story about complex relationships, secrets and lies. The story is quite melodramatic, but the delivery is pulled off with a certain touch of restraint and authenticity. This is of course in contrast to the well-known paradigm of the traditional Hindi family drama where even simple stories were portrayed with overstated sentimentality. This is not to say all of it does not exist here, it does, but the film works as an emotional melodrama, which focuses more on the drama part of it, and it's watchable all through. Spoken in several languages and having no songs, the film is very focused around its story and I'm sure many viewers might relate to many parts in it.
The narrative style is mostly conversational, which I love and always find engaging, and it heaveily relies on the presence and quality of its actors, on the dialogue and its delivery. Sadly this is exactly why film is not fully realised as far as handling of its important themes goes, such as child abuse and marriage conflict. Being such massive subjects, their presentation feels quite lacking and makes the entire project feel a little shallow sometimes. This is also true, in some ways, of the way the relationship between the older mother and daughter is portrayed. We hardly see balance there. Interestingly, the relationship between the next generation of women is better portrayed despite being given less screentime or importance.
Kajol's starry presence in such a film could have threatened the director's quest for low-key simplicity, but it's Kajol after all - a naturally gifted actress whose deep proficiency in the tiny nuances of the human experience has soared above even the limiting constraints of commercial Hindi cinema. Her Anu seems tailor-made for her, considering both her on- and off-screen persona - fiery, intense, brash, and brutally honest, but goodhearted and loving all the same. Okay, she gets to drop many F bombs, which is a little forced, but she captures the highly irritable nature of this woman who always seems on the verge of explosion and, above all, the person beneath the tough exterior. One is left hoping she'd keep experimenting with complex roles.
The supporting cast wavers, but even better is Tanvi Azmi, who gives perhaps the film's most affecting and fully convincing performance, which is measured, profound, nuanced, and composed all at the same time. Among the other players, Mithila Palkar seems to do the best of the little she's given, and she's decent although it's a big challenge to act opposite such strong performers as Azmi and Kajol. Even less convincing though is Kunaal Roy Kapur, who is not bad but who just feels very self-conscious playing this self-conscious and moralistic role. Director Renuka Shahane, herself an actress, does her best with this feature despite the restrictive nature of its setting and script. Her film is not great, but it's enjoyable and involving.
The narrative style is mostly conversational, which I love and always find engaging, and it heaveily relies on the presence and quality of its actors, on the dialogue and its delivery. Sadly this is exactly why film is not fully realised as far as handling of its important themes goes, such as child abuse and marriage conflict. Being such massive subjects, their presentation feels quite lacking and makes the entire project feel a little shallow sometimes. This is also true, in some ways, of the way the relationship between the older mother and daughter is portrayed. We hardly see balance there. Interestingly, the relationship between the next generation of women is better portrayed despite being given less screentime or importance.
Kajol's starry presence in such a film could have threatened the director's quest for low-key simplicity, but it's Kajol after all - a naturally gifted actress whose deep proficiency in the tiny nuances of the human experience has soared above even the limiting constraints of commercial Hindi cinema. Her Anu seems tailor-made for her, considering both her on- and off-screen persona - fiery, intense, brash, and brutally honest, but goodhearted and loving all the same. Okay, she gets to drop many F bombs, which is a little forced, but she captures the highly irritable nature of this woman who always seems on the verge of explosion and, above all, the person beneath the tough exterior. One is left hoping she'd keep experimenting with complex roles.
The supporting cast wavers, but even better is Tanvi Azmi, who gives perhaps the film's most affecting and fully convincing performance, which is measured, profound, nuanced, and composed all at the same time. Among the other players, Mithila Palkar seems to do the best of the little she's given, and she's decent although it's a big challenge to act opposite such strong performers as Azmi and Kajol. Even less convincing though is Kunaal Roy Kapur, who is not bad but who just feels very self-conscious playing this self-conscious and moralistic role. Director Renuka Shahane, herself an actress, does her best with this feature despite the restrictive nature of its setting and script. Her film is not great, but it's enjoyable and involving.
- Peter_Young
- Oct 22, 2021
- Permalink
Tribhanga performance worthy of a loud applause.
Be ready to get enthralled by watching three unique and fascinating levels of Tribhanga and the inherent correlations, performed by seasoned and convincing dancers, well worthy of a loud applause. Kudos to the choreographer, Renuka Shahane.
- itsallaboutflicks
- Feb 9, 2021
- Permalink
Tanvi Azmi acts beautifully but the movie is quite disappointing.
- Perspicuity1
- Sep 25, 2021
- Permalink
Decent attempt by debutant director Renuka Shahane
Tribhanga (Netflix film) review :
Noted actor Renuka Shahane's directorial debut called Tribhanga explores multiple relationships through its three main characters transcending generations - grand mom (Tanvi Azmi), mother (Kajol) and her daughter (Mithila Parkar). Packing in the inter-familial conflict with feminism, child abuse, gender bias and whole lot of women centric issues, it appears the debutant director has bitten off more than she can chew.
Not that it is a bad effort, on the contrary, Renuka deserves praise for handling certain scenes with the right amount of grace and sensitivity. Like the scenes involving the step dad played by Kanwaljeet Singh (endearing). But somewhere, the screenplay appears hurried up to pack in every element at crisp one and half hours which makes me wonder if it was more suited for an elaborate web series than a film.
Expectedly, Kajol is excellent in the main role. The actor clearly rises above the script here and how!! Tanvi Azmi is equally good as her mom who sacrifices a lot to follow her writing passion. Mithila Parkar leaves a mark even in a small role.
On the other hand, the male characters appear ill written and totally caricatured. Kunal Roy Kapoor's performance borders on buffoonery and irritates to the hilt. Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, playing Kajols brother, isnt able to justify his character at all. The problem lies in the writing which is obviously tilted towards the female cast at the cost of crucial male characters. Indeed, a balance was needed here to make the resultant conflicts more identifiable and relatable.
Another drawback is the needless cussing done by Kajol's character. Sorry but all those F words only act as a distraction.
All said and seen, even with all its plus and minus, Tribhanga is one of the better films I caught in recent times on Netflix. Forget the AKs and Dolly Kittys out there, you can watch Tribhanga if you have subscribed to that OTT app. A one time watch, yes!!
Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.
Noted actor Renuka Shahane's directorial debut called Tribhanga explores multiple relationships through its three main characters transcending generations - grand mom (Tanvi Azmi), mother (Kajol) and her daughter (Mithila Parkar). Packing in the inter-familial conflict with feminism, child abuse, gender bias and whole lot of women centric issues, it appears the debutant director has bitten off more than she can chew.
Not that it is a bad effort, on the contrary, Renuka deserves praise for handling certain scenes with the right amount of grace and sensitivity. Like the scenes involving the step dad played by Kanwaljeet Singh (endearing). But somewhere, the screenplay appears hurried up to pack in every element at crisp one and half hours which makes me wonder if it was more suited for an elaborate web series than a film.
Expectedly, Kajol is excellent in the main role. The actor clearly rises above the script here and how!! Tanvi Azmi is equally good as her mom who sacrifices a lot to follow her writing passion. Mithila Parkar leaves a mark even in a small role.
On the other hand, the male characters appear ill written and totally caricatured. Kunal Roy Kapoor's performance borders on buffoonery and irritates to the hilt. Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, playing Kajols brother, isnt able to justify his character at all. The problem lies in the writing which is obviously tilted towards the female cast at the cost of crucial male characters. Indeed, a balance was needed here to make the resultant conflicts more identifiable and relatable.
Another drawback is the needless cussing done by Kajol's character. Sorry but all those F words only act as a distraction.
All said and seen, even with all its plus and minus, Tribhanga is one of the better films I caught in recent times on Netflix. Forget the AKs and Dolly Kittys out there, you can watch Tribhanga if you have subscribed to that OTT app. A one time watch, yes!!
Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.
- nadkarnisumeet
- Jan 18, 2021
- Permalink
Same old story 👎 Some great actors 👍
Story 👎
Acting/Character of Milan, Nayan, Anu 👍
Others so so, overacting 👎
Cinematography 👍
- adityabajaj
- Jan 17, 2021
- Permalink
A refreshing drama on three generations.... one of its kind....
"Tribhanga" tells the stories of three generations of women tied by an incident in the most unconventional way. The film very beautifully defies and questions the patriarchal society, avoiding preachiness throughout. Directed by a lady, the film delves deep into the emotions of womanhood and charting from what appears to be an unlikeable protagonist puts the audiences into different perspectives to understand the complexity of life. Aside the foul language which might make some viewers uncomfortable, the film is one of its kind for the beautiful characters, performances, and simply its storytelling.
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 4.
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 4.
- SumanShakya
- Oct 9, 2021
- Permalink
A failed attempt of trying to depict the role of strong women in society
Character build up was simply unsatisfactory
1) Kajol's character was quite demeaning to those around her, I'm sure there are a million other ways to represent what the character stands for without giving her a "holier than thou" flare...
2) Mithila and Tanvi did a fair enough job in embracing their character... but nothing too exclusive...
3) Women empowerment being a great subject to talk about has immense potential, but the performance and characters just failed to send across the message they were trying to convey...
At the end it simply revolves around a fully grown woman trying to act cool by abusing and rebelling against society... and her timid daughter in her very own way tried to rebel against her mother by subjecting herself to a misogynistic society... simply for acceptance... These are not the portals of what I believe makes a strong women... just my opinion...
Simply abusing, rebelling and snapping people around does not make you strong...
2) Mithila and Tanvi did a fair enough job in embracing their character... but nothing too exclusive...
3) Women empowerment being a great subject to talk about has immense potential, but the performance and characters just failed to send across the message they were trying to convey...
At the end it simply revolves around a fully grown woman trying to act cool by abusing and rebelling against society... and her timid daughter in her very own way tried to rebel against her mother by subjecting herself to a misogynistic society... simply for acceptance... These are not the portals of what I believe makes a strong women... just my opinion...
Simply abusing, rebelling and snapping people around does not make you strong...
Stupid people doesn't appreciate realistic movie!
I don't know how others came up with a bad review maybe they didn't even understand the whole point of the story. It's so realistic that the actors prtrayed their characters excellently. Big big big thumbs up for this film! I'm now a fan of indian films!
Good one!
Movie is a solid 7.
I loved it. Not giving spoilers but it does make you think for a bit about the people in your life that you resent or have strained relationships with and makes you question whether that is right or not?
- sonila-16235
- Jan 17, 2021
- Permalink
Why the F Word?
Kajol was a clean image actress. Now she swears in the movie constantly.
Generational trauma, uncomfortable hard truths, a relatable Mother and Daughter relationship? Yes please!
A really refreshing contemporary movie that not only tells the story of generational trauma, it fully focuses on the women's story and portrays a much more realistic mother and daughter relationship for many of us. Those critiquing haven't understood the purpose of the story and movie, it isn't a spicy Bollywood film for the family. It's a modern movie about uncomfortable hard truths between a mother and her daughter. Yes there was at points, ill considered language but it fits in with the liberal character of Anu and her personality. Overall a beautiful story with many points of reflection. 10 out of 10!
- poonam-saini
- Feb 13, 2021
- Permalink
Three women with intertwined lives shackled by their past, and the choices they make
Anuradha Apte (Kajol), an accomplished Odissi dancer is suddenly summoned to the hospital due to her mother Nayan's (Tanvi Azmi) having suffered a cerebral stroke, leading to coma. Anu arrives with her daughter Masha (Mithila Palkar) and brother Robindro (Vaibhav Tatwawaadi), rather nonchalantly, as she is not really emotionally connected to her mother, to the surprise of Milan (Kunal Roy Kapoor), who is penning Nayan's autobiography.
Tribhanga is a glimpse into the past of the three women across three generations, and how their respective choices of living their lives influenced and shaped that of the next generations. It's a domino effect in which Anu who suffered the effects of Nayan's choices, ensured Masha's childhood remained protected, and Masha in turn, rejoicing to live amid a large, joint family even at the expense of her individual freedom and values.
The subject is sensitive and has been handled with flourish by director Renuka Shahane. Kajol obviously gets the lion's share of screen time and is the central character - she delivers a strong performance that on a few occasions comes out as rather loud and over the top. Tanvi Azmi and Mithila Palkar have comparatively smaller roles, but don't fail to create a deep impact by holding their ground. Kunal Roy Kapoor is delightful as the outsider who connects the three women and helps reestablish mutual respect and appreciation. Tribhanga is a remarkable effort to showcase family values in modern times, and would have been even better if the events were better connected and the characters of Nayan and Masha were given more screen space. Baba Azmi's cinematography is par excellence.
Tribhanga is a glimpse into the past of the three women across three generations, and how their respective choices of living their lives influenced and shaped that of the next generations. It's a domino effect in which Anu who suffered the effects of Nayan's choices, ensured Masha's childhood remained protected, and Masha in turn, rejoicing to live amid a large, joint family even at the expense of her individual freedom and values.
The subject is sensitive and has been handled with flourish by director Renuka Shahane. Kajol obviously gets the lion's share of screen time and is the central character - she delivers a strong performance that on a few occasions comes out as rather loud and over the top. Tanvi Azmi and Mithila Palkar have comparatively smaller roles, but don't fail to create a deep impact by holding their ground. Kunal Roy Kapoor is delightful as the outsider who connects the three women and helps reestablish mutual respect and appreciation. Tribhanga is a remarkable effort to showcase family values in modern times, and would have been even better if the events were better connected and the characters of Nayan and Masha were given more screen space. Baba Azmi's cinematography is par excellence.
Overacting And Traumatic
Movie glorifies stupidity and garbage lifestyles people choose. Hence end product is a garbage movie.
- capri_can-01644
- Jan 18, 2021
- Permalink
Nice movie but language could have been better
Kajol acting is class and other seniors dis act well. But why they always tore down a nice movie with a bad language. Whoever did write the dialogues did a terrific mistake. Please stop using bad language. Without bad language you can also have fun.
- faisalfaves
- Feb 23, 2021
- Permalink
Predictable
Good acting requires a fresh unpredictability. Was bored by the leads oh so mundane expressions
I hated kajol in the beginning but then I didn't, it made sense
I wasn't expecting much but this movie left me in tears. I was weeping at the end of it.
I liked that it was bilingual to some extent -made it very authentic.
As a cinephile, this was great story telling. I hated kajol in the beginning how brash and obnoxious she was and not to mention abusive (seemed to close to her real life persona from movies).
Then as the movie progressed, it made sense why she was the way she was. Kunal Roy Kapur also stole the show, you feel for him.
The movie shines light on women and their choices in Indian patriarchal system and also children coming from "broken families". It was heart touching the way everything was dealt.
Surprised to see Kajol is such a dark movie + the movie made by some of the big names in Bollywood. Definitely, a great attempt at storytelling and also directing from a debutant director.
Kudos to Renuka Shahane.
I liked that it was bilingual to some extent -made it very authentic.
As a cinephile, this was great story telling. I hated kajol in the beginning how brash and obnoxious she was and not to mention abusive (seemed to close to her real life persona from movies).
Then as the movie progressed, it made sense why she was the way she was. Kunal Roy Kapur also stole the show, you feel for him.
The movie shines light on women and their choices in Indian patriarchal system and also children coming from "broken families". It was heart touching the way everything was dealt.
Surprised to see Kajol is such a dark movie + the movie made by some of the big names in Bollywood. Definitely, a great attempt at storytelling and also directing from a debutant director.
Kudos to Renuka Shahane.
- pinky_scotty
- Oct 9, 2021
- Permalink
Abusive with lots of cuss words
This could have been an excellent family drama but you can't watch due to excessive usage of cuss words & over-acting by Kajol. Can't bear even 15 minutes of it. Terrible acting by Kajol.
- vishlashakkapoor
- Jan 17, 2021
- Permalink
Very nice unconventional family drama movie!!
People who are wise plus understand human emotions, relationships, flaws of human psychology will enjoy this movie. It is not a typical Bollywood or marathi movie it fits into categoryof modern art/classical movie. It is very well written and directed as well as having kajol in the movie makes it special. Congratulations to Renuka shahane for writing such a nice story. People who are giving negative reviews should keep watching bollywood garbage movies because it's beyond their intellectual level. Before, I had watched Kapoor and sons, aankho dekhi, this movie will join that group of great family drama movies.
- atulyadav-76840
- Jan 15, 2021
- Permalink
Nice and simple story
Give it a try. It is a nice and simple story and brilliant acting from its star cast. But like always few curse words would have been avoided, cus i haven't seen a lady in her 40's using so many curse word, specially if she comes from a decent family.
It only hatred
The movie narrated only hatred between mother and daughters
Kajol overacted and kept on abusing of low levels for no reasons
The story could had delivered a good moral if it's was made in a soft simple and emotional way but Renuka ruined it
How can one get entertained with such hateful story and cheap bad words
Kajol overacted and kept on abusing of low levels for no reasons
The story could had delivered a good moral if it's was made in a soft simple and emotional way but Renuka ruined it
How can one get entertained with such hateful story and cheap bad words
- sameerlodaya
- Jan 15, 2021
- Permalink
Watch it for brilliant Acting and not story
Story is so predictable but the work done by amazing artists still make you sit through the end.
Do watch same food with amazing garnish.
Do watch same food with amazing garnish.
- saurbhigoyal
- Jan 14, 2021
- Permalink
overacting by Kajol
Movie would have been a good but Kajol spoiled it with her overacting.
- celesteburman1977
- Jan 18, 2021
- Permalink
Good Movie
Good storyline with excellent acting by Kajol. Definitely worth seeing.
Worst movie.
- bagi-77624
- Jan 23, 2021
- Permalink
Watch it, you would not regret
In these times, where most of the OTT films/series are mostly Erotica, Tribhanga comes across as a fresh n welcome change. No spoilers and nothing more to add here. Just watch it
- VeekeyBharti
- Jan 16, 2021
- Permalink