I went to see this film with little expectations, thanks to all the biased reviews of the critics and mixed word of mouth. The starting was quite unimpressive with Tony 'Gabru' Singh, shaking his pelvis on the title song. My eyes kept shifting from his tattooed chest to the song subtitles which were equally shocking. In next scene Shahid is seen mouthing all kind of abuses while composing a song which went like Cock-Coke-Cock-Coke. The song was actually so bad that his producers cancelled his contract. That's the point from where the film starts becoming interesting. When Tony is sent to Jail and the police inspector puts him in a cell with other criminals telling him, 'Pehle banda ban ja phir banna VIP', he feels his castle of stardom falling like a pack of cards. Later we see him telling an equally distraught Alia, 'Agar tujhse koi bole, 'jo nikal gaya na vo teri life ka sabse achcha time tha, wapas nahi aana. Maal khatam. Party over. Go Home', we could feel how hard it was for him to accept that his life as a pop star could just be a thing of the past. I feel Shahid has given a very good performance.
Alia Bhatt has proved that while bubbly and energetic may be her niche, she can also be gritty and subtle to great effect. In most of her films Alia has to look pretty and show lots of leg and cleavage but here in shabby clothes, dirty hair and no makeup she gives the best performance of her life. I just wonder with Shandaar being Shahid's and Alia's last film how could the director imagine both of them for this film.
Diljit Dosanjh as Assistant Inspector is at par with Shahid and Alia in the acting department. He looks innocent and naive when he's trying to impress his lady love. He has a ruthless side too which we get to see when he is talking to his corrupt cousin,'Baat Aapki Aur Meri Nahi Hai, Yeh Baat Hai Punjab Ki'
Kareena Kapoor as Dr Preet was never the focus of the film so she just manages to give a decent performance.
The film does not glamorize or show any highs which a person can achieve because of drugs. Instead it shows how drugs destroy all the beautiful things in not only your life but also in the lives of the people associated with you.So why would anyone want to see a movie about drugs, despair and death, regardless of how well crafted it is? Because Udta Punjab is an interesting, sometimes funny, and involving tale with empathetic, down to earth characters. To be fair to the film, it doesn't tie up all the loose ends into a nice pretty package. We are given cause for hope, but the open-ended nature of the final scenes suggest that the struggle will go on.
In a line, this movie through its characters teaches us important lessons like too much indulgence, greed or expectations can be injurious to health and the lessons are well taught.
