by Rizwan Asad & Shaheen Raaj
Banner: Viacom18, Motion Pictures, KriArj Entertainment, Neeraj Pandey, Plan C Studio, Cape Of Good Films LLP
Producers: Aruna Bhatia, Shital Bhatia, Premaa Arora, Arjun N Kapoor & Hitesh Thakkar
Director: Shree Nayaran Singh
Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Anupam Kher, Divyendu Sharma, Sana Khan, Shubha Khote, Rajesh Sharma, Mukesh Bhatt et al
Music: Vickey Prasad, Manas – Shikhar, Sachet – Parampara & Surendra Sodhi
Editor Shree Narayan Singh making his directorial debut with Toilet – Ek Prem Katha seems to be totally confused in his 1st ever outing as to whether to please the producers, the cine goers or remain loyal to the pro – government propaganda. Except for a few impact making scenes he loses his grip on the film entirely, not to speak of his editing caliber which highly leaves much to be desired. Well! Mr. Shree Narayan Singh better luck in your future directorial outings,
When it comes to sanitation, our country lags far behind. The shortage of toilets can be seen in each & every corner of India. It is a sad sight to see people relieving themselves in the open. For women, things are even more difficult for obvious reasons. Also, a lot of rapes & sexual assaults happen on women when they are attending the nature’s call in villages & small towns. Toilet – Ek Prem Katha throws light on this aspect and also spins a love story out of it. So does this social drama manage to make the required impact or does it fail. Your guess is as good as mine.
The scripted scenario of Toilet – Ek Prem Katha reveals that it is a love story of a man who fights the system & above all his family to install a toilet in his house for the sake of his wife. Keshav (Akshay Kumar) lives in Mandgaon village in North India with his father (Sudhir Pandey). He falls for Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar) who also starts loving him. Both get married. She is unaware that Keshav’s house doesn’t have a toilet. On the 1st day post marriage, she is made a part of the women’s “lota party”, comprising of all ladies from the neighborhood who relieve themselves in the open before sunrise. Jaya is enraged and she demands that a toilet is made in the house. Keshav’s father however puts his foot down. He argues that he won’t allow anyone to relive themselves in the house as he claims that it’s against their culture. How Keshav takes up the challenge to construct a toilet and stands up against the system forms the rest of the film.
Toilet – Ek Prem Katha’s 1st ever scene depicting how the women bond while on their way to the fields, sets the mood of the film. Akshay’s entry happens suddenly and this sequence serves no purpose to the rest of the film. The entire stalking bit is slightly objectionable but keeping in mind the small town element, it works. The marriage happens all of a sudden but the film takes a turn when Jaya finds out that there is no toilet in her marital home. The intermission point is terrific and takes the film to another level. The 2nd half too has its moments. The scenes where Jaya ridicules the women for not standing up for their rights as well as Keshav’s outburst after his toilet is destroyed are highly memorable.
On the flipside, the film gets too long and should have been shorter by at least 20 minutes. Few scenes also seemed unconvincing. More unbelievable is when the “lota party” ladies suddenly revolt against their husbands.
Garima Wahal & Siddharth Singh’s story tries to balance a love story with a social problem plaguing the country. Garima & Siddharth’s screenplay however moves at a slow pace. The manner in which Keshav goes to insane lengths to ensure that Jaya gets access to a toilet daily is amusing. But a crisper narrative was required. Also, the film gets preachy in the 2nd half and becomes a pro -government film at places that could have been avoided. Nevertheless, the 7 – locks sequence deserves applause. Besides Garima & Siddharth’s dialogues are sharp & witty. The urban audiences might cringe at the repeated use of words like “sandaas”, “shauch” et al but then there was no choice. The film wouldn’t have made an impact without these terms. But one thing that is really overlooked is that fact that Akshay Kumar & his brother Divyendu Sharma are never shown the need to relieve themselves in the open until towards the end that too in the running credit titles.
Shree Narayan Singh’s direction is why the film suffers to such an extent. At places the film is too fast, Jaya &Keshav’s marriage happens in a jiffy and catches viewers unawares. But in the 2nd half, it drags a lot. One can’t deny however that debutante directorShree Narayan Singh has indeed helmed some scenes deftly. One of the scenes where he really impressed is when the Brahmin father is compelled to take a bath in the pre – climax scenes. Music and no entertainment & repeat value with an overdose of preaching is the biggest minus point of the film. Yet one duet song that catches your fancy is “Hans Mat Pagli…Pyaar Ho Jaayega.” While Uday Singh’s cinematography is praiseworthy & straight out of life the same cannot be said about Shree Narayan Singh’s editing which is well below average.
Performance wise Akshay Kumar is a revelation. Since the past few years, he has been essaying some well – written parts but with Toilet – Ek Prem Katha, he goes on a high. The way he reacts in the aforementioned breakdown scene is going to stun the viewers. Bhumi Pednekar gives a towering performance. She appears to be extremely confident & convincing. Divyendu Sharma as Naru brings in comic relief and is absolutely wonderful as Akshay Kumar’s youger brother. Sudhir Pandey is perfect as the strict father who is imprisoned in the age – old customs that serve no purpose in today’s times. Anupam Kher as Jaya’s uncle also raises laughs but his part is not a caricature. He has a crucial part to play in the film. Shubha Khote as Keshav’s grandmother is good especially in the pre – climax scenes. Rajesh Sharma as D M Mathur, Mukesh Bhatt as journalist Rastogi of Dainik Jagran and the young actors playing the sarpanch & the female journalist are good in their small parts. But alas Sana Khan is totally wasted.
Tail Piece: On the whole, Toilet – Ek Prem Katha, despite the minuses, integrates a strong social message and also questions several age old practices in the society. At the Box – Office turnstiles with no competition at all plus the weekend coupled with long holidays in the next week as well as the highly expected tax exemptions. Which the film totally deserves due to its strong social message, in certain states are bound to help the film resonate with the audiences.
