Karan Johar’s magic seems to be working of late. His latest production ‘Gippi’ too garners thumbs up. It is director Sonam Nair’s first movie. This is a low-budget film and doesn’t feature Bollywood stars.
‘Gippi’, a story of an over-weight teenager, is a feel good film which would leave a smile in the end, feel critics. Bollywood movies don’t often focus on the trials of being a teenage girl, but ‘Gippi’ aims to do just that, using unknown actors playing characters their own age, too.
Riya Vij plays Gurpreet Kaur, aka Gippi, a slightly overweight 14-year-old schoolgirl in Shimla. She lives with her single mother (Divya Dutta) and brother (Arbaaz Kadwani.) The movie is about the highs and lows in Gippi’s life: boyfriends, head girl elections. In short, Gippi is the most imperfect of all in her class and her pretty and intelligent rival Shamira Chauhan (Jayati Modi) is an impressive body, good marks, strong skills in sports and popularity are some of the many facets of Shamira’s all-roundership. Gippi is made fun of – mostly by Shamira and her cronies – and a challenge thrown at Gippi in jest changes the course of her teenage years.
As Gippi, Riya Vij does a fabulous job. She brings to life the many irritations and heartbreaks that teenage is so known for, and deserves a hearty pat on the back. Divya Dutta, in this film too, plays her role brilliantly. Abandoned by her husband for someone ‘better’, Dutta leaves one at a loss for words by portraying the plight of the single mother juggling between her beauty parlour, household chores and bringing her children up in the best way possible. Jayati Modi, apart from her manner of dialogue delivery, is believable as Shamira. Taaha Shah, too, as Gippi’s crush, is good. The rest of the cast – mostly consisting of school kids, support the main ones competently and doesn’t leave one with any complaints.
‘Gippi’ is a trip down memory lane – a trip flanked by nostalgia and a wistful longing to get back to those days which are never coming back again. Sonam Nair’s maiden inning is a beautiful one. Must watch for the kids.
