Sharmaji Namkeen (2022)

Sharmaji Namkeen (2022)

Directed by: Hitesh Bhatia
Starring: Rishi Kapoor & Paresh Rawal as Sharmaji
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video. 

I was initially drawn to this film because of the bittersweet story behind the making of this film. The demise of legendary actor, Rishi Kapoor without the film getting finished, led them to finish the film with another actor Paresh Rawal. It's such an endearing act, instead of chucking the footage and reshooting the entire thing. But the film also turned out to be as endearing as the story behind. It's the story of Sharma, a retired man, who isn't done yet. He still has it inside him, and he doesn't want to quit yet. It's interesting how they depict that roles reverse after parents get old, they become more adventurous and fun, and the grown up son becomes conservative - and they become the controlling ones. I think the family being controlling is a very Asian thing - and I feel like such cultures should add another love language to their vocabulary - letting go. Of course, the opposite extreme to that would result in a society full of lonely people who's let gone of everyone. I think all of us have to realign ourselves a bit on the scale of obsession to indifference towards our loved ones, till we find a good balance.

I enjoyed watching the film - it has the syntax of a typical well made 2010s Bollywood film - set in the heartland of India, a premise, some humor, some drama and some heart. The sequence on the night of Sharmaji's birthday worked beautifully for me - they explored every character's weaknesses in one scene. But for me, the climax felt like a let down - because after such a high drama sequence, they ended it on a lighter note and it didn't really feel like the characters resolved their issues from within. It just felt they temporarily got back together - which is okay, because they show that they continue fighting even in the end. But perhaps, a change from within would've been a more satisfying end. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the film.