Chhapaak
Rating: 8/10
Chhapaak’s literal meaning is “splash”, but in this case it is rather about acid thrown at women by spurned lovers, something that still occurs in India as a revenge tactic.
Award-winning actress Deepika Padukone bravely takes on the task of playing a heroine defaced for most of the movie in a reprisal of the real-life ordeal of Laxmi Agarwal.
We get to see the real beauty of Deepika in some flashback scenes in the latter part of the film.
Playing Malti, her life is changed forever when an infatuated lover whom she considers to be an elder brother, aided by his sister-in-law, throws acid on her face.
Director Meghna Gulzar’ guides Deepika through a gamut of emotions as she first loses her will to live, then decides to fight the justice system that gives minimal sentences to perpetrators of such crimes.
Joining an NGO run by journalist-turned-activist Amol (Vikrant Massey) for women who have suffered the same fate, Malti takes on the task of petitioning the courts to change the laws or such crimes.
It is common cause that in the real-life matter Laxmi succeeded, so the audience knows what the outcome will be. With a little cinematic licence therefore, a romantic track is added to arrange for a happy ending to the movie.
Deepika is excellent as she juggles between the emotional challenges of a life filled with no secure employment and the potential stardom and wealth of being a TV channel host.
Vikrant is the perfect foil to Deepika’s character as he tries to go about his work while trying to show as little emotional attachment as possible to the cases that he and his team of volunteers have to deal with.
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