I roll my eyes when I hear Shakun Batra’s film Gehraiyaan being called a piece of pornography. It struck me as a cautionary tale about karmic retribution. While this idea is never mentioned explicitly, it seems deeply embedded in the structure of storytelling.
The sparks flying between Zain [Siddhant Chaturvedi] and Alisha [Deepika Padukone] indicate early on that an explosion is imminent. The sex seems to be more guilt-inducing than pleasurable. The lovers are always on tenterhooks, wondering if their secret will be busted by Zain’s girlfriend Tia [Ananya Panday] or Alisha’s boyfriend Karan [Dhairya Karwa].
The story appears to be grounded in an ethical framework wherein lying, omission of facts, the silence of complicity, and betrayal are unacceptable. People who engage in these behaviours are punished, either immediately or when they least expect it. I wonder if Batra, Ayesha Devitre, Sumit Roy, and Yash Sahai wrote the film keeping this narrative in mind.
The film skillfully explores how, sometimes, human beings act in ways that are difficult to wrap one’s head around. They know that things will end up badly for themselves and others but this awareness is not sufficient for course correction; they behave almost like puppets with no agency, ruled by instincts that are too powerful in the face of reason and morality.
Zain is killed for professing love and promising a happily-ever-after to two women – Alisha and Tia, apart from registering a shell company to tide over financial irregularities. He is also punished for abandoning his mother when she was facing domestic violence and needed him. Zain faces financial setbacks, and loses the trust of both the women that care about him.
Alisha is punished for deceiving her cousin Tia and boyfriend Karan. First, Alisha is evicted from her yoga studio. Then she is brought to a point where she has to choose between being killed by Zain or pushing him into the sea as a form of self-defence. She also loses her inheritance. Zain sells a property that belonged to her, saying that he has only mortgaged it.
Tia is punished for not telling Alisha the truth about her biological father, and the farmhouse that he left Alisha in his will. Tia also loses Zain, the man that she loved, and was planning to get married to. Karan is punished for treating Alisha like a doormat, being emotionally unavailable when she tries to get through to him, and for keeping her in the dark about things that he shares openly with Tia. Karan loses Alisha, and his published book is a flop show.
It might seem that Alisha does not have to pay as heavy a price as Zain or Tia. However, the screenwriters do not seem inclined to let Alisha get away with her lies. An old lady that Zain and Alisha once met on a yacht recognises Alisha at Karan’s second engagement party. The film ends before this lady narrates her encounter with Alisha and Zain to Tia and Karan, who still do not know that Zain and Alisha were sleeping with each other until Zain’s death.
Gehraiyaan is not a public service advertisement against infidelity; it is a film that investigates the consequences that follow from choices people make.
This approach to characterisation seems more mature than one that paints some characters as inherently good, and others as inherently evil. Gehraiyaan would have been a lesser film without its writers.
Their engagement with the idea of karmic retribution goes beyond punishment. There are rewards for Karan and Vinod [Naseeruddin Shah]. Karan apologizes to Alisha after their break-up, and takes responsibility for treating her disrespectfully. He meets someone else, who appreciates him, and they get engaged to each other. Vinod, who is Alisha’s adoptive father, is rewarded for his kindness. He continues to be there for her despite the allegations that she throws at him. Vinod gets her back. This is a source of comfort in his old age.
In Gehraiyaan, the choice to start again offers a clear path out of the depths of suffering. This is mentioned in the opening sequence, and the film concludes with the same thought. The choice does not shield people from the harsh consequences of what they have done but it certainly offers a solid chance to make things right, to know in their heart that they tried.
Gehraiyaan is streaming on Amazon Prime Video India.
Chintan Girish Modi is a writer, journalist, commentator, and book reviewer.
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