Numbers do not add up in this math show

Movie: Shakuntala Devi (Hindi)

Cast: Vidya Balan, Jisshu Sengupta, Sanya Malhotra, Amit Sadh  

Rating: 2.5/5

The movie starts with the perspective of Shakuntala Devi's daughter. This narrative instantly generates our interest in the film.

Then just like in numerous biographical movies in Bollywood, this too starts from the childhood of our protagonist. We are introduced to her world and how her personality is shaped by her family. Early on in the movie, it is shown that in spite of being born with such a unique and extraordinary talent, her journey is extra difficult because she was a girl. The attitude of a patriarchal society is highlighted in many instances, be it in a math shows in India and England or a guest house in England.

From the onset, the movie has been portrayed in a comic and quirky manner. This works and keeps you invested in the story. Then the story continues to show her rise to worldwide fame with her receiving the title of "Human computer ". This whole part of her story seemed rushed. In the process, it failed to explore some interesting characters that helped Shakuntala in her journey to success.

In a parallel narrative, the story explores the character of Anupama-Shakuntala's daughter. She has been shown as frustrated because of her mother’s reputation and dominating nature. She is in search of her own independent identity and wants to free herself from her mother’s shadow.

Then the movie shifts focus and take us through the entire life of Shakuntala Devi where she is shown exploring the world of marriage, motherhood, astrology, writing, and politics. The journey alienates her daughter further from her and her success and fame get to her head. In an intense confrontation scene between Shakuntala and her daughter, Vidya Balan shows a piece of top-notch acting where her expressions capture her emotions perfectly from aggression to shock.

Along this journey, she is also shown to break a Guinness record. The numbers displayed on the screen digitally, whenever she is doing one of her mathematical calculations keeps us hooked to her mathematical wizardry. But it is lost opportunity as the director could have taken advantage of this medium and tried and explained to the audience how Shakuntala was doing the magic in her mind. Throughout the movie, there are references to the typical comments faced by women in a patriarchal society. Shakuntala is projected as a force of nature that broke this wall of patriarchy and made a name for her.

However, to drive the movie emotionally, the movie becomes too dramatic and the climax of the movie is highly disappointing. The different time periods of the movie were also not captured convincingly. Also for the redemption of the protagonist, there are some highly unrealistic scenes which do not add up.

The director Anu Menon fails to save the movie from the clichéd and dramatic storyline. She does utilize the very talented Vidya Balan to the fullest.

The cinematographer Keiko Nakahara fails to explore anything beyond conventional methods.

The screenplay is the weakest link of the movie and it again suffers from the same problem which many previous biographical movies in Bollywood have suffered from. The movie seems like a storybook where the entire story of Shakuntala Devi is narrated from her childhood until her old age. This type of narrative makes the movie long and tedious and results in a long list of unexplored characters. The legal angle of the movie in the end was totally unnecessary. However, the character of Shakuntala is captured beautifully and she leads her way in this movie.

The real winner of this movie is the ensemble cast. Vidya Balan gives a towering performance and saves this movie from becoming a dud affair. The supporting actors Sanya Malhotra, Amit Sadh, and Jishu Sengupta each give a good and measured performance. A special mention for Araina Nand as the young Shakuntala. She gives a dynamic and innocent performance.

This movie introduces us to one of the most unique personalities our country has ever seen, but it fails to deliver a biographical movie that she and the audience deserved.