Review: 'Ajji' is not for the faint-hearted

Ajji (Drama)
Cast: Sushama Deshpande, Sharvani Suryavanshi, Sadiya Siddiqui, Abhishek Banerjee
Direction: Devashish Makhija
Duration: 104 minutes
Language: Hindi (A)
Rating: 3.5/5

Story: Little Manda (Sharvani) is raped. While her poor parents want to just survive the ordeal and want to forget and move on, Manda’s grandmother (Sushama Deshpande) is in no mood to forget or forgive. 

Review: For the one hour 44 minutes duration spent watching Ajji, barring a scene or two, my body was tense. For at least half an hour after coming out of the theatre, I was anxious and the next morning, I woke up thinking about the movie. So, to say that the film made for an uncomfortable watch, would be an understatement. 

The plot of the film revolves around Ajji (Sushama Deshpande), and her family, including a son Milind (Shreyas Pundit) and daughter-in-law Vibha (Smita Tambe) and her granddaughter Manda (Sharvani Suryavanshi). The little girl is raped by a local politician’s son Dhavle (Abhishek Bannerjee) and her grandmother takes it upon herself to avenge the injustice. 

It’s difficult to see what an old, frail and arthritic woman can do in order to seek revenge from a powerful man, but Ajji is no ordinary woman. Once she decides to seek vengeance, she goes after it hammer and tongs. The old, limping granny takes it upon herself to find her granddaughter’s rapist. At first, she doesn’t know what she will do, nor does the viewer, but with every frame, we see her plot, plan and execute. The execution is sharp, the frames tight (just like the budget) which works in favour of the film.The closed, claustrophobic spaces of Shiv Tekdi, which is the setting of the film, lends an added sense of anxiety to the drama. Full marks to DOP Jishnu Bhattacharjee for the same. 

When it comes to characters, Sushama Deshpande as Ajji is brilliantly cast. The calm demeanour she exudes belies the rage she feels inside, as she methodically learns how to chop meat from a butcher, preparing the audience for a slaughter later. Abhishek Bannerjee (Dhavle) as the drunk-on-power politician’s son, repulses you on more than one occasion. And little Sharvani Suryavanshi breaks your heart, when she points to her bleeding private parts and asks her ajji, ‘Is this how it starts for every girl?’

Yes, it’s an uncomfortable watch. But it’s important to watch films that make you think and ask questions.