Shakuntala Devi Review: An Elegantly Made Biopic!

Shakuntala Devi Review: First of all, I am not a fan of biographical movies or series’ as I have this preconceived notion that biopics follow a conventional template. And that it would be tedious to watch the life of someone again, as it would contain similar scenes of struggle, initial failure, and then success, and fame. Well, Shakuntala Devi broke my baseless stereotyping and, for the most part, provided wholesome entertainment and gracefully depicted the life of the mathematical prodigy, Shakuntala Devi. Shakuntala Devi Review

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Revered and celebrated as the “Human-Computer,” Shakuntala Devi was a pioneer in mental calculations of highly complex numbers and went on to display her unimaginable skills worldwide at various Universities, and stage shows. This biopic, taking artistic liberties though, tells the tale of rags to riches of Shakuntala Devi, portrayed by Vidya Balan. Shakuntala Devi Review

From a screenplay co-written with Nayanika Mahtani, Anu Menon writes and directs Shakuntala Devi. While Jisshu Sengupta, Sanya Malhotra, and Amit Sadh appear as the supporting cast, Keiko Nakshara handles the camera, and Sachin-Jigar and Karan Kulkarni compose the songs and background score respectively.

Shakuntala Devi, the movie, opens in the late 1940s, with child Shakuntala amusing her parents with her math skills. Her father makes money out of her talent by taking her to a series of schools to perform. As years pass, seeing her mother not stand up and talk for herself or her children, and being cheated in a relationship, Shakuntala moves to London, vowing not to become incompetent and mum like her mother. Shakuntala Devi Review

The movie shifts stories between Shakuntala conquering the world with her proficiency in calculations and falling apart as a mother as she does not allow enough time for her daughter, Anupama. Similar to Shakuntala’s pledge, Anupama also decides to herself not to become like her mother.

The initial thirty minutes of the film manages to tell the story about the mathematical genius that she is. And the remainder of the runtime, Anu Menon decides to divulge into the personal life of Shakuntala and the substantial impact her legendary image had on her daughter. Shakuntala Devi Review

What I consider as the biggest positive for this film is casting Vidya Balan as Shakuntala Devi. She looked as tailor-made for the role and did her job with ease. She had this vast amount of positivity as she artistically carried the movie forward. She graced every scene with her persona and shone as the brightest diamond in a jewelry store.

Anu Menon never compromises on the production quality of her movie. We witnessed her extravagant work of art in the Amazon Original, Four More Shots Please! and she continues the same with Shakuntala Devi. Costume Designer Niharika Bhasin and Hair & Make-up stylists Vikram Gaikwad and Shreyas Mhatre made sure they add the exquisite look of the 80s on Vidya Balan and make her look extremely beautiful.

Another character who surprised me was Amit Sadh. Though he appeared for relatively less screentime, I could never stop focusing on him. Readers who happen to check out my previous review for another Amazon Original Breathe: Into the Shadows would know why, as I whined how inadequate he and Abhishek Bachchan were, in terms of acting. If at least he could have made a 10% of the effort of this movie on that series, it would have made it slightly better.

Technically, the production design was rich and vivid with a variety of colors, and Keiko Nakshara made sure she would capture them through her lens. The writers made sure they do not make a run-of-the-mill, mainstream biographical film and interestingly showcased the lesser-known sides of the public figure. They could have easily focused on the lustrous career and the commercial life of Shakuntala Devi, but they decided to go indoor and gave us a quick glimpse of her family life.

To sum it up, Shakuntala Devi, the film, includes a compelling narrative, a well-written screenplay, and other aspects, including comedy, quick-wit of Shakuntala, and last but, not least, several complex numbers. The performance of Vidya Balan was remarkable to watch as this is a riveting biopic of a genius mind. Watch ‘Shakuntala Devi’ on Amazon Prime Video here.

Rating – 3.75/5 | Grade – B+

Images via Amazon Prime Video