Tribhanga Review: Expertly Handles a Sensitive Subject!

Written and directed by Renuka Shahane, Tribhanga, the new Netflix Original starring Kajol Devgn, Tanvi Azmi, and Mithila Palkar in the lead roles, discusses the unorthodox lives of three diverse female characters in a well narrated 95-minute social drama.

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The storyline of Tribhanga begins when Anuradha Apte’s (Kajol) mother, Nayantara (Tanvi Azmi), with whom she shares a hateful relationship with, goes into a coma and is kept under observation at a local hospital. On the other hand, Milan (Kunaal Roy Kapur), who is writing Nayantara’s autobiography, asks for Anuradha’s side of the story, and she recounts and explains why she developed resentment towards her mother that dates back to her childhood days.

Within the one-hour thirty-five minute runtime, Tribhanga discusses a wide range of social topics that Bollywood films don’t often do. From childhood trauma to sexual abuse and a chaotic family environment, the movie showcases how these factors shape a person in their adult life and the PTSD they carry through and through. Subsequently, writer and director Renuka Shahane, through her dialogue and emotionally heavy scenes, also discusses the price of being different in society and how the “bad image” haunts the entire family day in and day out.

The characters in Tribhanga are also expertly written. Especially when it comes to showcasing a few subtle changes about how the three primary characters cope up with these traumatic incidents, the changes they made to their lives, and not make the same mistakes their loved ones did. And these intricacies in the narrative are so very significant to distinguish the difference between Kajol, Tanvi, and Mithila’s characters, and director Renuka Shahane did a fantastic job in portraying these emotions on screen decently.

Alongside the perfectly-written scenes, the hard-hitting dialogues also helped to further showcase the pain and struggle of the characters from the beginning till the end. However, most importantly, the performances from the cast elevated the film so much more than I imagined.

Kajol, who plays Anuradha, a Bollywood actress and an Odissi dancer in the movie, gave one of the best performances of her career, primarily because the character played to her strengths and body language. Her role is brash, unapologetic, and a complete contrast to what I have seen her play in recent times, and she magnificently carried the film forward.

On the other hand, Tanvi Azmi and Shweta Mehendale, who play the older and younger versions of Nayantara in the movie, are very subtle in regard to their performances alongside Mithila Palkar and Kunaal Roy Kapur, who provide some normalcy and entertainment amidst all the chaos.

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Overall, Tribhanga on Netflix explores complicated and sensitive subjects that we easily relate to through a well-written film filled with remarkable performances. The movie feels like a breath-of-fresh-air compared to the usual stuff we watch in Bollywood and is, without a doubt, thoroughly entertaining inside and out. Watch ‘Tribhanga’ on Netflix here.

Rating – 3.25/5 | Grade – B

Images via Netflix India