Atrangi Re, helmed by Aanand L Rai, starring Dhanush, Sara Ali Khan, and Akshay Kumar in lead roles, premiered on December 24 on Disney+Hostar. In the first weekend itself, the movie broke records and had the biggest opening weekend on the OTT platform. While the lead trio is getting appreciation for their performances, the film's storyline is being criticised by a section of viewers for trivialising mental health. According to them, the makers failed to do justice to the mental health issues that the film's protagonist Rinku (Sara's character) had.

In an interview, Atrangi Re writer Himanshu Sharma has finally reacted to the film's criticism. Talking to India Today, Himanshu shared that he is feeling great as the hard work has finally paid off and fans are liking the unconventional plot.

Addressing the criticism, he said, "In the end, it's a film and not a documentary. It is not a 500 word essay on mental illness, it is a film, it needs to entertain you. When we write a film, it has to maneuver its way to many of the issues that I spoke about, and at times certain things take a backseat, and other times it takes a forefront".

Himanshu added, "Yes, the mental health issue is there but to me as a writer and for Aanand as a director, it was more of a sugar coating to say larger things. See the film for what it is and not for what you wanted".

For the unversed, the film revolves around the characters of Rinku and Vishu (played by Dhanush) who are forcefully married. After spending some time together, both of them start liking each other. However, their love story takes a U-turn after the entry of Rinku's lover Sajjad (Akshay Kumar).

Produced by Aanand L Rai's Colour Yellow Productions and Bhushan Kumar's T-Series, the film also stars Seema Biswas, Ashish Verma, and Dimple Hayathi in pivotal roles.

Source: India Today

View the full article