Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar are two of the most distinguished actors that Indian cinema is gifted with. Surprisingly, we have praised a lot many other actors more than them in the volumes of pages we have written. Journos, are you listening? Let's admit that today.
Shonali Bose, how well you imagined Priyanka as a mother when you wrote this story, which so evidently reflects the pain you've experienced and the brave fight you've continued in going on with your life.
Even if you are not a parent, your eyes will become moist and your voice choke with emotion almost right from the first scene of The Sky Is Pink. The second half, if you're a parent, will remind you that no matter who exist in your kith and kin, it's your love for your child that outweighs all. And the second half, if you're not a parent, will drill it into your head that how much your parent(s) cared for you right from your cradle.
The most important takeaway from this film is that the mother (Priyanka Chopra) and father (Farhan Akhtar) both love their child (Zaira Wasim) equally, but the manner in which they portray it- by nature, mind you, is starkly different. And this is so true in everyday life. I know of couples blaming each other when their child gets even fever. The mother always feels that the father hasn't done enough and is in some way responsible for the trying time. The father always feels that the mother is over-reacting.
I related to several scenes in the film. When Zaira Wasim says that parents who lose their child either divorce or stay in one room as almost strangers. When Priyanka Chopra cannot see Zaira dying and hence (very craftily concealed) walks out of the room looking for oxygen cylinders and making a few calls.
Zaira, please come back. Your decision to stop acting is a loss to Bollywood. You have surpassed your best, which was Secret Superstar till date
Farhan, you portrayed pain so subtly but yet so deeply. So natural for a father who loses his child that he wants to make efforts to drown himself in work, whether he succeeds or not I guess depends on the individual. You have underplayed as a father who has an indulgent wife (dare not anybody get it wrong here, as I said the mother's emotions are distinctly different from a father's) and the more I saw of you as reels rolled by, I could vividly recall some fathers who've been in such situations. That is the hall mark of a great actor.
Well, I have some relatives whose children have died young... Pause.
Going with FOUR-and-HALF (I was a teacher once upon a time. Being a teacher here and deducting 0.5 as most teachers do).