New Delhi: Pink is a beautiful hue, something that has the serenity of white and energy of red. The Sky is Pink, helmed by Margarita With A Straw director Shonali Bose, starring Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim and Rohit Saraf, has the same quality.
It talks about a heavy subject with the lightness of a breeze, something that caresses your senses, calms you down, and makes you reflect on the true meaning of life while laughing, crying and cheering for the little brave heart and her family who take adversity in their stride and weave a beautiful life around it. Yet, you don’t find a dull moment in a film that has a seamless flow to it despite its non-linear narrative.
The Sky is Pink tells the story of Aditi (Priyanka Chopra) and Niren Chaudhary (Farhan Akhtar) and their two kids Aisha (Zaira Wasim) and Ishaan (Rohit Saraf). At first glance, they might look like a normal family, but they are far from it. Aisha is the narrator of their parents’ story spanning 25 years and her family’s trials and tribulations because of her illness. She makes it clear at the very outset that she is not alive at the moment and calls herself the villain of the story.
The film is made of pure emotions, beautiful moments, and exceptionally humorous dialogues that let you stay with the characters without pitying them, yet deeply involved in the events of their life. There is a scene where Niren and Aditi are trying to arrange funds to get their infant daughter treated in London and don’t lose their sense of humour even then suggesting each other to marry a rich person for money.
All these elements when binded together in the thread of Zaira Wasim’s (Aisha) narration, makes for an interesting watch that leaves you thinking about the meaning of life long after you have finished watching the film.
In parts it reminds you of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand where the protagonist (Rajesh Khanna) celebrates life to the fullest after getting diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. “Anand mara nahi, Anand marte nahin,” encapsulated the spirit of the film and the larger philosophy of life.
In The Sky is Pink, Aisha knows she has limited time on earth, yet decides to make most of it with the help of her parents, taking risks, creating artwork, writing a book and daring to reach for the moon. She has the in-built source of joy that originates from the happy and positive parents she is blessed with, who find humour even in their fights, even when things go wrong and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
What makes The Sky is Pink’s emotions 100% authentic is the fact that it’s a slice directly picked from real life as the film is inspired by the real life story of motivational writer Aisha Chaudhary and her parents. Priyanka Chopra in one of her interactions shared how real life Aditi and Niren literally narrated almost every scene to them which was then fictionalized to form part of the story. Both in real life and in the movie Aisha finds the most perfect moment of her life while snorkeling catching the breathtaking sight of the underwater life. The motivation session shown in the film is available on youtube in real too and you would be amazed to see how beautifully the scene has been portrayed on reel. From her artworks (including her self-portrait of a dog relaxing on her bed), book My Little Epiphanies, student life to final moments, the reel Aisha aka Zaira Wasim has done justice to the life of real one. The only minute difference that one can find is the real Aisha’s pain reflected in her facial expressions and speech unlike the screen Aisha.
After the story, it’s the performance of actress and co-producer of the film Priyanka Chopra Jonas that stands out. She has probably given her best-ever in her comeback film after the gap of three years. PeeCee loves to challenge herself and her work in Barfi, Saat Khoon Maaf etc is the proof. But in each one of the films, she could not completely remove herself from the character while in this one she is nobody but Aditi Chaudhary, the passionate and possessive lover, the loving and caring mother and fiercely independent. Perhaps only in some song sequences, we could see a glimpse of PeeCee.
Farhan Akhtar is a director, but he is a director’s actor too. He slips deep into the skin of his character and delivers a stellar performance yet again as his character evolved from a shy lover boy, a supportive husband to a brave father.
After Dangal and Secret Superstar, Zaira Wasim shows that she’s a versatile performer who can mould herself to the demands of the character. When she is in a scene, she dominates it and others struggle to hold attention.
As for the viewer the takeway is clear. Birth and death are the starting and end point of anybody’s life and all that happens between is life and what you make out of it is completely your free will.
In Aditi’s words choose your own sky, even if it is pink in colour. Don’t let anyone dictate what your life should be.