A girl’s parents want to save after she is diagnosed with a terminal illness. The girl has only a few years to live. Looks like the prelude to a touching movie. But no, ‘The Sky is Pink’ is a stark example of how to ruin an interesting plot line.
Directed by Shonali Bose, The Sky is Pink stars Zaira Wasim and Priyanka Chopra in principal roles, supported by Farhan Akhtar, Rohit Saraf, Rajshri Deshpande etc.
The Sky is Pink: The Plot –
This movie is based on the life of motivational speaker Aisha Chaudhary. Soon after birth, Aisha was diagnosed with SCID, i.e. Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, for which her parents take her to London for better treatment. She undergoes a chemotherapy session in place of the bone marrow transplant, due to which she is diagnosed years later with pulmonary fibrosis, which has no cure. How Aisha makes people around her learn to live life, and how she faces death in her own quirky way forms the crux of the story.
The Sky is Pink: What Works –
To be honest, Priyanka Chopra has delivered a stellar performance in this movie. Playing the role of Aditi Chaudhary, Aisha’s mom, who has to face it all over again when Aisha is diagnosed with the same disorder that claimed the life of her first baby. With her different shades of acting in this movie, Priyanka Chopra has made an impressive comeback after 3 years into Bollywood. Farhan Akhtar has tried to do justice to his role as Niren Chaudhary, Aisha’s father.
Zaira Wasim who was recently in news for quitting movies because of religious concerns is the film’s X factor, and she could’ve done wonders with a better, crisper plot. In the role of Aisha Chaudhary, Zaira took it upon her shoulders to make the film engaging. However, she appeared to struggle.
The Sky is Pink: What Doesn’t Work –
The flaws of this movie far overshadow the good parts. You cannot connect with the movie even if you want, and this is one of the biggest failures of this movie. Bollywood has had a bad experience in terms of making movies that deal with with terminal illness or any ailment in general, and this film does no better in improving that track record.
This film is only a little over 2 hours and 20 minutes, but the lackluster story telling makes it unbearable. The first half is a very dull affair more documentary like in approach than like a movie. The narration also makes the movie very predictable and it destroys the essence of ‘what will happen next’ altogether.
Going by the movie’s tone, it seems that the main message was living life the right way and seeing the impending end of human life in a new light. But going by the execution of the movie, we’re sorry to say that the movie has been unable to propagate this message well. This is even more disappointing, since the director of the movie is the same Shonali Bose, who has made content oriented films like ‘Amu’, ‘Margarita with a Straw’.