The Sky is Pink Review: Celebrating grief!

The Sky is Pink (2019) by director Shonali Bose is a biopic based on the life of Aisha Chaudary, a young motivational speaker who has passed on.

Rohit Saraf as Ishaan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Aditi Chaudary, Zaira Wasim as Aisha and Farhan Akthar as Niren Chaudary in the film.

I have been looking forward to this film since the day they announced it. Firstly because Priyanka Chopra, our Desi girl, was doing a Hindi film after ages! Secondly because I loved Shonali Bose’s last film - Margarita with a straw! Please watch it if you haven’t :) Lastly because I love PC & Farhan as an on-screen pair ever since I saw them in Dil Dhadakne Do! Therefore, the moment I knew they were playing this film in the London Film Festival, I grabbed the tickets.

This Film didn’t disappoint me one bit. There were several things that worked for me in the film.

I have to address the biggest plus in this film - Farhan & Priyanka’s chemistry! These two are college sweethearts in the film. Every single scene between them is beautiful! Damn, how much I missed PC on screen - in a Hindi film!

Not only does this romantic chemistry work well, the sibling relationship is something that will tug every one of your heart strings. Right from the day his sister is born, Ishaan never fails to dote on her. As an older!!! sister, there were some scenes that punched me in my gut and I’d hope never to be in such a position. To see a loved one go through something that grim is beyond my comprehension and I can never truly understand the pain Ishaan would have gone through. Without revealing any specific scene, I’d like to share one line that Ishaan says in the film.

“Don’t worry Aisha, you will go first. Moose, Panda & I will join you soon!”

That line changed the way I thought about grief. Just like many others out there, I fear the day I will lose someone I love. The thought of it makes me weak. To look at death in such a light is something I’ve never thought of and I’m extremely grateful Shonali did. During the post-screening dialogue, Shonali shared with the audience how she could relate with the Chaudary family when they lost Aisha. Having lost her Mother and Son, Shonali has been in their shoes and she chose to show it as a celebration of life. The choice of music she uses for Aisha’s funeral is testament to it. She even told the audience that she has her party playlist ready for her funeral. In all honesty, I have mine ready too.

Director Shonali Bose at the screening of The Sky is Pink (2019) at BFI’s 63rd London Film Festival.

A large part of the film is shot in London. I thank my lucky stars for giving me the opportunity to watch the film in London. To see the very Thameslink train I take every weekend, the familiar alleys and even watching the film with the Londoners featured in the film who helped the Chaudary family in real life. It was an experience I would never forget.

I’d like to give a special shoutout to the song Dil Hi Toh Hai. It was such a sweet and cutely choreographed song!

While all the leads gave a wonderful tribute to the family, I would like to point out a specific performance by one of them. Priyanka Chopra played Aditi Chaudary to the T! I’m not sure if it’s because I missed watching her on screen or because she was actually THAT good. (She was really THAT good) I spent a good 4-5 minutes pondering and crying when I saw her on screen. There is a specific scene post-interval where she literally KILLS IT!

I’d like to thank Shonali Bose for giving us this masterpiece after Margarita & I‘m so glad the film lived up to the hype I created for it :’)

PREMIERE EXPERIENCE!

She also shared some pretty interesting facts about the film with us during the discussion. She had mentioned that Farhan & PC were her first choices to play the couple and they were actors first to her more than the stars they are. She also revealed that this biopic had a little more focus on Mrs Chaudary than Aisha and that a documentary is being made about Aisha which will release in a few months. It consists various home videos that the Chaudarys have. The Indian Print of the film is slightly longer than the international release because of an additional scene post interval and a longer version of Dil Hi Toh Hai. She had invited some of the people who helped the Chaudarys in London when they needed financial help and the Chaudarys were also among us watching the movie yesterday!

Mr & Mrs Chaudary - the Real stars!