Zwigato Movie Review: Kapil Sharma Charms In This Powerful Film

Zwigato Movie Review: New India is multifaceted and multi-optional, leaving many well-off people with an abundance of career options. But, despite all the alleged growth, various other groups of middle-class young men and women struggle to find jobs that are suitable for their age and skill set.

The e-commerce meal delivery services are a blessing for the Alpha generation because they meet the wants and orders of the more demanding clients and give them greater convenience and control over when and how to purchase their food. The staff of such businesses bear the brunt of it; nonetheless, that is for the customers.

The quick growth of delivery services in India is a double-edged sword for the unemployed, creating a Catch-22 situation. They have, in some ways, helped individuals without work make some money, but they hardly treat the “delivery guys” with the respect they merit.

The third film that Nandita Das has directed (after the critically praised “Firaaq” and the equally sensitive “Manto”), “Zwigato” captures all the varying vicissitudes that India and its economy are currently experiencing. She tells a narrative without passing judgement and leaves the harsh and unpleasant reality as well as the raw emotional moments just as they should be.

It is expected that Nandita Das, a skilled actor-director, would develop a plot that would make the film impossible to stop watching. The subject she chose for the movie’s theme(Zwigato) is pleasantly surprise.

She exposes the struggles of ordinary people in a social environment that provides few options for those in need by using a cliche that India is all too familiar with—namely, the food delivery apps. The underlying political stagnation is also visible. Without being preachy, she lets the audience make their own judgements about the positives and negatives of our culture.

The migrant from Jharkhand Manas Mahto, played by Kapil Sharma in Zwigato, travels to a developing Bhubaneswar with his wife Pratima (Shahana Goswami), two children, and ill mother to look into opportunities for a decent living.

After losing his position as floor manager at a company, he searches fruitlessly for other employment and is eventually compelled to work as a food delivery rider, navigating the app on his phone and the world of ratings and incentives. His daily effort to make ends meet while maintaining flawless schedule for deliveries is agonising.

Pratima, who is not content with being simply another housewife, searches for other employment options to supplement her husband’s salary as Manas is not the only one struggling to survive. She therefore tries her hand at everything, from being a masseuse for wealthy women to a cleaner at a mall. She has a strong desire to make their lives better, and that passion drives all of her efforts.

When the couple learns that Manas’s older brother and family will be visiting, she makes the decision to divide their small, unoccupied room with the use of some old bedsheets and sarees so the guests can have their own space. She makes a sincere effort to accommodate her visitors, making sure that her additional job does not get in the way of her desire to be hospitable.

Manas, meantime, has to overcome a lot of obstacles while working really hard to make just Rs 15 per delivery. There is a story about a couple ordering 20 pizzas in error while partying in an apartment. The owner of the apartment even treats Manas most shabbily by asking him to leave just two pizzas and take the rest away when he delivers the order, greeting him with liquor bottles and other party leftovers.

The couple’s residence isn’t even a real house; at best, it’s a temporary arrangement, but it exudes all the cosiness of a home. The bedridden infirm mother is cleaned up without hesitation by Manas and Pratima, as well as by their daughter. Her incontinence issue is never resented or allowed to become a nuisance. Each member of the family simply goes about doing what is expected of them.

Manas and his ilk simply go along without questioning their unscrupulous masters, who are nearly enslaving them. If there is anything that Manas dislikes, it is the patrons’ lack of gratitude in their greetings. He doesn’t express any open displeasure, though.

On the surface, the movie(Zwigato) seems to be the narrative of a laid-back man who doesn’t often let his frustrations get the better of him—maybe only when his dignity is in danger. The film is a lot more complex and incisive attempt as a result of a pointed remark here and a frequent indirect — and occasionally blatant — suggestion at the class disparity that is so obvious in India.

As Manas, Kapil Sharma embodies the character without ever succumbing to his revered position as the undisputed king of humour. The removal of his public persona, which has won him millions of followers worldwide, will come as a pleasant surprise to viewers. His admirers might be surprised by how effortlessly he transitions into the role of Manas. He occasionally performs like an accomplished actor.

Shahana Goswami, his co-star, plays Pratima with note-perfect precision and largely allows her pauses and silences speak for her evident talent as a superb actor. While Kapil seems to float into the role of Manas with ease, she gives a gentle nobility and unabashed sympathy to the position. Even their brief appearances, Sayani Gupta and Gul Panag’s cameos are incredibly credible.