Dude.
Just finished Phullwanti and my brain is just... buzzing. Like a beehive. A very, very colorful, melodious beehive.
I had to, like, *hunt* this one down. Not on Netflix, not on Prime. Had to find a... let's call it a "special" version online. So I'm hunched over my laptop, the screen brightness way down so I don't blind myself, and the quality was a bit grainy, you know? Like watching an old VHS tape. But honestly? It kinda added to the vibe. Made it feel more... timeless. I paused it halfway through to get some water and just stood in my dark kitchen for a minute, trying to process what I was even watching.
Kya baat hai, yaar. Seriously. What a film.
And that girl... that actress playing Phullwanti. What's her name? Sayali Sanjeev? Wow. Just... wow. She's not just acting, she *is* Phullwanti. There's this fire in her eyes, man. This quiet confidence that's just... intimidating and beautiful at the same time. I was completely mesmerized.
There's this one scene that's just stuck in my head, looping over and over. It's not a big, dramatic moment. It's just her, sitting in this courtyard, doing embroidery. The camera is super close up, just on her hands and the fabric. And the way the needle moves, it's like it's dancing. It's so precise, so deliberate. And she's having this conversation with this big-shot scholar who's trying to test her, you know? Trying to show her that he's smarter than her. And she doesn't even look up. She just keeps stitching, and her answers are so sharp, so witty, they just slice through his ego. I literally leaned forward so close to my laptop screen I almost smudged it with my nose. I was just... captivated. It was so quiet, but it was louder than any shouting match I've ever seen in a movie. The way she just dismantled his entire argument without breaking a sweat... pure poetry, man.
It reminds me of my daadi, actually. She used to do all this intricate embroidery too. She had these old sarees with the most beautiful patterns, and she'd tell me these stories about the women in her village, these super strong women who could run a household and a farm and still find time to create these amazing works of art. She told me this one story about a woman who challenged a bunch of men to a debate about religion, and she won just by asking these simple, logical questions that they couldn't answer. I was just a kid, but I remember thinking, "Wow, women are secretly running the world." Wait, why am I telling you this? So random. Anyway. This movie felt like one of my daadi's stories come to life.
And the music! Don't even get me started on the music. It's just... it flows through the whole movie. It's not just background noise, it's like a character. I had my headphones on, and it felt like I was right there in that village, under the stars, listening to these songs. I think I might have downloaded the soundtrack already. Don't judge me.
But... okay, now that I'm typing this... I have a doubt. Was the romance subplot actually necessary? I mean, the guy was fine, I guess. Charming and all that. But Phullwanti was such a powerhouse on her own. Did she really need a love interest to validate her? I thought I loved their scenes together, I really did. But now that the movie's over and I'm thinking about it... was it a bit of a cliché? Did it take away from her story of being this independent, brilliant woman? I don't know, man. I'm conflicted. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Maybe I just wanted her to be happy, and in our minds, happy means being in love. Ugh. Whatever.
The whole thing just felt so... authentic. The clothes, the houses, the way people talked. It wasn't a glossy, perfect version of the past. It felt real. Lived-in. I felt like I could smell the food cooking and feel the dust on the ground. Watching it on my small, slightly blurry laptop screen made it feel even more intimate, like I was peeking into someone's memories.
Honestly, I'm still processing it. It's not a movie you just watch and forget. It kind of... settles in you. Makes you think about art, and intelligence, and what it means to be strong. I feel all... thoughtful and emotional now. Ugh. I hate it.
Okay, my brain is officially fried. I need to sleep before the sun comes up.
9/10. Go watch it. Or find a "special" version. You won't regret it.
- solid
- raghu yadav