In the iconic 1975 film Sholay,
the only son of an elderly blind man 
is murdered by the dacoit Gabbar Singh.
After absorbing the shock, 
weeping softly
and listening to the villagers 
debate on what is to be done,
Imaam Saab says "Jaante ho duniya ka 
sabse bada bojh kya hota hai?
Baap ke kandhon par bete ka janaza.
Isse bhari bojh koi nahi hai."
The last 40 minutes or so of The Sky Is Pink
capture this crushing weight of death.
The finality of losing someone, the rage and helplessness at being unable to prevent it,
the emptiness of loss and
those morbid practical questions
"what do you do with the clothes?
where do photographs go?"
What this film asks us to consider 
is the right way to grieve.
When Aisha, only 18 and played by 
the endearing Zaira Wasim, dies,
you feel that burden.
But you also come away admiring the tenacity 
and will of her parents - Niren and Aditi.
They deal with the death of 
not one but two children
and in the process, 
become champions of life.
These, my friends, are not spoilers.
The Sky Is Pink is based on the true story of 
Aisha Chaudhary who was born with SCID,
a rare genetic disorder.
She eventually died of Pulmonary Fibrosis,
which was a side-effect 
of her treatment for SCID.
Aisha's parents valiantly sacrificed their lives 
to help their daughter live longer.
Niren and Aditi spent years living apart,
they worked tirelessly to 
raise the money for treatment.
At one point, Niren even begged 
for donations on the radio.
Aditi researched every possible
cure and doctor
and robotically disinfected surfaces that Aisha 
touched to prevent her from getting an infection
because even a common cold 
could prove fatal.
They tried not just to keep her alive,
but also to keep her happy.
At one point, Aditi was micromanaging
her daughter's crush on a schoolmate.
To keep her daughter 
breathing and smiling,
she essentially became
the helicopter parent from hell.
Rather than death, director and co-writer Shonali Bose focuses on the couple and their courage.
Which is wise because Niren and Aditi’s relationship endures unimaginable pressures.
In interviews, Shonali said that 
everything we see in the film is true,
that it's based on hours of interviews 
with the parents, especially Aditi.
The film was made with the support 
and approval of the Chaudharys.
And that perhaps is what has 
blunted its edges.
The Sky Is Pink is sincere and heartfelt,
but it never gets raw or messy.
Until that final stretch, it doesn't pierce
your heart the way the subject should.
Shonali's superpower as a director 
is an unsentimental gaze
that enables us to view 
uncomfortable situations with empathy.
Her last film, Margarita With A Straw was also
about a family dealing with the debilitating situation.
The elder daughter Laila has cerebral palsy.
The film grappled with that, 
with cancer, Laila being bisexual
and a heartbreaking bond 
with her dying mother.
There's this wonderful scene on the terrace
when Laila is trying to tell her mother 
that she's bisexual
but she's having trouble saying
 the word, so she only manages bi
and her mother comes back with 
"main kya kam bai hoon?"
and starts ranting about how
badly behaved Hindustani men are.
It's hilarious and touching.
In The Sky Is Pink, 
this lightness of being
is replaced by an all-pervasive cuteness.
The film frantically jumps timelines 
over three decades,
even going back to Niren and 
Aditi's romance and marriage.
To make sense of this back and forth, 
we get a posthumous narrator.
Aisha herself, who in death, 
like she was in life,
remains perky, irreverent, 
and determinedly cheering.
She calls Aditi Moose and Niren Panda,
which becomes cloying very quickly.
Aisha talks, a lot.
The VO is by co-writer Nilesh Maniyar.
We get lines like: Kaunse aise germs hain 
jo Moose se panga lete
or Moose ki Poonch thi Panda.
She frequently comments on her
parents' sex life and gives us 'fun facts'.
In many scenes, Shonali builds up 
to an emotion,
which is then undercut by Aisha 
explaining what has happened
or cuing in the next scene.
The VO just becomes a distraction.
Until now, Shonali's storytelling 
has had naturalistic textures
which served her tough subjects well.
The Sky Is Pink opts 
for a glossy aesthetic
There are speedboats, swanky homes,
sweeping top shots of London 
and the Andamans.
Mother and daughter bond over
mischievous shopping expeditions.
And no matter what the
characters are grappling with,
they are impeccably styled.
Aditi goes to hell and back,
but her hair, makeup and
clothes stay on point.
Apart from the changing hairstyles, 
there's little to suggest her age.
And in one scene, 
she's supposed to be 50.
Niren becomes weathered by the trauma,
but Aditi's anguish is 
barely reflected in her demeanor.
This varnish undermines 
the authenticity of the emotions.
The background music by
Mikey McCleary is purposefully jaunty
and counterintuitive to some 
of the situations on screen,
but this strategy works 
in only fits and starts.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, here on 
double duty as actor and co-producer,
is fierce and dazzling as the mother 
who will do whatever it takes to outrun death.
But, Farhan Akhtar as 
the father has more impact
because he allows us to see his
vulnerability and exhaustion.
Rohit Suresh Saraf as Aisha's brother
Ishaan also does well.
The Sky Is Pink deals 
with extreme anguish,
but it feels too sanitized.
Still, at the end, when you see photos of 
the real Aisha, Ishaan, Niren and Aditi,
the weight of their tragedy and the force of 
their indomitable spirit hits home.
I just wish I had felt that through the film.
