VIqas Bahl’s Bye There is an exploration of the many stages of grief after losing a loved one. The film hinges on stellar performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Neena Gupta as Harish and Gayatri and an ensemble cast of Rashmika Mandanna, Pavail Gulati and Sahil Mehta. The film asks the question, what is the right way to mourn the death of a parent?
Harish’s (Amitabh Bachchan) wife Gayatri passed away due to a heart attack. Their children – some adopted – are isolated and scattered across the country. Tara (Rashmika) is a rebellious lawyer who misses her mother’s last calls and messages and is haunted by guilt, even though she doesn’t keep track of everything with her father. Nakul (Pavail Gulati) is a workaholic NRI who has a conservatively loving but confused wife Daisy (Eli Avram), who flies to attend the cremation. Angad (Sahil Mehta) is the loving adoptee, and Nakul (Abhishek Khan), the youngest son, learns of tragedy after the rest of the family as he is on an expedition. How the grieving family reacts to Gayatri’s death moves the film forward.
From october (2018) from Ram Prasad’s Tehrvik (2019), pgllight (2021) and now ByeBollywood is constantly exploring grief in many ways, and the results are quite commendable.
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a bachchan show
Amitabh Bachchan, who will soon reach the 80-year milestone, steals the show, and is challenged by Neena Gupta, the only rainbow in the film. From calling his rude kids, Bachchan’s Harish tries to make to-do lists and strictly follow all Hindu rituals. He gives you pain for your pain.
Bachchan is at his best as he tries to deal with his fear of a lonely life after dealing with the pain of losing the love of his life. Neena Gupta again shows us how it is done, even though she has limited screen time with few dialogues. But the screen glows every time in her presence, as she smiles whether she is advising or encouraging her husband and kids.
Pavail Gulati has grown splendidly in all his latest ventures. In Bye, he plays a self-absorbed workaholic who can’t keep his AirPods off while carrying his mother’s body to the crematorium without fail. Rashmika is serious but her accent is clear, and it’s not a really memorable role.
Ashish Vidyarthi as a neighbor who has successfully performed ‘many cremations’, is representative of the neighborhood uncles whom we all know and he does it well. Sunil Grover’s cameo is a refreshing watch.
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shadow of sorrow
Bye Will make you laugh and cry alike, with its illustrations of how grief can be turned into something straight-up in rituals or have-to-dos. The film is also a satire on death, showing how one reacts to the news of death and what goes on in the minds of people at the crematorium.
The grief experienced by Harish comes in waves, as he tries to process the death of the woman who held the family and his life together. An orphan, Harish experiences family life through his marriage with Gayatri, who was ‘the most beautiful girl in the colony’. While he is coping with the shock of Gayatri’s sudden death, and remembering all the good days with her, he is also angered by the alleged carelessness of his children.
Tara who refuses to follow the ‘irrational’ rituals, and is almost separated from the family for being a Muslim lover. But he feels guilty for having missed the party and the last call with his mother. He is also furious with the circus of death rituals witnessed by a knowing neighbor PP (Ashish Vidyarthi). Nakul’s self-absorption belies his delayed response to his mother’s death, and only kills her much later.
There are notable scenes that stand out. Everyone is engrossed in their mobiles while waiting for their turn at the crematorium, alternating between the food Gayatri’s friends send to the bereaved family and the new suitable name for their WhatsApp group after Gayatri’s death. work. There is also a scene of an angry Harish knocking on the door of Nakul and Daisy, who indulge in sad sex.
While the story is indeed promising, what it lacks is the strict editing and execution that falters in some bits. The climax can come in two hours but the last bit seems to stretch endlessly.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)