Director : Anurag Kashyap
Music : Naren Chandavarkar
Starring :Kalki Koechlin, Naseruddin Shah, Shiv Subramaniyam, Divya Jagdale, Kumud Mishra, Prashant Prakash, Gulshan Devaiya, Kartik Krishnan, Mushtaq Khan, Ronit Roy, Makrand Deshpande and Rajat Kapoor
Story : The story revolves around Ruth (Kalki Koechlin), who along with her British mother is abandoned by her Indian father while she’s still young, after her elder stepsister kills herself in UK. Barely having a clue about her father’s identity as she was just five at that time, Ruth is confused about her roots. Her mother too keeps her in the dark, until she receives a letter from her father. The note creates a sense of nostalgia in her and shw wants to meet her father in India. The search begins and Ruth lands up in Mumbai, working as a masseuse to survive in the city. In the course of time, in order to distract herself from her miseries (her failure in tracking her father), she gets into a relationship which too turns out to be ugly as her boyfriend is a drug addict. Now, who is Ruth’s elusive father and will she ever be able find him is the rest of the story.
Story Treatment :‘That Girl in Yellow Boots’ hits straight on the face with the strangest ever father-daughter relationship. The narration unfolds the nature of each character with such conviction that one can easily ignore the slightly dragged screenplay. The last 20-minutes are brilliant and one witnesses the soul of the film in the duration. The revelation put forth is enough to surprise one.
Star Cast : Kalki Koechlin acts best to her ability and impresses with the different shades of her acting. This will go down as one of her best performances ever. Naseruddin Shah and Shiv Subramaniyam get less scope, but deliver their bit efficiently. Kumud Mishra is brilliant as a cunning father, who compels one to hate him to the core. Prashant Prakash looks convincing as a drug addict. Gulshan Devaiya, with his excellent comic-timing induces light moments.
Direction : The concept of child molestation and drug abuse seems to have become Anurag Kashyap’s forte. This is his third film in a row post ‘Shaitan’ and ‘Udaan’ which deals with the topic. Anurag handles both the elements quite sensitively without going overboard. In fact, the so-called objectionable acts including the sexual acts performed by Ruth to gratify her customers, out of compulsion have been shot very aesthetically with no room for vulgarity.
Music/ Cinematography/ Dialogues/Editing : The background music is awesome and syncs well with the theme of the story. Cinematography is top-notch like any other Anurag Kashyap movie. Well-written dialogues add sensitivity to the film. Editing could have been tighter.
3 Ups and 3 Downs : Brilliant characterisation and power-packed performances, especially by Kalki, strong music, direction and cinematography are strong points of the flick. Slow moving screenplay and editing are the drawbacks.
On the whole, ‘That Girl in Yellow Boots’ is a brilliant attempt, but it is bound to cater to a niche audience. Surely, a one-time watch.