Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga: A told story that is rich in atmospherics

Set in the small town of Moga, Punjab, it’s the familiarity of the milieu that first draws you into writer Shelly Chopra Dhar’s first undertaking as a director. Papdi chaat and hot jalebis being made at a haldi ceremony in someone’s courtyard, in the soft warmth of the winter sun, is a scene to make all native Hindi speakers feel at home. And that’s a feeling that Dhar manages to infuse through the length of her two-hour film.

Treated as a light-hearted romantic drama, the film revolves around a family’s desire to get their daughter married. Dhar dives right into the often uncomfortable subject even as Punjabi pop play in the backdrop. As everyone agrees, what better place to find a groom than a wedding? Only, the prospective bride shies away from her family’s unsubtle ways of finding her a man.

Sonam Kapoor plays Sweety, a quiet young woman who dances wholeheartedly at weddings but droops at any mention of her own — in love with a woman, she finds comfort in her diary and drawings. Anil Kapoor plays Balbir Choudhury, Sweety’s good-humoured father who’d rather be a chef than the successful, party-throwing businessman that he is. (Choudhury is the “Mukesh Ambani of Moga”, a character tells us.)

Rajkummar Rao plays Sahil Mirza, a writer struggling in the shadow of his film producer-father (Kanwaljit Singh). He is also in love with Sweety, a woman he realises he can never truly be with. Juhi Chawla is Chatro, an utterly charming cook who harbours unfulfilled dreams of conquering the world with her “mind-shattering” acting skills.

Others whose acting deserves a special mention include Brijendra Kala, Akshay Oberoi, Regina Cassandra, Madhumalti Kapoor and Seema Pahwa. None of the characters is a mere placeholder; all remind you of someone you’ve crossed paths with.

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh… is a story of relationships. And in all of these relationships, acceptance (or the lack of it) plays a major part in moving the plot along. Though the central plot revolves around the weighty secret that Sweety harbours and how that might affect her equation with her father, the film highlights the many different forms love can take. This could be as varied as Sweety’s love for another woman, or the support Sahil’s parents show him, or the misguided sense of duty of Sweety’s hot-headed brother, or even the budding love of more mature people (we are rooting for Balbir and Chatro here.)

The film is not without flaws, but a good eye for direction and casting takes it where it needs to go. Notable also is the complete departure from stereotypes that mainstream cinema often imposes on queer characters.

Overall, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh… is a sensitively told story that is rich in atmospherics. And even though Sweety’s fragileness and strength seem just a bit out of reach for Sonam Kapoor, the cast comes together to do justice to a tale that stands on the shoulders of queer love. And not in New York or London or Mumbai, but in small-town Moga.

The film is noteworthy for more than just being a mainstream Bollywood movie on same-sex love, or for being the first to have the father-daughter Kapoor duo together, or for Dhar’s directorial debut (or her cameo). Latest posters of the film have dropped Rajkumar Hirani’s name: he was previously listed as co-producer alongside Vidhu Vinod Chopra. (Hirani’s name cropped up last year with respect to sexual harassment during the #MeToo movement.)

But controversies aside, if Dhar’s entry into films is anything to go by, expect her to strengthen the trickling stream of directors who are vying to bring progressiveness to Hindi cinema. To borrow Sahil’s line from the movie, iss kahani ko dimag se nahi, dil se dekhiye. Follow the story with your heart, not with your intellect.