CLAUSTROPHOBIC CONFINES OF THE COVID PANDEMIC AND COMEDIC DRAMA

It is oft said that ‘variety is the spice of life’!

Surely true, that…except when the variety pertains to marital affairs and matrimonial matters!

“ಇಕ್ಕಟ್” (‘Ikkat, which translates to: ‘Crisis’ and also ‘Dilemma’), is a 2021 Kannada language film, written, directed and edited by Haseen and Esham Khan.

The sweet, situation comedy, rib-tickling if I may add, features the lives of a young, middle-class couple during the COVID-lockdown. Vasu (Nagabhushana) and his wife, Janvi (Bhoomi Shetty) constantly squabbles over trivialities.

One such spat gets the couple to even contemplate divorce. Dude Maga (RJ Vikki), Janvi’s TikTok buddy lands up unannounced and suggests elopement. Janvi flatly rejects the proposition; however, she allows Dude Maga to stay on surreptitiously without Vasu’s knowledge.

In the meantime, Vasu’s relative, Karna Uncle (Sundar Veena) too shows up uninvited. That prepares the perfect recipe for some hilarious moments entailing exorcism of imaginary ghosts, suspicions of adultery, quarantine of Karna Uncle and what have you!

But, at the end of it all, do Vasu and Janvi reconcile…or, do they part ways? That’s the rest of the chucklesome drama that plays out on the silver screen!

There is nothing fanciful about the directorial style of the Khans; the dramatization is frugal and minimalistic. Despite the dragging a tad at places, the screenplay is refreshingly nice, yet fast paced.   

Technically the movie is unpretentious; the musical score of Dossmode too is plain vanilla. But all that is more than made up by the performances of the cast; in particular, Sundar Veena, as the pompous, overbearing and idiosyncratic relative is impressive.

The movie is a clean watch…that gives decent comic relief. 

I rate this social drama: 7.5 on 10!

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