Ardh is a drama film written and directed by Palash Muchal and stars Rajpal Yadav, Rubina Dilaik, Hiten Tejwani and Kulbhushan Kharbanda, alongside other cast members. The movie has a runtime of 83 minutes.
Zee5 describes the movie as:
Shiva struggles to become a mainstream actor in Mumbai despite being a theatre actor. With the help of his wife Madhu, he disguises himself as a transgender and begs for money to survive.
– Ardh review does not contain spoilers –
Rajpal Yadav’s Ardh is an emotional watch. Following a man who is struggling to make ends meet in a market that’s only asking more out of people, Yadav’s Shiva Kumar does it all to sustain his family while also trying to make something out of his acting career. In the meantime though, he makes his living out of acting like a transwoman at signals and doing odd jobs.
Ardh is funny in parts but is poignant most of the time. Although it’s not the movie that stays with you forever, while it’s on, it has its moments. The movie is about the hundreds of people who come to Mumbai and dare to dream. There is a lot of heart behind Shiva, who is desperate enough to beg on the streets but hopeful enough to go to auditions in between. As Shiva goes through his life and shows us his situations, it becomes clear that the movie is trying to win us over with its emotions rather than its story.
Either way, the movie tries its level best to show the grimmer sides of the show business and life in general. The levels people have to go to in order to live in this complicated world. And it’s true – the working class, those without rich parents and washboard abs, must go that extra mile, and then some, to get into the same playing field as those more fortunate.
However, Ardh takes it up a notch with the cruelty that Shiva experiences just to dare living and dreaming in Mumbai. The movie, instead of taking the narrative forward, shows us the same few things over and over again for most of its runtime. It makes you want Shiva to succeed in life, but it feels very stale after the first few times. Plus, when we do move from one subplot to another, the transition is jarring and feels out of place, like whiplash. Plus, there’s hardly any subtlety for us to ponder over, it’s all very in your face.
Also Read: Rhythm and Flow France Review: Spitting Bars To Win 100,000 Euros
Rajpal Yadav has been in Bollywood for as long as any of us can remember. Thus, his acting chops aren’t something we can really discuss about. And his role in this movie feels almost personal and thus he seamlessly integrates into it. Rubina Dilaik, however, a known face on the small face, feels out of place in her role and looks like she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Her relationship with Shiva is sweet and humbling but apart from the role of a supportive spouse, she doesn’t do much else.
The movie tries to come forward with several real-life situations and circumstances including inflation, lack of jobs, nepotism, theatre vs mainstream films, covid and literally so much else. At 83 minutes, it’s a bit much to handle and thus the movie doesn’t even try to go too deep into anything. That’s ok too – Ardh isn’t a movie that’s trying to make a statement about all of these things. It just wants to talk about a mango person’s life who dares to dream and it does that job well enough.
Summing up: Ardh
In the end, this is a movie about Shiva, his dreams, hopes and aspirations. It simply tries to tell the tale of those who aren’t ripped and living in huge mansions with 10 cars. And as a simple movie, it does that well and manages to capture its audience with its simplicity. In the end, you might just catch yourself with a heavy heart.
Ardh is streaming on Zee5.
Also Read: Change Days Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Some Sizzling, Awkward and Sad Drama!