Netflix’s Tribhanga Review: Womanhood and Strength

Tribhanga – Tedhi Medhi Crazy premiered on 15th January 2021 on Netflix. Directed by Renuka Shahane, the film stars Kajol, Mithila Palkar, Tanvi Azmi, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, and Kanwaljit Singh alongside other cast members. The title of the film is derived from an Indian classical dance pose from Odissi, which is described as imperfect but beautiful.

Abhanga, Samabhanga, Tribhanga

Tribhanga weaves the story of relationships across 3 generations within families and keeps its focus primarily on the fragile yet strong mother-daughter bond that is also generational. As the movie starts we meet Anu (Kajol), an actress who also happens to be a flawless and beautiful classical Odissi dancer. Anu is a single mother to her daughter Masha (Mithila Palkar), who is married in a conservative household and currently bearing a child and lastly, we meet Nayantara Apte aka Nayan, an established writer, and Anu’s mother who is widely blamed for Anu’s bad/sad childhood and is hated by Anu and her own son Robindro.

Anu is so resentful towards Nayantara that she even stops calling her aai (mother) and rather addresses her as Nayan. As the story unfolds we follow the journey of Nayan, Anu, and Masha as we majorly delve deeper into the hate developed by Anu towards Nayan seeing through all the valid and invalid reasons from both perspectives and not just from an emotional ‘mother-daughter’ angle.

Tribhanga is a woman telling a woman’s story and to a large extent, it justifies its subject matter and does not bring only the sentimental side of a story as a ray of sunshine but rather tries to bring humane feelings and contemplations, all the while focusing on women and bringing to light their traumas.

But again, the film lowkey fails at bringing its message to the viewers in a clearer manner. We see the craving for a stable family the grief after the loss of one and more but with well-thought characters and narrative, the film falls short in its execution as you don’t get to see how their interpersonal traumas shape these women into the people they are today.

Admittedly, Kajol’s character could have been sculpted in a better way as she has suffered from a lot of things on both personal and professional fronts but rather we see her bashing unnecessary abuses (necessary OTT element?) at Milan Upadhyay (Kunaal Roy Kapur) who is writing Nayan’s autobiography and links sequences and this is the only reason one might lose her at various points.

Other than that, Tribhanga focuses on the 3 major characters here to such extent that the other elements of the tapestry feel faded and dull which would have worked in favour of the film only if the screenplay did not feel semi-bland at points. The entirety of the idea of exploring into the realms of mother-daughter relationship which spans across 3 generations and where not only the experience of being a mother but a daughter is also lived.

The film misses the chance to talk about loss, grief, trauma, and loneliness in a better and louder manner. Forgiveness does not come easy and that being the major point here is underdeveloped with actors who shine through the screen and a story with the potential of being something amazingly beautiful.

Stream It or Skip It

STREAM IT! Despite its flaws Tribhanga is a film one must see as you get a chance to enter the world of womanhood through the eyes of a woman told by women themselves. A little more detail would have rounded off the film in the perfect manner and it’s ok if Shahane as a director doesn’t come off as flawless in the second attempt, it is still beautiful. Shahane humanizes women and lets them be in her film and does not glorify them to a point of perfection but rather shows them as real and flawed people, appreciated.

Tribhanga – Tedhi Medhi Crazy is now streaming on Netflix.

Read our other reviews here.