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Ankahi Kahaniya Review: This Abhishek, Ashwiny & Saket directed tales are not so ‘ankahi’ but unique
The anthology has been directed by Abhishek Chaubey, Saket Chaudhary and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.
Movie: Ankahi Kahaniya
Ankahi Kahaniya Directors: Abhishek Chaubey, Saket Chaudhary, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Ankahi Kahaniya Cast: Kunal Kapoor, Zoya Hussain, Nikhil Dwivedi, Palomi, Abhishek Banerjee, Rinku Rajguru, Delzad Hiwale
Ankahi Kahaniya Movie Stars: 3/5
Anthology is the new in thing in Bollywood, and rightfully so as the short story format is enabling filmmakers to experiment with brief, yet interesting and probably more relatable content, they are engaging, and sometimes even break the monotony of long form narratives. However, I believe when short stories are combined for a miscellany it’s choronogy and arrangement is also extremely important. Which is why I am going to start with my most favourite from the lot - the Abhishek Chaubey directed Rinku Rajguru and Delzad Hiwale starrer, which is based on the Kannada story ‘Madhyantara’.
It largely revolves around two young individuals - Manjari (Rajguru) and Nandu (Hiwale), who find hope, strength and companionship in each other amidst their tedious lives, with a single screen theatre as the backdrop. It’s the most real film amongst all the three shorts, with Chaubey hitting the right notes at the most appropriate junctures. I call it real because it's not exactly how you would expect it to end, and that’s probably what life is all about. The film also makes subtle comments on patriarchy, daily struggles of a woman, expectations and hopelessness, thus making it a layered narrative. 
Hussain Haidry and Chaubey’s screenplay is spot on, while dialogues penned by the duo are to the point. The sense of being lost and then finding yourself is beautifully presented by Rinku and Delzad. I would have probably started the anthology with this beautiful tale.
Moving on to Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain and Nitesh Tiwari penned story. This one is probably the sharpest anecdote that I have seen about being companionless in the maximum city. Headlined by Abhishek Banerjee, he plays a lonely salesman working in a garment store, who finds a friend in the most unexpected place - a mannequin. Pradeep (played by Banerjee) shares all his feelings with her, only to be caught red handed by his colleague and boss a few days later, which gets him fired shortly after. But that’s not all as this innocence of the protagonist and the subsequent punishment takes him on a better road.
Besides Banerjee’s heartfelt performance, what strikes the most about this short is the underlying humour in the narrative, which makes the overall viewing experience quite pleasant. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s direction shines throughout, while the casting of the mannequin was bang on.
The last one is Saket Chaudhary’s Kunal Kapoor, Zoya Hussain, Nikhil Dwivedi and Palomi starrer. This kind of left me confused and conflicted, not so much about the story, but about the characters. I believe in the process of accommodating them in the story, Zoya and Kunal’s characters became the most unrelatable. In the short, the duo collaborate to understand how their respective partners got into an affair with each other, and what could be the possible reason behind them initiating that relationship. The lengths at which Zoya’s character is willing to go to unravel the truth and save her failing marriage seems far-fetched, and the only possible explanation given for her behaviour in the film is the broken marriage of her own parents.
Needless to say because of the loose narrative, the actors also seemed a bit lost for direction throughout. There was definitely scope here, but the writing had a domino effect on the entire presentation.
Lastly, the Ankahi Kahaniya are not entirely ‘ankahi’ but definitely unique and acute.
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