Meethe Mein Kya Hai Review: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Meethe Mein Kya Hai is a soft, funny, and honest family drama with lovely performances. Some side tracks are underwritten, but the gentle tone makes it easy to like.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Genre: Family Drama
Language: Hindi
Writer and Director: Radhika Bansal | Cast: Ritwik Bhowmik, Rohini Hattangady, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Shivika Rishi, Dalai, Tarana Raja, Abhay Kaul
Most family dramas about a Diwali reunion head straight for a big fight. Meethe Mein Kya Hai does something rarer. It sets up a fight, then quietly walks away to look at the people instead. The film is now streaming on Netflix, and it marks the debut of writer and director Radhika Bansal.
The Rastogi family gathers in their old house in Lucknow for Diwali. A quarrel is brewing from the start because some of them want to sell the ancestral home. You keep waiting for the film to turn into a property fight. It never really does.
Then the youngest daughter, Sana, played by Dalai, drops a surprise. She is already married to a Sikh man named Karam, played by Vikram Bakshi. Some relatives take the news badly, yet the film refuses to make it loud and dramatic.
That calm tone is the best thing about it. Bansal lets small moments do the work. The reveal of Naani’s first name is handled with care, and Rohini Hattangady plays her beautifully. Not every feeling is underlined for you.
When Amrita, played by Ayesha Raza Mishra, tries to run away from her worries, a tiny inconvenience stops her. We never learn exactly why she turns back, but it feels right. Some viewers may want bigger problems to care about. I felt the soft touch was the real charm.
The film also has fun with its characters. Amrita panicking at the thought of becoming the nosy aunty she hates is a joy to watch. Karam, who stays calm for most of the film, has a short outburst when he gets tired of acting out a version of himself that is not really him. Humour and seriousness sit side by side here, and the direction never loses its grip.
Ritwik Bhowmik plays Jai, Amrita’s eldest child, who is dealing with a deep personal loss and wants to disappear into solitude. He slowly finds a new view through small turns in life, including a late-night music jam.
His bond with young Meera, played by Shivika Rishi, the neighbour who stays on as a guest, touches a delicate area. Still, it settles through a gentle talk where listening matters as much as speaking. It is one of the best-written scenes in the film.
The camera moves with quiet confidence too. A twenty-minute party scene drifts from one person to the next, catching the hidden tension under all the glitter. It is funny, sad, and a bit wild and sentimental, all in one go. It makes the house feel truly lived in.
The cast is a big reason it works. Bhowmik brings a fresh feel to his part, Ayesha Raza Mishra handles a tricky role with ease, and Shivika Rishi is impressive.
It is also lovely to see Rohini Hattangady in a role that suits her. She even gets one of the funniest moments, when she shares news of Sana’s wedding like an afterthought.
Not everything works. Naani is shown as someone the whole family fears, then turns out to be one of the most open-minded people in the house. That feels like a needless red herring. The bond between Sana and her mother Amrita could have used more care, and Sana, the reason the story begins, fades away after a point. These are small issues, though.
If you want a taste of what the film promised, our Meethe Mein Kya Hai trailer review covers the Diwali drama, too many relatives included. And if you want something louder afterwards, our Akka review looks at a bloody fight over a gold-soaked throne, while our Nocturne review covers a dark serial killer thriller on Apple TV.
Near the end, Amrita tells Sana that a daughter will always have something to complain about. The film makes you feel that could be something to cherish. Sometimes grumbling and love go hand in hand. Meethe Mein Kya Hai is gentle, honest, and easy to enjoy.
Meethe Mein Kya Hai is now streaming on Netflix.