Ankahi Kahaniya review: This anthology features three interesting tales but still comes up short

Netflix India seems to believe a lot in anthologies. They have come up with quite a few since last year. Ankahi Kahaniya is their latest, an amalgamation of three long short films. The subjects of all three films, which are unnamed, are different, with the only common thread being an unexpected meeting and its consequences.

The first one, directed by Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, revolves around a salesman in a garment shop, Pradeep (Abhishek Banerjee). He is a migrant who lives a mundane life without any change or joy. People around him are falling in love, but he is out of luck in this department.

His boss (Jay Upadhyaay) once asks him to bring a female mannequin from a dealer. As soon as Pradeep lifts the mannequin, his heart skips a beat because he hasn’t had any intimate experience with a woman before. With passing time, the mannequin becomes as precious to him as a loved one. But how long can such an ‘affair’ last?

As seen in his previous work, Banerjee dedicates himself totally while going through this crazy idea of a man in love with a mannequin. But the film fails to rise any higher simply because it’s difficult to believe that a man can be so obsessed with a mannequin that he travels with it around the city and romances it on a beach without anyone raising an alarm. Plus, Pradeep does not seem to have any psychological condition that would make him behave in this strange manner.

The next is a film by Abhishek Chaubey which takes you back to the 1990s, to a world where there were only single-screen cinemas and tickets were manually stamped and written. Manjari (Rinku Rajguru) lives in a chawl in Mumbai and hates her family comprising her mother (Chhaya Kadam), father and brother.

Meanwhile, Nandu (Delzad Hiwale) lives a dull life, working in a theatre where he carries out a variety of odd jobs. A strange, unspoken connection develops between him and Manjari when she starts visiting the theatre regularly with her friend Sujata (Nupur Karmakar) to watch different Marathi movies.

This is an atmospheric film that instantly transports you to the bygone era through its production design and milieu and by keeping things simple. The scenes at the single-screen theatre and its workings stand out. Rajguru strikes a balance between being tough and gentle without any problem. Hiwale is perfect in the role of the shy youngster.

The bilingual Marathi-Hindi film has an unhurried narrative and sucks you into the simple, unglamorous world of Manjari and Nandu. There comes a point where it seems the story will go the Sairat (2016) way (Rajguru’s celebrated Marathi debut film), but it throws in a twist in the end, which, despite being unpredictable, is not quite satisfying. In other words, the climax doesn’t live up to the build-up.

Helmed by Saket Chaudhary, the third and final movie is set in a very different, posh world; a complete contrast to the first two. Tanu Mathur (Zoya Hussain) is glad to receive a necklace from her rich husband Arjun (Nikhil Dwivedi) as a gift. But she soon realizes that he has bought two necklaces. The other is meant for Natasha (Palomi), a married woman with whom he is carrying on an affair.

Tanu somehow contacts Natasha’s husband Manav (Kunal Kapoor) and meets him. While Manav is pissed off with his wife for having an affair, Tanu is eager to introspect about her, and Manav’s, marriage. A strange bond forms between them.

The basic plot is strikingly similar to that of Pravesh Bhardwaj’s Hindi feature film Mr Singh Mrs Mehta (2010). If you ignore that point, the film has an interesting tale and its build-up is smooth and natural. As a viewer, the movie puts you in a dilemma whether to judge Arjun and Natasha for having an extra-marital affair and support Tanu and Manav’s unusual relationship.

The natural performances of all four — Zoya, Dwivedi, Kapoor and Palomi — also play a major role in keeping you interested in their story. However, like the previous story, the denouement of this one is also not entirely satisfying. In fact, after that exciting build-up, the end is positively tame and simplistic.

All three segments in Ankahi Kahaniya have been shot and presented well and the performances are fantastic. Yet, somehow, all fail to sparkle when it matters.

Ankahi Kahaniya is now available on Netflix.