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The Sky Is Pink Review: A Messy Tear-jerker Kept Steady By Priyanka Chopra And Farhan Akhtar



The topic of the day is death. We know how humbling, educational and painful it can be. All of us have experienced death in one form or another. Some might have been in a dangerous accident and emerged out of it alive due to pure luck or the blessings of the doctors who operated on them. Some might have witnessed the gradual deterioration of a loved one and understood the inevitable nature of death. And some of you are probably dead and reading thi—no wait, that can’t happen because that would be downright scary and unnatural.

Did you notice the absolute tonal shift in the paragraph up there? How it went from serious to absurdist? Yeah, that’s basically what happens throughout the run-time of The Sky Is Pink. So, buckle up before walking into this movie.

Now, The Sky Is Pink is based on the real lives of Aisha Chaudhary, her father Niren Chaudhary, her mother Aditi Chaudhary, and her brother Ishan Chaudhary. But, going forward, please keep in mind that this is a review of the movie based on their lives that stars Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, and Rohit Saraf. And none of it is a critique on what may or may not have happened in the lives of the Chaudharys. The movie is directed and written by Shonali Bose and co-written by Nilesh Maniyar.

How is the writing by Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar?

The Sky Is Pink tries to look like a movie about the life and death of Aisha Chaudhary (Zaira) and a commentary on how we should learn to live despite the inevitability of death. But essentially, it is a typical Bollywood romantic movie about the relationship between Niren and Aditi and how their lives have been thrown into turmoil due to a faulty gene in both of their DNAs. This story is told through the eyes of Aisha, who BTW proudly proclaims that she is dead while providing the narration of the movie, and spans around 25 years. And although all that is fine and good, the gravitational center of The Sky Is Pink is shaken due to its needlessly jumpy storytelling.


What do I mean by ‘jumpy storytelling’? Time jumps. The movie is full to the brim with completely unnecessary time jumps. Sometimes we are in 1987, sometimes we are in 2015, then we are in 1990 and then back in the 1980’s, for no apparent reason. I would’ve given this form of storytelling if it would’ve doubled the impact of the story beats. But it literally did nothing other than cause my brain to align and re-align with what’s happening on-screen. And the fact that it seemed infuriating to a very huge degree is because it could’ve been told linearly. The relationship between Niren and Aditi isn’t as complex as the writers think it is and if it would’ve been told without any flashbacks, I think it would’ve allowed me to settle into the lead characters’ chemistry.

SEE ALSO: The Sky Is Pink Early Review - The Internet Wants You To Prepare For Tears And Laughter

But what about the writing itself? Well, in my opinion, it’s self-contradictory. Bose and Maniyar clearly states through Aisha’s narration that they don’t want the audience to take her condition too seriously. However, the words that any of the characters utter are incredibly existential and at times even cliched. It’s only because of Priyanka Chopra and Farhan’s Akhtar’s solid performances that you won’t question the hollowness in the writing.

How is the acting by Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Rohit Saraf, and Zaira Wasim?

The Sky Is Pink is Priyanka Chopra’s return to Bollywood after a span of about three years and a towering amount of proof that she hasn’t lost a step. Instead she has become even more talented than she ever was before. Yes, her performance in Barfi! is considered by many to be her career-best. But I am sure that opinion of yours will change after you watch this movie. Here she is playing a character over a 25-year-time-period looking after her daughter who is about to die. So, at one point in the movie you’re watching her as a carefree, romantic girl from a Dharma movie and the next minute she is an anxious mom about to burst into tears any moment. The writing doesn’t allow her to have a palpable chemistry with Farhan’s Niren but she will certainly convince you that they have history. My favourite (albeit heart-breaking) bit is when she goes into a complete psychological breakdown and must be taken away from Aisha for both her and her family’s safety.


Coming to Farhan Akhtar, I don’t think this man has ever given a bad performance in his life. Whenever he’s on-screen he is giving it his 100 per cent. He brings a certain level of empathy through his eyes. And every time he in talks a shaky voice to show that he’s bubbling with emotions but isn’t ready to absolutely let go, I can bet all the money in my pocket right now that you’ll be in tears. I mean, I have seen him do it multiple times in various movie, but it works every single time. In addition to that, the way he expresses the lack of strength to handle big emotions at an old age is simple magnificent. My favourite bit of screen-acting from him is when he must convey to Aditi that their daughter has refused to undergo lung transplant without uttering a word, all the while their daughter is sitting right in front of them. It is so crushing that you would want to give your parents a call and tell them you love them.

SEE ALSO: The Sky Is Pink Enters Everyone's Watchlist After The 4-Minute Standing Ovation At TIFF

Between Zaira and Rohit, Zaira does most of the heavy lifting, obviously. A large section of her performance is restricted to just her voice and she does a good enough job with it. The rest is commendable, especially during her sick scenes. But it is nothing memorable and that’s sad because this is likely her last performance. Rohit is made to look cute in almost every other scene. However, when he is told to express some semblance of emotion, he manages stand out while performing opposite industry stars like Priyanka and Farhan.

How is Shonali Bose’s direction?

From what I understand, Bose was going for a dark comedy that’s both light on the senses and yet holds the ability to leave a profound impact on the audience’s heart (FYI if you’re in the mood for something like that, go ahead and watch Me and Earl and the Dying Girl). However, since Bose’s writing was all over the place, so was her direction.


The narration and the background score indicate that the audience is meant to laugh at some of the predicaments the characters are in. But then you see the drab lighting, the shaky camera, the sullen, silent moments and you’re bound to feel that something is off. Just off. The greatest indicator of that is during Aisha’s funeral scene. It comes right after Aisha’s death which is intentionally directed in a way that you will be reaching for the tissues. But the funeral scene itself has an upbeat track to it with Aisha practically saying “are you said that I am dead? Well, boo hoo!”. Now, that would’ve worked if The Sky Is Pink was a movie like that, but it isn’t. So, instead you’ll be left there thinking “what the f*ck am I supposed to feel?!”

SEE ALSO: The Sky Is Pink Trailer - An Equal Parts Heartwrenching and Humorous Love Story of a Family

I feel that the problem is that Bose can direct either of the emotions: sadness and comedy. She has shown that multiple times in movies like Amu, Chittagong, and Margarita with a Straw. But in this case, she missed the mark maybe because she was a little indulgent with every frame of the movie. I think a little restraint on the drama and a little more brashness on the comedy could’ve made The Sky Is Pink one of the best black romantic comedies of the year.

Final verdict

In conclusion I’d like to say is that director Shonali Bose and writer Nilesh Maniyar keeps swinging between outright dramatic and dark comedic tones in The Sky Is Pink. But it's Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar's earnest performances that keeps the movie from crumbling under the weight of its meandering pace. Visually, it doesn’t offer anything that other, better Bollywood movies haven’t offered yet. So, I’d recommend watching it more intimately. Maybe that will allow you to connect with the characters and the heart of the movie.

Cover artwork by Dhawal Bhanushali/Mashable India