The Sky Is Pink: A Celebration Of Life While Also Subverting Our Perception Of Death
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Suresh Saraf
Genre: Drama/Biography
Story: Narrated in first person and based on the true story of Aisha Chaudhary (1996–2015), who was born with severe combined immunodeficiency disease, while also focusing on her parents Aditi and Narin Chaudhary’s love story.
Review: Before reading this review, you may be thinking, “This film was released in 2019, so why review it now?” Well, due to time constraints that year, I held off watching this film, even though it piqued my interest when its first trailer was released. Now with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, life is not the same as it used to be. We still try to involve ourselves in different activities while also focusing on college or school, but the uncertainty and the fear of death this unprecedented situation has brought upon us, has overpowered what we used to love about life, despite the ups and downs we face. Taking advantage of quarantine, I watched this movie, and it made me think about life and death. How? Read on.
In most of the films and TV shows I’ve watched, whenever a character dies, the setting of the scene is always melancholic, grim and mournful. It’s how we have thought about death in the first place since it always hurts us when our loved ones pass away. But, in this film, I saw another interpretation of death, and that is, looking at it in the same way as life. In a way, the film subverts our expectations by showing how the death of a loved one is shown. You must be wondering, how? Watch this film first.
[SPOILER] The opening scene of the film, accompanied by the narration of the charismatic and talented teen actor Zaira Wasim, (she retired from acting in 2019, making this film her last appearance), tells you that the parents Aditi (Priyanka) and Narin (Farhan) are mourning the loss of their daughter Aisha. It deeply affects Aditi/Moose (Aisha uses this nickname for her mother) since she spent her entire life raising her daughter, who was born with severe combined immunodeficiency disease and later on, pulmonary fibrosis (a side effect of the stem cell treatment). Now she’s completely lost, having no idea what to do. As a consequence of their daughter’s death, they fight a lot.
Throughout the film, as a film lover, I couldn’t help myself, but watch and observe the personal touches in each scene whenever the whole family appeared in one frame. By personal touches, I meant that you do get this feeling that someone who has dealt with the loss of a loved one, has directed this film the way she has experienced it. It’s the same case with the acting as well.
After basking in the success of her previous film Margarita With A Straw (2014), which dealt with disability and sexuality of the lead character Laila sensitively, director Shonali Bose, through The Sky Is Pink, sensitively looks at the relationship of parents when their child passes away. Death, as scary as it feels, sounds and lurks around like a dark cloud about to burst at any moment, making you think of life differently. You cherish the memories, but you also ensure that no regret or sorrow is looming over you. The flashbacks and the present scenes are well-shot. The back-and-forth nature of these scenes keeps you engaged because they capture the contrasting atmosphere [SPOILER] before and after Aisha beautifully.
The main cast, i.e. the Chaudhary family in the film (Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim and Rohit Suresh Saraf) play their roles to a tee. It’s like you are actually seeing the family’s whole story, instead of actors enacting their real-life counterparts. Credit goes to the scriptwriters Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar. Special mention to Juhi Chaturvedi for the memorable dialogues like “Tumhare sky ka colour koi aur nahi decide kar sakta” (No one can decide the colour of your sky). This film is a must-watch (and a cathartic one) for those who are affected by the uncertainty of the current situation and are grieving/have grieved for their loved ones.
