Based loosely on key moments of Sandeep Kaur’s life that led to her brief notoriety as the Bombshell Bandit and bank robber, Simran is a unique little motion picture. It isn’t perfect, nor is it flawed. Like the bowl of porridge in Little Red Riding Hood’s fairytale, it is ‘just right.’
Simran is an imperfect recipe which, by director Hansal Mehta’s sheer luck (or remarkable shrewdness), feels pleasant and untaxing.
Praful Patel (Kangana Renaut) is a 30-year-old divorced woman who is quite happy with her life. Living with her Gujarati parents (her father being a pain for both her and the audience), Praful has a sensible head on her shoulders. She is a penny-pincher, who has saved enough to get a place of her own. Unlike most single women, she isn’t romantically inclined and lovers, or family-arranged suitors, are the least of her worries. Until, that is, she finds herself in a series of circumstances that lead to debts, loan sharks and bank robbery.
Events in Praful’s life are ludicrous at times. Research on the Bombshell Bandit, however, tells us that true life can turn out be just as unbelievable, silly and quite grim. On any other day (or with any other filmmaker), the adaptation could have been fairly morbid.
Mehta’s tone for Simran is difficult to classify. In one breath, it is a drama, a comedy, and a satire on an NRI’s life (especially Gujarati families). The task of maintaining that mood consistently in a two-hour film is nothing short of miraculous. Mehta and Ranaut ace that aspect with little effort.
This is Ranaut’s third film as the central character after Queen, and I can finally understand why various directors rave about the actress. Ranaut is at that rare place where an actor is aware of their limits, and uses those confines to excel in their roles. She owns the screen in every scene, no matter how absurd the set-up. Like Praful, she doesn’t need a man to help her in this story.
Published in Dawn, ICON, October 1st, 2017