Sixteen (2013) (Hindi)

“Sixteen is a tough place to be in.  High School, Hormones, Exams, Bullies.  I don’t want to go through that phase again” – Vikram, author of the Booker Prize nominated book – Sixteen.  Just one of the deep lines from the movie.  So deep that I almost drowned in it (notice the sarcasm).  Coincidentally, one of the few lines of the movie that I agreed with.

The other one being, “Fast food pe pali is generation koh sab kuch fast chahiye.  Yeh rukne ke liye tayyar nahin hai.  Joh samjhdaari in bachchon ko samajhne ke liye chahiye who kisi mall ya dukaan mein nahin milti hai.  Yehi problem hai” (This generation wants things as fast as the food it eats.  The understanding you need to understand them is unfortunately not available in any mall or store).

 

Unfortunately for the movie, these deep insights come in a fake accented voice of Vikram, an author who has returned to India to write his next book.  He picks up a Paying Guest accommodation at a posh South Delhi locality.  His landlady Dipti (Mehak Manwani) stays with her niece Tanisha (Wamiqa Gabbi) who is your average intelligent sixteen year old.

 

Other than being good at studies, the most important things would be boyfriends, sex and partying in that order.  I am not sure when things changed in the country.  I seem to have missed this party completely.  Lets assume that what Raj Purohit is trying to say is indeed true (I don’t mean to be a prude but I hate to think so). I would also like to believe that high school uniform skirts do finish 4 fingers above the knee and not 4 inches.

 

Tanisha, Anu (Izabelle Leite) and Nidhi (Mehak Manwani) form the centre of this attempt towards educating us “people who missed the party” that the average 16 year old in this country has moved miles ahead of where we left it.  While the topic is definitely a solid one, the execution (as always) falls woefully short.

 

The screenplay, script and dialogues are pedestrian at best.  They aim to shock you with gimmicks like cheap digs at classic novels and shallow dialogues like those from the trailer, “You elders are such hypocrites….”.  The performances are also below average even at their best.  The sound editing to hide Izabelle Leite’s complete lack of familiarity with the national language is horrible.  But may no one was watching that as such.

 

Sixteen aims to shock you and shake you to wake up to reality.  It would have helped if the makers had chosen a stronger cast and had focused more on the fundamentals of movie making.  Regretably, they aim to commercialize it with sleaze instead.  The sad state of Indian cinema.  The good part – I think Raj Purohit had the right intent.  4 on 10 I say – which is higher than what I gave to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.  But not worth watching.

 

Watch the trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBaE4E7eNFc