Piku

Piku juggles her life as a successful architect and caring for her 70-year old hypochondriac father. When they take a road trip from Delhi to Calcutta, the owner of the local cab company has no choice but to drive them personally since none of his drivers are willing to endure Piku or her eccentric father. This crazy road trip reveals much more than a cure for the father's obsessive search for a good "motion" in the bathroom.

I wasn't sure about this one but the universal rave reviews made us give it a try. And they were right. Practically perfect in every way, this movie must have resonated deeply with Indian audiences whose cultural reverence for their elders must often put them in such fixes as we see Piku struggling with. Heck, it resonated with us, even though we probably didn't understand all the nuances of the family interactions.

Excellent acting all round, especially from Irrfan as the taxi driver who does more with a silence or simple glance than most actors do with their whole body. I was afraid Amitabh Bachchan would pull a Jack Nicholson and just play a broad version of himself. But no worries. He is simply fantastic as the elderly father obsessed with a particular aspect of his health. The way the big Indian family is portrayed is also pitch perfect to anyone who's ever been part of one.

No song and dance numbers because, really, how can you build a good number around constipation?

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)