Choked review: A smart take on demonetization

Madhukar Bhat, Jun 7, 2020, 12:37 PM IST

Set in the backdrop of Indian banknote demonetization in 2016, ‘Choked – Paisa Bolta Hai’ is a movie directed and co-produced by Anurag Kashyap and written by Nihit Bhave.

The film revolves around Sarita Pillai (Saiyami Kher), a middle-class bank employee who lives with her family along with her husband Sushant Pillai (Roshan Mathew), a struggling, unemployed trying to re-pay his debts. The lone bread earner in the family, Sarita finds out the house that they live in is filled with bundles of cash in clear polythene deep down the kitchen sink, she tries to make the most of it by spending it in every way possible. As Prime Minister Modi announces, demonetization, the world that she dreamt of topples. How will Sarita handle the situation being a bank employee and what will she do to the money that she has at home? One has to watch the movie.

The makers tried to show the exact reaction of people on demonetization. On one side there are people who had arranged money for marriage that is supposed to happen in a while are baffled to hear this, on the other hand, there are people who are happy that demonetization will bring out the corrupt ones and black money hidden inside the houses.

Anurag Kashyap’s’ Choked takes on many concepts of India we live in. The screenplay is sharply written in which, many dialogues, sequences act as a critique of demonetization by the government.

The cinematography by Sylverster Fonsenca is fascinating as it covers the four-floored building they live in, their house, and especially scenes of the kitchen sink which has money.

The background music by Karsh Kale is one of the important parts of the film as it keeps the story and movie engaging. The abrupt song which comes after the demonetization which shows the footage of long queues of 2016 is something that was unexpected but entertaining. The background music with Indian percussions and drumrolls moves smoothly with the screenplay.

Two characters in this movie stand out and stunning. In his first Hindi Language film, Roshan Mathew as a carefree man is brilliant, while, Saiyami Kher as a hard-working woman struggling to manage her family stands out throughout the film. The movie has many characters and every character along with cameo performances adds value to the film.

Choked revolves around greed, money, corrupt politicians, financial system, and demonetization of 2016 bringing out the corrupt people and confused citizens.

This is not a typical Anurag Kashyap film which involves dark thrill, crime and suspense but this is rather a cinema that revolves around middle-class families and how they treat money in their lives. You can stream this on Netflix.