Thank You For Coming Review: Shallow and skewed representation of feminism

THANK YOU FOR COMING

Producers- Anil Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor

Director- Karan Boolani

Cast- Anil Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, Shahehnaaz Gill,  Dolly Singh, Kusha Kapila, Karan Kundrra, Sushant Divgikr and Shibani Bedi

Platform of Release- Theatres

Rating: 

By Jyothi Venkatesh

To put it in a nutshell, I should say that director Karan Boolani’s film Thank You for Coming, sets out to follow the protagonist Kanika Kapoor (Bhumi Pednekar), a 32-year-old woman spinster still looking for a man who is able to fulfil her desires in bed. Failing to find one, she curses herself and blames herself as a ‘defective piece.

Thank You for Coming sets out to showcase the modern-day issue in an extremely bold manner and also inspires women to live a life on her own terms and conditions. The film also highlights the fact that 70 per cent of women have never experienced an orgasm, while 90 per cent of men don’t know the proper process to do it.

While the discussion of raw and unbridled sex and women’s desires has always been considered extremely taboo in the society today, in recent times many ventures have explored this conversation to put forward its importance. Thank You for Coming is one such film.

Radhika Anand and Prashasti Singh’s story can be termed more than just a sex comedy and sets out to address issues like peer pressure and how women should make peace with not having an orgasm – a subject rarely discussed in our society, even behind closed doors. The movie is also peppered with funny one-liners such as “GST nahin, apni maang bhar,” and Kanika’s promiscuous tendency to fall for older as well as younger guys from “wheelchair to pram.

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While Bhumi Pednekar performs well and is perfectly cast, Kusha Kapila, as one of the mean girls, is able to leave a major impact, albeit in a brief role. It’s a delight to see producer Anil Kapoor as Kanika’s much older lover (and her minus one after their breakup) and someone who loves Gulzarsaab and his poetry.

Shehnaaz Gill performs well as a self-assured young girl who unabashedly admits that a girl should definitely seek out pleasure. Dolly Singh and Shibani Bedi, as Kanika’s bosom pals who are sounding boards and agony aunts, as she goes through multiple relationships in search of the perfect one, are funny and perform well in the emotional scenes.

The men are secondary to the proceedings (Pradhuman Singh as the earnest suitor-in-waiting, and Sushant Divgikr as Rahul-Anjali double-bill, and the best friend’s sweet plus-sized hubby but they all perform exceedingly well in this predominantly women-oriented film.