Ardh Movie Review: Rajpal Yadav, Rubina Dilaik's film mirrors the reality of the City of Dreams

Ardh, starring Rajpal Yadav, Rubina Dilaik and Hiten Tejwani began streaming on Zee5 from June 10. The film narrates a realistic story of a man who comes to Mumbai to become an actor.

Numerous film buffs come to Mumbai with the same dream - to become an actor. No wonder it's called the City of Dreams. But, not everyone gets to fulfil their wishes. Yet, they are constantly at it, passionately following their dreams to see themselves on the silver screen. Ardh also tells one such story of a man, Shiva, played by Rajpal Yadav, who migrated to Mumbai to become an actor. The film marks the Bollywood debut of TV star Rubina Dilaik, who plays Madhu, Shiva's wife.

Ardh premiered on Zee5 on June 10. Written and directed by Palaash Muchhal, the film is an ode to people who come to Mumbai with dreams of becoming an actor. Rajpal Yadav's Shiva, is a theatre actor, who has been trying to get a break in films, but has to feel content with small blink-and-you-miss-it roles. He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Madhu (Rubina), and son. To make ends meet, Shiva turns to Parvati, a transgender person, so that he can ask for alms at the traffic signal. In between, he often vanishes to appear for auditions where he gets rejected as 'not fit'. And, Ardh shows Shiva striving to fulfil his dreams - to get that one breakthrough role, which might change his life forever.

The film mirrors the reality of the City of Dreams where Shiva wants to follow his passion and also look after his family. He doesn't have the height or 'looks' to become a star, but he has the skills. He is a good actor with 10 years of theatre experience. But, as you know, showbiz can be quite cruel. And acting skills are often the last thing one needs to become an actor. Apart from being Parvati, Shiva does odd jobs like working at a grocery store, doing manual labour at construction sites and washing dishes at eateries, to provide for his family. His struggles might be endless but he can share his pain with his supporting wife and friend, Satya, played by Hiten Tejwani. These are the only two people who know about the secret of Parvati.

Veteran actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda has a cameo in the film. His entry gives a ray of hope to Rajpal's Shiva, but there is a twist in the tale.

Here's the trailer of Ardh:

It was good to see that a film did not make fun of transgender people and gave a realistic portrayal. However, director Palaash Muchhal could have highlighted the plight of the transgender community through the film.