Dukaan

Story: A 25-year-old carefree and brazen woman becomes a surrogate mother but runs away while she’s pregnant. Caught and imprisoned, she fights to have him back after completing her sentence. Does she have legal rights over the child, and will they reunite?

Review: Based on true events, Dukaan explores the commercial world of surrogacy and takes place in Gujarat’s Anand. Writer and director Siddharth-Garima also look at the it from an emotional and ethical standpoint. Jasmine (Monika Panwar) is a firebrand young girl toughened by her father’s physical abuse. When she starts a family with Sumer (Sikandar Kher), an unexpected turn of events makes her resort to commercial surrogacy. However, she forms a bond with the unborn baby. The young woman runs away when she’s hurt by the biological mother, Diya’s (Monali Thakur) dismissal of her maternal desire. The rest of the story is about her fight to get the child back when the biological parents refuse to let her raise him as his aaya (governess).

Siddharth-Garima present an intriguing story that looks at many nuances and complexities of surrogacy. Besides portraying how surrogate mothers monetise their wombs, it also touches upon how biological parents often exploit these moms-to-be. The movie also explores themes of love, sacrifice, and intricate relationships.

The screenplay takes a long time to get to the film’s crux, and the spotlight is on the character (Jasmine) rather than the story itself. The narrative is intermittently engaging and doesn’t foster an emotional connection the way such a sensitive subject demands. The story’s pivotal part is how Jasmine endeavours to make amends for her mistakes and reunite with her son. But the resolution ends up being more lofty, simplistic and rushed.

While Anirban Chatterjee's cinematography creates a stunning and colourful ambiance, music by Siddharth-Garima, Shreyas Puranik, and Divya Kumar brings gravitas to the narrative and the story.

Jasmine has an interesting character arc and remains intrinsically audacious even when she matures emotionally. Monika Panwar pulls this off perfectly. The actress does complete justice to the portrayal and captivates in every scene. Monali Thakur and Soham Majumdar, as the distraught parents for whom surrogacy is the last hope, deliver strong performances, too. Sikandar Kher is good in a short role as a loving and unconventional husband.

Dukaan is an intriguing concept with a strong lead performance, but the execution falters, leaving one wanting more.