Yellow, directed by Mahesh Limaye, came out last week. After watching the film, I had an epiphany about two things.
One, that Marathi cinema is on a roll with a peachy streak of films(see Fandry). And two, in India we make a flummoxing number of films with disabled characters.
With the increasing number of such films, filmmakers are trying to approach them with calculated nuances and fresh fervor. Yellow is one such example, which cuts the tirades and manipulations, just tells a story instead, taking good care of the mainstream space it wants to dive in.
Yellow is the real story of Gauri Gadgil. For this 16-year-old suffering from down’s syndrome, swimming helps her transform her personality. Not just that, it also brings a ray of hope in her life. In 2007, she bagged a silver medal in the 25-metre butterfly stroke at the Special Olympics Summer Games held in Beijing, China. The best part about the film is that Gauri herself plays the role in the film.
While many parts of her journey are retained in the film, some others have been fictionalized to provide a surefire blend in YellowYellow is a movie in a mainstream space.and it does quite well to provide an expecting audience the custom tropes of this kind of cinema, without getting sappy and unctuous. It may not be a perfect film, but it is a must watch for an adorable lead performance and an inspiring true story that must be told. It pulls the right strings in your hearts and pioneers the soaring flag of Marathi cinema. Go feel happy!