‘Beanie and Family’ Movie Review: Anjini Dhawan and Pankaj Kapoor bridge the generation gap in this heartwarming family drama

A still from ‘Beanie and Family’

We often hear the declaration ‘I’m not a kid anymore’ or ‘I want my space’ around us, but rarely take teenage angst seriously. Similarly, in order to enhance our surroundings, we often start taking the roots that nurture us as old. Every few years, a Bollywood story reminds us of the dangers of widening the generation gap. This week it’s director Sanjay Tripathi’s turn to retool the template for a new audience with the story of an immigrant family in London. An assured debutante and with a competent supporting cast to enrich the mood, Tripathi weaves a series of heartwarming moments into a storyline that is relatable, familiar dialogue that feels honest, and performances that aren’t pretentious.

With roots in Bettia, Bihar, Binni (Anjini Dhawan) and her upper-middle-class Singh family move to London via Pune. In late adulthood, Binny struggles to strike a balance between school curriculum and her extracurricular goals. Her father Vinay (Rajesh Kumar) and mother Radhika (Charu Shankar) are educated professionals who give her the freedom to explore the song of life until it is completely alienated from their culture. But then, they discover that culture is not something cast in stone. When her retired grandparents (Pankaj Kapoor and Himani Shibpuri) come to live with them, the family has to create an image that fits their value system. If Vinay wants to turn his bar into a bookshelf, Binny needs to drop the F-word from his rap songs.

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This seemingly light-hearted struggle to adjust snowballs into conflict when a health scare hits the family. It opens a thread of conversation between a grieving grandfather and a guilt-ridden grandson. Slowly, as the plot builds to a dull ache, wondering if someone had been a little more accommodating… the eyes start to get better.

Tripathi has written and directed some popular TV serials club 60, A film about five retired men finding a new purpose in life. He understands the place and sharpens his storytelling skills to create the vibe of a family’s bus-in experience as the film seamlessly weaves the multiple lives and immigrants living and talking. Without making it sound like a lesson, the film reminds us that a simple sense of honor doesn’t mean import Lihaz For the values ​​we have that the ancients hold. It first debunks the false accent of modernity that comes from technology and lifestyle consumption and then tells us that embracing change is not such a bad thing. Tripathi is not interested in scripting scheming villains within or outside the family; He allowed the game to spoil the situation.

A still from ‘Beanie and Family’

Anjini from Dhawan’s home started confidently. Her screen presence and demeanor make even the poorly written school parts and Binny’s tussles in romance worth watching. There is no false note in his tune with the seasoned Kapoor.

Meanwhile, the veteran actor makes an entry with a office office A sequence of sorts and gradually transforms from a self-sufficient pensioner who denies the change in his conservative mindset to a village-worthy grandfather that reflects every turn of the character’s emotional makeup through his body language. Rajesh Kumar’s talent is finally being used, and he once again delivers an underwhelming performance as the father is conflicted between his family and parental interests.

The school part is still undercooked, Binny’s attempt to use theater to express himself is alarmingly predictable, and towards the end, the film descends into lecture mode. Still, it’s a decent family watch if you keep expectations in check.

Beanie and Family is currently playing in theaters