By our reporter
TORONTO: Nandita Das’s Zwigato, which stars comedian Kapil Sharma in the lead role, premiered at the on-going Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) here today as the director and her cast were given a red-carpet welcome.
The film puts the spotlight on the lives of the common people in the emerging socio-economic reality in a digital India where hire-and-fire is fast becoming the norm.
Highlighting the role of the oncoming gig economy, the film – set in Bhubaneswar – revolves around factory manager Manas (played by Kapil Sharma) who loses his job with the onset of COVID.
To support his family of five, including his wife Pratima (played by Shahana Goswami), two children and his ageing mother, Manas manages to find the job of a food-delivery boy with the app called Zwigato. Till now content to be a housewife, Pratima too tries to find a job, including that of a masseuse.
As he zooms around the city on his bike with the app’s signature backpack slung around his shoulders, the stress and chaotic nature of his new job begins to take a toll on Manas as he has to be rated by the clients to whom he makes deliveries of food.
This rating system one day gets him locked out of the app, making him jobless.
The high point of the movie is Manas meeting a top female Zwigato executive to get his app restored, their heated argument and his walking out in a huff.
In this fast-paced movie, the camera pans teeming masses, homes of rich upper classes and swanky malls – to highlight the big socioeconomic contrast in society.
Kapil Sharma is a great comedian, but his acting skills in this movie leave a lot to be desired.
Zwigato is Nandita’s third film at TIFF. She was at this festival first in 2008 with her film Firaaq and then in 2018 with Manto.
