“Kaalidhar Laapata” Review: A Quiet Film That Finds Its Way Into Your Heart
Abhishek Bachchan strips away stardom in this soft-spoken OTT release, with child actor Daivik Baghela quietly stealing the show.
There’s something about Kaalidhar Laapata that doesn’t try to impress you. It just sort of… appears. Like a man on a bench you didn’t notice until he shifted in the sunlight.
The film, now on OTT, has Abhishek Bachchan playing a man who’s misplaced his past. Not just forgotten it—misplaced it, like an old coat you swore was in the closet. And he plays it quietly. No grand declarations, no hero’s walk. Just a man trying to figure out how he got here. Maybe a little too quietly, honestly. He’s good—but sometimes it feels like the role needs someone older. Rougher around the edges.
But there’s warmth. A real tenderness in how he holds himself around the boy—Daivik Baghela, who, frankly, might be the soul of the whole thing. He doesn’t act like a child actor. He just… listens. Moves. Gives space for the scene to breathe. Critics keep circling back to him. And they should. The kid’s not trying to be cute or clever—he’s just real. That’s rare.
And then there’s the pace. Let’s not pretend it’s not slow. It is. The kind of slow where you start checking how much time’s left, even though you’re not ready to leave the story. Deccan Herald called it “sleepy”—I wouldn’t argue. But sleepy isn’t always bad. Sometimes the best conversations happen just before a nap.
On Twitter, people are softer. They call it moving, emotional, “a gentle kind of cinema.” There’s this post where someone wrote, “It felt like my grandfather’s sweater. Worn out but comforting.” That landed. That’s exactly it. It’s not trying to blow your mind—it just wants to sit with you awhile.
The story itself is simple: memory, regret, rediscovery. Nothing revolutionary, but maybe that’s the point. We’ve been so trained to expect twists and explosions that we forget stories like this—ones about being lost and being found—are the real ones.
And credit to director Madhumita Sundararaman. She clearly knows what she’s aiming for. This is a soft-spoken film. Not weak, just quiet. You either lean in, or you miss it.
Now, it’s not without its stumbles. Some scenes stretch too thin. Dialogue dips into melodrama here and there. There’s a moment with biryani that should break your heart but ends up just reminding you you’re hungry. But those aren’t dealbreakers. They’re just smudges. And sometimes smudges make the picture feel more honest.
So no, Kaalidhar Laapata isn’t slick. It’s not trying to be. It’s a worn-out sweater kind of film. Maybe a little stretched at the cuffs. Maybe not your style. But if you let it—if you stop scrolling and actually sit with it—it might just wrap around you and feel like something close to home.
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Zayn blends critical thinking with genuine fandom. Whether it’s decoding OTT series arcs or rating the latest Bollywood blockbuster, he writes with clarity, pop fluency, and a dash of irreverence.
