Darlings- Is This Netflix Hotseller Worth The Hype?

It’s a tale as old as time, told over and over again. So, why is it that Director Jasmeet K made her directorial debut with Darlings on Netflix? Why is it that this movie has taken people by a storm? 

Darlings has everything that you would expect in a Netflix hit; tragedy, humor, death and revenge. It is rare to see a taboo topic like domestic violence being depicted with a certain level of quirkiness. With an excellent script written by Parveez Sheikh, the Darlings cast brings the movie to life.

Darlings Cast:

The movie, released in August of 2022, is directed by creative minds behind the scenes. The producers, Gauri Khan, Alia Bhatt and Gaurav Verma have showcased their expertise tremendously.

Alia bhat, who found her fame in Student Of The Year has proved her worth and established a name for herself in the industry. She is already known for her stellar acting in the many roles she has taken on. 

Other Darlings cast, especially Shefali Shah outshines everyone else. She embodies her character to the fullest and brings a different sort of flavour to the movie. 

Vijay varma does quite well at playing the abusive husband, despite it being his first major role. He still has room for improvement and hopefully gets better as he goes. 

 Furthermore, supporting actors Roshan Mathew, Rajesh Sharma have also put on a great performance. 

Review:

Spoiler Alert: This review has some spoilers, so read at your own discretion.

When the movie starts, you immediately think, Here we go again.  A typical story of love turned to hate and abuse. A tragic tale of a self-destructive abuser who takes his frustrations out on his helpless wife. However, this movie doesn’t go in the direction we assume.  When the roles switch, the events unfold in unfamiliar waters.

The beginning of the movie shows the honeymoon phase of two love birds, Badru and Hamza.  Badru is an outgoing girl with big dreams while Hamza is everything you would want in a good partner. Then, a quick transition takes us from bright scenes to dimly lit rooms that scream of unease.

3 years later, the couple’s dynamics have completely changed as we see a glimpse into their toxic lives. Hamza, being the man of the house, is unsatisfied with his miserable life and job. So, he comes home and asserts his dominance by beating his wife. A cycle of violence ensues with Hamza abusing Badru, apologizing and then blaming it on the alcohol.

Despite the constant violence, Badrunnissa Shaikh, like most abuse victims, forgives her husband and suffers in silence. It seems as if Badru has accepted her ill- fated life, hoping that her husband will change. She loves Hamza too much and depite her mother Shamshunissa’s insistence on leaving him, she cannot do so.

The film tries to explore the topic of domestic abuse very casually. It is known that with most abusers, there is something that fuels them to commit violence. In Hamza’s case, alcohol is used to justify his actions. One moment, he is loving and affectionate with his wife and in the next, he reveals his true colors.

It is interesting that the movie also touches on abuse against men. A Darlings review that really stood out to me was that men can also be victims of domestic violence. However, violence on Hamza is taken lightly as compared to that on Badru. Perhaps, because of the idea that one doesn’t become an abuser when they stand against the oppressor or perhaps abuse against men is taken lightly in general.

I think the film does a superb job at representing the complexity of abusers. Most movies only show abusers in their darkest moments. However, multi-layered people like Hamza can sometimes be loving husbands and passive workers by day, and violent aggressors by night. This kind of representation captures the true reality of domestic violence, instead of presenting stereotypical characters with bad intentions.

Conclusion:

It is fair to say that Darlings reviews are quite diverse. Some are applauding it for its unique take on domestic violence while some deeming it as a violation of men’s rights. Some say that it perpetuates the idea that Muslims are dangerous and abusive.

The one thing that I would point is that Darlings leaves us with an incomplete understanding of domestic abuse in a broader sense. For this reason, I would say that it is not the best portrayal of domestic violence. Despite that, it is worth watching as it is unique in its own way and a good start to an issue that needs more media space.

Darlings on Netflix is trending in the top 10 list in Pakistan.