Cast: Vidya Balan, Shefali Shah, Manav Kaul, Rohini Hattangady, Iqbal Khan, Vidharti Bandi, Shrikant Mohan Yadav, Shafeen Patel and Surya Kasibhatla.

Director: Suresh Triveni

BLUF: Maya [Vidya Balan] is a successful,  single parent of a child with Cerebral Palsy. She lives with her stay-at-home mother Rukmini [Rohini Hattangady], their domestic help Ruksana Mohammad [Shefali Shah] and an estrnged father (Manav Kaul) who ocassionally comes to visit them.Then one night Maya’s car runs over a girl. Her life changes when she realizes that the girl was Ruksana’s daughter Aalia.

THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES

Maya is a renowned and formidable TV anchor working at WRD News Network. She is the mother of Ayush (Surya Kashibatla), a differently abled child, who is looked after by her mother (Rohini Hattangady) and the maid Ruksana, who has two children — the teen Alia and the younger Imad.

Maya’s car hits a girl — and she leaves the bleeding victim to her fate on the roadside. Guilt gnaws at her. With frayed nerves, she confides in Amar Malhotra (Iqbal Khan), her boss and love interest, who tells her that she did the right thing as otherwise she would be accused of ‘drunk driving’, which would be detrimental for her image.

A day later, Maya learns that the victim in the hit-and-run case is Ruksana’s daughter Alia. She goes out of her way to help Ruksana and her family, who are still trying to figure out what their daughter was up to, on the streets at that late hour.

Ruksana is overcome by shame, and so is her husband Salim, who works as a spot boy in the film industry. Salim is resigned to fate, but Ruksana is a fighter struggling to survive the ordeal.

What happens when Rukhsana realizes that her daughter was hit by Maya’s car? Will their equation change?

IN THE KNOW

Balan and Shah are brilliant co-actors and when they share the screen space they create a universe that leaves the audiences mesmerized.

Jalsa does become challenging viewing when the police scenes drag a bit and honesty you know that Rukhsana may figure it out yet know her conclusion.

The impressive part about this story telling is that the entire narrative is built to observe and not judge any character or situation which is such a refreshing lens to see.

Suresh Triveni and his team do a fabulous job technically 

Iqbal Khan and Manav Kaul are perfectly cast. So is Surya Kasibhatla, who is actually differently abled.

Vidhatri Bandi as Rohini, who is wide eyed and bushy tailed . fresh from Kerela, ambitious and eager to make her presence felt; stands on her own with the seasoned actors around her.

The direction, the story and screenplay by Prajwal Chandrashekar and Triveni himself with dialogues by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal, and Shiv Kumar Panicker’s editing effectively createa very palpable narrative to deliver an effective thriller.

Recommended.