Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari – Bareilly ki Barfi Movie Online : Earlier this month, we got to see the first look of the Kangana Ranaut starrer Panga. After which, there has been quite some buzz about the film, especially about the first-time collaboration between Kangana and director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari. Considering both of them are known to have been behind of the best female characters in recent Bollywood films, there is visible excitement among film enthusiasts. While we have time and again seen Kangana weave magic on screen with her performances, how do things work for Ashwiny behind the camera? How is she able to create such amazing female characters that stand out among others? In pursuit of answers, we shall revisit her past films to try deciphering how Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari crafts real and relatable female characters that strike a chord with new age India.
Whether it is Chanda Sahay in Nil Battey Sannata or Bitti Mishra in Bareilly Ki Barfi, the characters that she wrote possessed a strong sense of realism without being bleak. In our era, when movies keep trying to explore the grey areas of the society, Ashwiny’s characters and their stories comfort the viewer with its sweetness and relatability.
In her debut movie Nil Battey Sannata, she explores the slice of life story of a mother and daughter and their individual struggles with studies. To be frank, the movie had all ingredients to turn into a saccharine sweet and preachy tale about the virtues of studies and women empowerment. However, what Ashwiny does is breath life into her characters with small organic moments where we too have experienced in our lives. We all have had heart-to-heart conversations with our mother, colleagues and school friends, sometimes while doing the most mundane things. It is through these very moments that Chanda, Apu and other characters in Nil Battey Sannata grow on you over the course of the movie.
With Bareilly Ki Barfi, she keeps the simplicity and small-town charm intact. But also, in this movie, she presents some flawed characters in the form of Bitti, Chirag and Pritam. By flawed, we don’t mean any criticism of the writing. Rather, we are referring to the conflicted personas that get them engaged in a tricky love triangle. Especially when it comes to Bitti, she is a girl who is headstrong and lives life on her terms, without being unrealistic. But at the same time, Bitti is sensitive in the matters of the heart without compromising on her individual freedom. Too many conflicting elements in a character? Stick with us and you shall understand.
One theory we have is, just like in Nil Battey Sannata, Ashwiny creates the magic in brief moments of beautiful characterisation that just continues to flesh out throughout Bareilly Ki Barfi. For example, there is the scene where Bitti stumbles upon the eponymous book in a railway station and the funny scene that ensues with the bookseller. Or the scene right after, when she returns back home forfeiting her runaway plans. In both the scenes, there are multiple emotions that playing out within Bitti which are depicted in a seamless and realistic manner. The sense of intrigue from the book, the feel-good vibe from reading it or responding with playful sarcasm to her worried mother at home, even the shortest scenes can give a lot of interesting insights into the character. Packing in so many details in scenes without giving the audience a headache is a feat that deserves immense praise.
So, as Ashwiny joins hands with Kangana Ranaut for her next project Panga, we can be hopeful about seeing some more amazing characters real soon. Till then, we could keep revisiting her past gems to discover and learn more about writing relatable yet charming characters.
