Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty movie review: Of healing traumas vs playing it safe

Cast: Anushka Shetty, Naveen Polishetty

Director: Mahesh Babu P

When the trailer of Anushka Shetty and Naveen Polishetty-starrer Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty had released, I thought the film had an interesting premise. It is about Anvita, a woman who had recently lost her mother choosing motherhood in the absence of a traditionally accepted family dynamics. She decides to go through an IUI process to give birth to a baby, and the film is about her hunt for the perfect sperm donor. That is where Siddhu, a stand up comedian by night, and a techie by morning comes in. She is impressed with his sense of humour, and his intelligence at first sight and decides to investigate further to learn if he is the right donor for her baby. Emotionally, she is detached from the sperm donor from the very beginning, and her focus is entirely on the genetics that would be passed on to her baby. Her detachment gets to the point of being inconsiderate, but after understanding her character, this distance, from Siddhu and the audience makes sense.

It starts of as situational comedy, and almost all the jokes in the film hit the right spot. It is not about being new here, but about being relatable. The humor is really the heart of the film and it has Naveen to thank for his delivering it with the right mix of wit and charm.
The film at no point tries to preach what is right, and what is wrong. While choosing IUI may be normal for Anvita who lived in UK, it is still an unfathomable idea in a country such as India. The stigma surrounding single mothers is no joke. However, all of this, becomes fodder for comedy. When Anvita asks her friend how marriage is related to having babies in a restaurant, the dirty stares from uncles at the nearby table encapsulates society’s perspective on this idea. Legally, she is good to go; but society dictates that a family has to have a father, a mother and children to be considered complete. This idea of the perfect family, is so entrenched in the minds of people that even queer marriage is still considered illegal in our country.

In fact, initially, Anvita doesn’t reveal the real reason why she befriends Siddhu. This causes a misunderstanding, one that leads to Siddhu falling in love with her. Her intentions are unclear at the beginning, and her actions are clearly misleading. After all, the story wouldn’t unfold without comedy of errors. However, it is Siddhu’s reaction that really got me on board enjoying this movie. His initial distaste upon hearing the idea, his narrow-minded perspective, and his bullheadedness when it comes to a woman who says, ‘I want you for nothing but a baby’, is brilliant. In a way, he is the society at large that Anvita must fight to be accepted. Patriarchy is steeped in his angered words, and Anvita calls him out for each one of his outdated misogynistic ideas. Rightfully so! She also moves on very quickly from him to choose the next best candidate. It is Siddhu who is in love after all. She does try to apologise to him, but his reaction leaves her disappointed. It is at this point that the dichotomy of the film itself began to interest me. I could either see it as just another romantic comedy, or as a story of a woman facing her trauma.

On the surface, one would call Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty a rom-com with a fresh set-up. However, you dig one layer and you see an independent woman go after what she wants. She is not too bothered about society, because it is her life. She believes that the love that she can experience through parenthood is companionship enough for the rest of her life and that this would also fill the hole left behind by the loss of her mother. She doesn’t pay too much attention to marriage, or love, because of how flawed the dynamics of these relationships tend to be. Now, you dig another layer, and you learn of Anvita’s past trauma caused by her parents’ relationship. She was witness to how miserable being in love can be, and how delicate and fragile a relationship built solely on romantic love could be. Here begins her distrust of the institution of marriage. She doesn’t depend on others, is not very trusting, and beyond everything, she is attempting to fulfil a void through the least dependent method that she could find.

As such, if we were to look at the film solely from the perspective of a young woman healing her traumas, the film does a good job. The way Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty establishes Anvita falling in love is interesting. It is in Siddhu’s absence that she begins to realise his importance in her life. This is something that she had done subconsciously, because consciously, her focus and energy is solely on forcefully removing Siddhu from her life — a reaction born out of her fear. Her trauma and her love come head to head in his absence too, and she drowns in misery. She is unable to come to terms with the woman who envies other pregnant woman with partners, she gets upset when she misses Siddhu, and above all, she is going through one of the biggest moments of her life without any joy. Her pregnancy is something that she had meticulously planned, yet, she experiences most of it in a state of oblivion. While she may not have completely healed from her trauma, she comes to terms with the fact that she is, in fact, in love with Siddhu. That gives her the impetus to give their relationship a chance. She burdens all of these intense emotions before making her choice, in the absence of Siddhu. The end of the film marks her rebirth, and Siddhu is a supporting partner through it all.

Now, my only disappointment in terms of the story was how a film that started with an out-of-the-box idea forcefit itself into matching with the society’s expectation. Marriage. Anvita’s distrust in the institution is brilliant potential that was lost. It was lovely to see her address Siddhu as the father of her child, so when marriage ended up becoming the goal of two very interesting people, it is disappointing. With a character such as Anvita’s, the film could have gone the extra mile in establishing love over marriage. With a film such as this, where we know that the boy and girl get their happy ending, a rebellious ending would have given it the perfect kick.

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty is playing in cinemas near you

Priyanka Sundar is a film journalist who covers films and series of different languages with a special focus on identity and gender politics.