| CULTURE & SOCIETY |
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SPOILERS AHEAD |
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From
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 18, Dated 05 May 2012 |
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| CULTURE & SOCIETY |
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SPOILERS AHEAD |
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Every Sperm Counts
By Shone SB
VICKY DONOR is a modern-day odyssey, but the seas our hero crosses are more milky than murky. The script by Juhi Chaturvedi can lay claim to being seminal; while not Homeric in scope it does set out to chart unmapped territory and navigates it ably through some tempests in plastic cups.
The quest begins with fertility expert Dr Chaddha, (a quirky turn by Annu Kapoor) seeking the perfect sperm donor for his clinic. Lewd-uncle types, fruitcakes and vagrant hobos audition for the part. Enter Vicky, 25, the rugged Punjabi boy-next-door. One glance and Chaddha knows that a hero has come with the strength to carry on and on. As persuasion, Chaddha presents, “It’s going waste, so might as well make some money out of it.” To which Vicky’s retort, “Toh kya Sintex ke tank main store karke rakhoon?” seals his fate as Donor No 1. The proof in the pudding is Vicky’s virile grandpa who sired 22 progeny. In fact, Vicky’s lineage spools back to Alexander’s Aryan warriors.
Essaying Athena and Calypso are his beauty parlour owner mother (Dolly Ahluwalia) and a feisty Biji (Kamlesh Gill). As they sit down for their night-cap, bantering and bonding over Vicky’s recalcitrant refusal to join the family business (mother’s beauty salon, uncle’s textile business) , we experience first-hand how powerful Internet memes are when they go mainstream. Their dialogue, sometimes chaste Punjabi, at others a pitch perfect, pick-a-mix of Hindi and English, could have been written for “Shit Punjabi Mothers Say”.
The ship on which Vicky sails is Delhi, but while the city looks familiar, it is also surprisingly pliable and responsive, a hardy vessel braced for the new horizons the movie explores. Secure in a renewable resource for his livelihood, Vicky seems all set but here comes the siren, luring him away from his mission to scatter his seed farther and wider. Ashima (Yami Gautam) is particularly upset when she realises the precise nature of Vicky’s handicraft business.
A well-steered story does falter into tried and trite territory when Vicky’s wife is unable to bear children. A made-for-movies orphan kid emerges to plug the plot hole. Tear-jerker this movie is not. But it is a voyage which we watch and wish for Vicky’s victory, as he undergoes his trials of blood, sweat and semen.
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