With such admirable cast and a technical team that has proved itself over the years and a production house known for dishing out brilliance in film making, Udta Punjab is a massive let down. Perhaps by the sheer weight of the names involved and the controversy surrounded before its release.
Treading the path of drugs can be risky. Traffic (2000), which was made along the same genre and Requiem For A Dream (2000) were gems as they showed the effects of drug overuse among teens and elders alike and what catastrophic can be the outcome for such acts. They didn't preach. Udta Punjab too doesn't preach, while it pays substantial homage to these two movies. But it does't kill your heart either, which Traffic and RFAD did and there are no Knockout moments. While the music and BGM were quite good keep the audience engaged, it was quite clear that the direction went haywire with script.
With over usage of Punjabi and vulgarities spewed right through the length of the running time, the movie already had its bearings removed to reach a wider audience. Add to that, the ones who can watch the movie may not be fully aware whether such a situation actually prevails like the way it is shown. With constant references to Punjab turning into a Mexico and Drugs being thrown to Indian side from Pakistan, Abhishek Chaubey tries to bring out a context of International Drug trade into the picture. The effort stops there. Where the film loses the plot completely is when a doctor and ASI (played by Kareena and Diljit) makes a dash to expose the drug trade at political level. At one point Diljit even says Drug trade is Politics and that is how elections are won. The chemistry between these two is contrived and forced. I liked the Alia-Shahid's quirky extreme conversation in a ruined house, perhaps the best sequence in the movie, much more than Kareena-Diljit's full length melodrama.
Apart from showing the Cops, Politicians and the Youth of Punjab in poor light at their respective stables taking advantage of the addiction or getting addicted to it, Udta Punjab doesn't do anything much to cash in on the situation to make more realistic attempt to showcase the issue. It rather takes a bland version of glossy pop star's (a cocky Shahid Kapoor) redemption, a hockey player's (a rather dark and brilliant Alia Bhatt) foolhardy move to make some quick bucks and a cop and a doctor on a mission.
Udta Punjab: Wish it had more flight. **/5
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