Margarita with a straw is a movie about the life & struggles of a girl with Cerebral palsy & her family. Cerebral palsy is a permanent motion disorder & not a mental disease. The movie has a very strict focus on the girl Laila and revolves completely around her. Laila is a talented lyrist & music composer. However, her disorder is looked with pity by onlookers. This leads to her being struggling with her identity & ability to be content with herself. Laila’s family especially her ‘Aai’ is her strongest support and leaves no stone unturned to help lead her a normal life. Film not only showcases the day to day struggles of the protagonist & her family but also her mental quarrels with her own self very soothingly. Laila falls in love with ‘Nima’ the lead singer of the band she writes and composes for. However, Nima does not share the sentiment as she is not physically normal. She is comforted by her ‘Aai’ and starts focusing on her life again. Soon she gets a scholarship from ‘New York University’. Moving there not only gives her life, new hope but also newer struggles. She is left to grapple with her sexual orientation when she meets ‘Khanum’ an open minded & bold girl from Pakistan/Bangladesh. It focuses not only on her impairment but also on how that affects her desires & relationships. It deals with a sensitive yet a bold angle of sexual needs and orientation of a differently abled individual.

A film maker ‘Shonali Bose’ known for making movies that are offbeat and of international levels of intellect has come up with yet another internationally acclaimed movie. The cast has done a brilliant job to fit in the shoes of each character. Kalki’s acting is not only commendable but stimulating too. Additionally, performances by Revathi (kalki’s mom) & Sayani Gupta (kalki’s partner) were admirable. I have no doubt that the movie is liberating & unveiling. Simultaneously I also believe that the movie is a few years ahead of its time for Indian audience.

I award this movie 3 stars.