Debutant director Jeejivisha Kale’s Tighi, starring Bharati Achrekar, Neha Pendse, and Sonalee Kulkarni, follows two estranged sisters who reunite when their mother is diagnosed with a terminal illness. The reunion reopens old wounds, forces them to confront uncomfortable truths, and slowly lifts the veil on a secret their mother has held onto for decades.
A poignant exploration of healing from the burdens of the past, Tighi asks, how long does it take to truly let go and make peace?
Filmfare’s Editor-in-Chief Jitesh Pillai writes about Tighi:
Do we really heal from the burden of the past? Do the ghosts revisit us to inform us or remind us that we are never really free from the sins of the past? How long before we finally let go and make our peace? Tighi (The Three of Us), toplined by veteran Bharati Achrekar, Neha Pendse, and Sonalee Kulkarni, is an angry film which reminds us of the past. Matriarch Hemlata’s terminal ailment forces her two combative daughters, Swati and Sarika, to recognise and deal with their failings and frustrations.
The feminine gaze is evident in the way director Jeejivisha Kale crafts a tale of bickering and bonding with a very sensitive screenplay penned by Nikhil Mahajan.
There are some awkward moments, such as Swati dealing with a predatory boss and her own fractured marriage. However, the film comes into its own with the dynamics between the mother and her two daughters. From wanting to know about their presumed dead father to dealing with a curmudgeon of a mom on her deathbed, the film is an all guns blazing feminist take on marriage and relationships.
Mahajan’s screenplay adroitly deals with a sexual predator and, instead of normalising it, calls it out. This is the film’s biggest strength. I thoroughly enjoyed the salty and fractious relationship between the siblings. Neha Pendse shines in her scenes, especially where she soothes her mom to sleep and her reconciliation scene with her spouse. Sonalee Kulkarni nails her angry role; her breakdown in the kitchen during the poha sequence is lovely.
But heads and shoulders above it all, Bharati Achrekar holds fort. Viewers of a certain vintage may be familiar with her in series like Wagle Ki Duniya. But she is more than that. She is a powerhouse performer both on stage and screen. I teared up a bit, be it her monologue with the little puppy about trees shedding leaves or her final chat with her two daughters explaining her truculent stance against an errant husband, only to safeguard her daughters. Achrekar is terrific and the spine of Tighi.
Tighi, unlike a lot of other films on dysfunctional families, is fierce, and the constant battle of words may make you nervous. It is like you are walking on eggshells, seeing the three feisty women at crosshairs with each other.
Mothers and daughters never had it easy. There is a lifelong laundry list of insults and recriminations. But the love that they share is solid and life-sustaining. Then again, love was never meant to be easy. Tighi shows us how difficult reconciling with the past can be. Miss this jewel at your own risk.
Also Read: Editor’s Take: Sabar Bonda, Joyland, Moothon and The Politics of Love and Identity
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