Dealing with some very prominent themes, the movie sees Paresh Rawal and his on-screen wife Neena Kulkarni taking care of their 7-year-old grandson Momoji. A very loving and caring couple, the two dote on their grandson and take care of his every need as the boy’s parents are working in the US.
However, this happy period takes a dark turn as Momo’s parents who are essayed by actors Shiv Panditt and Mini Chakraborty come back to India to meet their son.
As the two are unaware of how to handle a kid, Momo is very close to his grandparents who understand all his needs while the parents, though loving, don’t know how to take care of him particularly due to their own son being closer to his grandparents.
Leading to much emotional turmoil, this causes a friction between the parents and the grandparents as the former now want to take their son with them.
However, the grandparents refuse with Paresh Rawal calling his son incompetent to take care of their child, while also citing the mother as uncaring.
This causes the parents and the grandparents to engagein a legal custody battle. Initially caught off-guard, Paresh Rawal accepts his son’s challenge as Momo’s parents want to take custody of him from his grandparents.
With a very compelling storyline, ‘Shastri Virudh Shastri’ dives into some very deep but seldom discussed heavy topics, discussing the essence of family and parenthood.
One of the biggest topics here is as to what extent should the law determine the fate of children, and who actually deserves to care for them.
Turning into a full on courtroom-drama, the movie pits love against law, challenging viewers to the very basic questions in regards to parenting.
Do the parents always deserve custody of their kids just because they are the parents, or do they only deserve to have the right to be parents if they actually understand their children?
On the other hand, it also asks just to what extent should the grandparents care for their grandchildren, particularly if the child isn’t close to their parents and how if grandparents take full custody of their grandchildren, parents who work abroad will be afraid to even leave their kids to their grandparents due to fear of alienation.
Helmed by the duo of Nandita Roy and Shiboprasad Mukherjee, ‘Shastri Virudh Shastri’ stars actors Paresh Rawal, Mimi Chakraborty, Amruta Subhash, Manoj Joshi, Neena Kulkarni and Shiv Panditt in pivotal roles. Produced by Viacom18, the movie will hit theatres on November 3, 2023.
–Ajit Weekly News
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