I am somewhat conflicted as the movie ended. I am a fan of Shoojit Sircar, and this movie has all the visual elements which make me like his work (he is the creative producer for this), but it also lacked the finesse to handle a complicated subject like sexual assault in 2016.

Three girls willingly go enjoy dinner and drinks with some male acquaintances. The guys presume a lot more than they should which results in Minal (Taapasee Pannu) hitting one of them on the forehead with a bottle. This is set up in the first few minutes of the film. Then the movie ventures into the court proceedings and slowly the narrative becomes progressively flimsier and a bit louder.

Unfortunately, Shoojit's inputs probably were limited at how to shoot Amitabh Bacchan still shots. I still remember the visuals from Piku where Amitabh is holding the Sitar and the camera moves around or when he is in all the Kolkata streets, it was superb. Those moments are there, but sadly, the movie is could not be about that. There is much serious tone to the film.

Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury builds the initial scenes magnificently. The terror of what-if comes out brilliantly in every action of all the three girls. They know what has happened and there is fear that it is going to catch up to them. This looming threat is suspensefully crafted. The fear is in the unknown. From those early scenes, I had higher hopes from the film. When the court proceedings started, the film started becoming superficial and loud. It also goes on moralising beyond the facts of the case. In 2016, we expect much more mature handling of such sensitive subjects. Watching this in 2020, I remember Taapasee's other movie, Thappad. That had such thoughtful handling of a conflict. Having seen that before, when I watched Pink, I wasn't very happy. The build-up had a lot to offer but the potential remained unrealised.

Amitabh is his usual imposing self. He presents a tired, retired lawyer with ease. Piyush Mishra cycles between being an obnoxious over-the-top lawyer, which might remind you of Tareekh pe Tareekh, to a well-executed presentation of a stereotypical mentality of a many in the society. I also felt that even his character could have been elevated a bit more as a worthy adversary to Amitabh's, which does not happen. [spoiler]To cap it all, Angad Bedi is forced to almost recite a A Few Good Men or Shaurya style tirade towards the end, which did not help much.[/spoiler]

Overall, the film is still worth a watch for the early scenes and the creative inputs of Shoojir Sircar.