Movie Review: I Want To Talk

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After what felt like several months, I finally had the TV remote in my hands, and no one else was around at home for hours. For a mother of two, that feels nothing short of a vacation. And I made the most of it. Yes, guilty as charged: I watched TV while having lunch. The movie I picked was I Want to Talk, and I have absolutely no regrets.

Abhishek Bachchan delivers yet another deeply impactful performance. For those who have written him off, perhaps you’re measuring an actor’s success solely by box office numbers. But if you value range, conviction, and memorable portrayals, Abhishek Bachchan is a fantastic actor.

The film is based on a real-life figure – Arjun Sen (a fact I only learned after the movie ended) – a man who underwent nearly 20 life-altering, often life-threatening, surgeries. Twenty! As someone who’s been through two C-sections, I feel like I’ve had enough anesthesia for a lifetime.

Abhishek Bachchan portrays Arjun Sen, and what I truly appreciated is that he didn’t shy away from showing the physical and emotional transformations over time. He begins as a sharp, handsome man and gradually transitions into someone with a scarred torso, a slouched gait, a protruding belly, and eventually, a reconstructed jaw. His character evolves from a fast-talking, sharp-witted marketing professional to a middle-aged man who walks and speaks with visible effort and pain.

For those who prefer fast-paced narratives, this film might feel a bit slow. But to me, it was perfectly paced—neither rushed nor dragging. The subtle humor keeps you engaged while you quietly wonder: How many more surgeries will this man endure? Will he survive? How will it all end? 

Scenes of Arjun’s interactions with his doctor, Dr. Deb (played by Jayant Kriplani), were both hilarious and terrifying. Arjun would insist that the doctor ‘draw’ his surgical plan on paper, and both he and the audience would be left awestruck by the doctor’s straightforward and unapologetic explanation of where he would ‘cut’ and what he would ‘throw away’, as if it is nothing that complicated about it!

Yes, some aspects of Arjun’s life are touched upon only briefly. For instance, his relationship with his wife isn’t explored in depth, and his parents appear just for a short while. Why didn’t they stay with him throughout his journey? Still, the focus is clear: this is a story about Arjun Sen—his body, his resilience, and above all, his relationship with his daughter, Reya. His desperate desire to move from the outer “11th circle” of her life to the innermost one is deeply moving. Reya – the quiet daughter of Arjun Sen – eventually becomes his pillar. Two particular scenes leave a lasting impact. 

• One where she draws and shows her ‘circles’, and which circle of hers does Arjun, her father, fall into?
• The second where she dragged her father in the middle of the night to get the right pair of shoes from her mother’s place, which led to her finally opening up about how difficult it had been for her to juggle between her parents. She has 2 sets of toothbrushes, getting confused which thing is in which home, and other emotional and mental turmoil that she goes through daily, which her parents have sadly (and conveniently) overlooked amidst their battle of separation.

Shoojit Sircar proves once again that he is a master storyteller. No unnecessary frills. He doesn’t insert songs where they aren’t needed—he simply sticks to the heart of the story and lets it speak.

Pain is a promise that life always keeps — Arjun Sen

You’ll understand the full weight of this line once you watch the film. Why did he endure so much pain, one surgery after another? This movie tries to answer that, quietly and powerfully.

I wouldn’t call it a “must-watch” if you’re not in the right emotional space for such a heavy topic. But if you decide to give it a try, you won’t regret it, especially for Abhishek Bachchan’s performance.

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Our Verdict: 4/5