Plot
The film Trial Period stars Genelia Deshmukh, Manav Kaur, and Zidane Blaze., A single mother, Anna, auditions to find a new “dad” for her six-year-old son, Romi. It all started when Romy couldn’t talk about his father in a school assembly.
The other kids bully him into believing that only his “superhero dad” can save him now. After seeing an infomercial, he was convinced that, like everything else, he could hire a dad on a 30-day trial basis. This is why Janeas Anna is looking for her father. Anna wants the worst possible man so her son can give up on the idea of being a father. After most of the contestants give up on the bizarre idea, the PD (Manav) reluctantly agrees.
Review
A single mother from Delhi auditions for a rented father, which is a far-fetched idea. When the mild-mannered and sophisticated Anna Roy Chowdhury (Genelia D’Souza) sets her sights on Prajapati Devi, a desi-Hindi-speaking history teacher from Ujjain Prajapati Dwivedi aka PD (Manav Kaur), you know what to expect.
This unique arrangement is meant to appease Anna’s six-year-old son, Romi (Zidane Blaz), who wants to fit in at school and, like all kids, craves a superhero father. The little boy gets a lot of support from his neighbors, Timi Sharma (Shakti Kapoor) and his wife (Sheeba Chadha). Timmy is addicted to phone shopping, and when Romi sees the ad, she gets the idea that they could order a father to stand trial and, if they don’t like him, send him back. After most candidates rejected the offer, the PD reluctantly agreed but was unable to find a job in the city.
The story follows how an affable police officer teaches a boy to stand up for himself and prove himself to be a cool guy despite being a fool. The film also explores their unique family dynamics as to how a single mother struggles to raise her children and find acceptance.
The premise is predictable and the narrative loses pace at times, but writer-director Aleya Sen does a great job delivering a warm and entertaining story.
Another positive aspect is the characterization, as all the actors portrayed their characters convincingly. Manav Kaul brilliantly plays a friendly countryman with a retro personality. Genelia Dsouza is an excellent mother who hopes to give her son a healthy growing environment. The two have an easy on-screen chemistry.
Rating: 4/5
The background music by Anupam Roy is worth mentioning, especially the classical Indian style part. The soundtrack is memorable, Arko’s warm and romantic number Dheere Dheere and Kaushik-Guddu’s reinterpretation of the Bengali folk song Gole Male. The movie deserves 4 stars out of 5 stars.
