‘Double XL’ Review: Sonakshi Sinha Creates Unnecessary Chaos But Huma Qureshi’s Performance Makes It Palatable.
More than compliments on her appearance, a woman is on the receiving end of “critique” by people. The comments are less about appreciation and more about judgement. And most of these hurtful comments are about a woman’s anatomy like how chubby her cheeks look or how thick her thighs and arms have become, or how much “healthy” has she become in general. It is outright gross how people try to tone down their meanness while commenting by replacing the word ‘healthy’ with ‘fat’. Society has come to believe that there is something wrong with plus-sized women. They are unfit for a particular job if they have a flab on their arms or belly, or they are not beautiful enough if they tip on the heavier side of the scales.
These exactly are the issues that are addressed in the film, Double XL. Huma Qureshi and Sonakshi Sinha take the centre stage to tell the story of two plus-sized women and the problems they face due to society’s set beauty standards. The movie is helmed by Satramm Ramani and stars Zaheer Iqbal and Mahat Raghavendra in supporting roles. As much as I thought that the concept of the film was relatable and important for most women, I think the execution could have been way better.
View this post on Instagram
As I mentioned before, Double XL is a story of two women who have been constantly fat-shamed their entire lives. Huma plays Rajshree Trivedi who hails from Meerut and aspires to become a sports presenter on TV, whereas Sonakshi plays Saira Khanna, an aspiring fashion designer who is struggling to get funding for her brand.
Rajshree Trivedi is constantly grown up getting taunted by her mother about her weight and how she should “eat less” to get in shape. Her mother also wants to get her married because she is already 30 years old and ab umar beeti jaa rahi hai! But Rajshree stands her ground and demands at least one chance to make her dreams come true. And that is how she goes for an interview at a top sports channel for the job of a presenter. But the interview does not go as planned and she bawls her eyes out in a washroom stall.
View this post on Instagram
Saira Khanna is a fashion designer who is actually born in London but lives in Delhi. Her life is pretty comfortable in every aspect except that she is too blind to see that her chapri boyfriend is cheating on her. And he is cheating on her because she is fat. Saira, too, rushes to the bathroom crying and that is how the sisterhood between her and Rajshree is formed.
Saira convinces Rajshree to come to London with her, and the latter readily agrees by lying to her parents that she will have to go to London as she has gotten the job. Umm, so Rajshree accompanies Saira to London because she is in need of a cameraman to shoot her fashion videos. Accompanied by a cameraperson, played by Mahat Raghavendra, they set out.
On arrival, they meet Zorawar Rahmani, played by Zaheer Iqbal. He’s the one who is supposed to help with the shooting locations around London. And well, the rest of the film is all about Rajshree and Saira understanding their dreams are more important than their sizes. And how the world conditioned them into thinking that sizes matter.
View this post on Instagram
Now, let us talk about the casting, shall we? Beginning with Sonakshi Sinha, let me get straight to the point by saying that she was too cringy throughout the film. It literally felt like she is pretending and not acting. I mean yes, an actor is pretending while at work, but at least don’t make it so obvious. Her dialogue delivery was bad, she had not understood her character well, and she was just there for the sake of it. In every frame that she and Huma shared together, she tried to make the latter also look weirdly stupid! In fact, I had expected her character to be better because she had to present how body shaming affects even the most privileged women. Sonakshi acted like she did not get the memo and nobody bothered to resend it to her.
Uff, Huma Qureshi officially has my heart! She played Rajshree with such integrity and sincerity that it felt like she is narrating her own story through her. By the end of the film, I wanted to give Huma a tight hug! She was equally bold, beautiful, vulnerable and strong throughout the film. She breathed life into Rajshree’s character and made her feel relatable. I have never been body shamed in my life, but seeing Rajshree go through all that, made me empathise with her.
View this post on Instagram
Zaheer Iqbal was the most annoying character in the film. Even more annoying than Rajshree’s mother who is screaming at her throughout the film to get her married. He repeatedly hits on Saira by saying, You can call me Zo, Za or Zu” in a very funny way that made the entire theatre go ‘pch pch’. Zaheer’s role in the film was to just hover over and buzz around Saira and flirt with her.
My verdict on the film is pretty mixed. The first half fell flat, honestly. I was expecting a real-er sisterhood bond between Huma and Sonakshi but the latter’s bad acting didn’t let that happen. The film covered the issue of body shaming as a pretty first-world problem. There were times during the film that were absolute hits. Like that little monologue from both Huma and Sonakshi. That was very good! But other times, I thought ‘this part was not unnecessary’.
Also read: ‘Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris’ Review: This Heartwarming Tale Of A Woman’s Dreams Of High Fashion Was Shattered By Shoddy Writing
Another complaint that I have about the movie is that there were too many unnecessary songs in it! Arey matlab instead of showing them dancing, show the leading ladies working hard to achieve their dreams na! Despite the complaints, if I ever go watch the movie again, even though it is a one-time watch, I will only go for Huma Qureshi! She owned Double XL, and her efforts are pretty evident!
I thought I will give the film 2 stars but I will give an extra half only and only for Huma.
