Darlings teaser narrates a cautionary tale of Scorpion and Frog that will sting its way to your hearts

Netflix dropped the teaser for its upcoming dark comedy titled Darlings which stars Alia Bhatt , Shefali Shah , Vijay Varma and Roshan Mathew in titular roles. It won’t be wrong to say that Bollywood hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to dark comedies barring a few exceptions, most notably Andhadhun , Delhi Belly and Dev D . In an age where every director and producer wishes to play safe and only wants to go for sports biopics and slice-of-life comedy-dramas, Darlings is a breath of fresh air which proves that the Indian film industry is not afraid to experiment and take calculated risks every now and then instead of falling back into same old tropes that we have seen in Hindi films several times. It also shows that while such experiments might not always work out and translate into massive head-turning blockbusters, the risks are worth taking still, for the sake of good cinema and to honour the trust and faith of those who still believe in it.

The teaser opens with Alia Bhatt’s character telling us the story of a Frog and a Scorpion, a tale we have all grown up listening to. The Scorpion wishes to cross the river and the Frog shares his reservations and worries if the Scorpion will sting him. The Scorpion says ‘Silly, if I sting you, well both drown!’ but goes on to sting the Frog anyway. The message of the Russian animal fable is that vicious people cannot resist hurting others even when it is not in their own interests. It is this viciousness and sinister (borderline evil) that we see come alive in Darlings teaser. While we see Alia’s character smile - she plays a simple girl, presumably from an upper-middle-class family in the first half of the teaser but towards the end, it seems as if she has transformed into a sinister evil murderer as she is seen applying a red lipstick and staring at herself in the mirror with bloodshot eyes.

Shefali Shah, who appears in the teaser with Alia Bhatt, nails the scene in the police station with her impeccable comic timing. When the police officer asks ‘mere maathe pe kuch likha hai?’ Shah steals the scene with her tongue-in-cheek reply ‘mit gaya hoga’. Vijay Varma’s character, much like Alia’s character, appears to be a mysterious figure who we don’t know much about, except the fact that he asks Roshan Mathew’s character for a lift, bringing to life the Scorpion and the Frog fable.

What particularly works in favour of the teaser is that it reveals exactly what the film is about - dark, sinister characters stuck in murky situations and yet manages to keep the plot of the film under the wraps. It creates much intrigue to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat without giving away the major plot points of the film, which frankly is a win for the filmmakers. Darlings will make you reminiscent of Sriram Raghavan ’s Andhadhun, a nail biting thriller that will keep you guessing the intent of the characters till the last minute and you’d never see plot twists coming. The characters are shady and every bit sinister so you never know what their next move might be and who they might end up killing. Darlings is an ode to neo-noir genre of films that will juxtapose the suspense with humour which only makes the film more entertaining and a thrilling watch.

The film has also left Alia’s fans excited as the actress might be seen playing an antagonist, or perhaps, a gray character with questionable morals, which will indeed be a breath of fresh air. The role might help Alia show her range as an actress and cement herself as an actress who can truly do it all be it comedy, romance, drama or dark comedy.

It is yet to be seen how Darlings will perform as an OTT release and if it will manage to win over the viewers. It could, of course, go the same way as Kangana Ranaut ’s Judgmental Hai Kya , a film with a strong premise that eventually tanked due to poor script and execution. However, we must laud the sheer grit and courage on the part of the filmmakers and the actors for experimenting with something new and taking a calculated risk to bring us a film that is a much-needed break from the same-old Bollywood comedy, romance and drama.

Darlings will stream on Netflix from August 5.

Deepansh Duggal is an entertainment, pop-culture and trends writer based in New Delhi. He specializes in op-eds based on the socio-political and gender issues in the world of entertainment and showbiz. He also writes explainers and occasionally reviews shows in the OTT space. He tweets at @Deepansh75. 

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