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Margarita with a Straw

Margarita with a Straw is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Shonali Bose. It stars Kalki Koechlin as an Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who relocates to America for her undergraduate education and comes of age following her complex relationship with a blind girl, played by Sayani Gupta. Revathi, Kuljeet Singh, and William Moseley play supporting roles. Produced by Bose in partnership with Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Margarita with a Straw was co-written by Bose and Nilesh Maniyar. The film deals with the challenging concepts of sexuality, inclusion, self-love, and self-acceptance.

Margarita with a Straw
Theatrical release poster
Directed byShonali Bose
Written by
  • Shonali Bose
  • Nilesh Maniyar
Produced byShonali Bose
Starring
CinematographyAnne Misawa
Edited byMonisha Baldawa
Music byMikey McCleary
Production
company
Release dates
  • 8 September 2014 (2014-09-08) (TIFF)
  • 17 April 2015 (2015-04-17) (India)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget65 million[2]
Box office74 million[2]

Bose conceived the idea for the film in January 2011 during a conversation with Malini Chib, her cousin and a disability rights activist, about the latter's desire to have a normal sex life. Inspired by Chib's story, Bose wrote the first draft of the film's script. After winning a Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award for the draft, she modified the script to reflect her own perspective, incorporating several personal experiences into the narrative. Bose completed the screenplay with co-writer Maniyar and the advisory council of the Sundance Institute.

Bose was keen to cast an actress with cerebral palsy for the central part, but eventually hired Koechlin, who learnt the movements and speech patterns of people with the disorder. Filming took place in Delhi and New York in 2013, with Anne Misawa as the director of photography. The film was selected for the National Film Development Corporation of India's Work-in-Progress Lab initiative during post-production, which was completed in the latter half of 2013. The soundtrack for the film was composed by Mikey McCleary.

Margarita with a Straw premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also screened at the Tallinn Black Nights, the BFI London, the Vesoul Festival of Asian Cinema, and the Galway Film Fleadh. The film was released theatrically in India on 17 April 2015 to positive reviews. Commentators praised most aspects of the production, Koechlin's performance, and Bose's direction. Koechlin won the Screen Award for Best Actress and the National Film Award – Special Jury Award, and Bose won the NETPAC Award at Toronto. Commercially, Margarita with a Straw grossed over 74 million against a production budget of 65 million.

Plot

Laila Kapoor is a teenager with cerebral palsy studying at Delhi University. She is an aspiring writer and also composes music for an indie band at the university. Laila develops feelings for the lead singer, but is heartbroken when she is rejected. Moving on from the experience, Laila is overjoyed to receive a scholarship for a semester's study at New York University. Despite her father's reservations, she moves to Greenwich Village, Manhattan with her orthodox Maharashtrian mother Shubhangini Damle.

Laila meets an attractive young man named Jared, who is assigned to help her in the creative writing class. She also meets a young activist, Khanum, a blind girl of Pakistani-Bangladeshi descent, with whom she falls in love. Laila is enamoured by Khanum's fiercely independent personality and her positive perspective towards her own disability. The two spend most of their time together, filling in as each other's caregivers. Laila becomes confused about her sexual orientation, as she is attracted to men (Jared in particular) while being in a serious relationship with Khanum. She has sex with Jared, only to regret it immediately. Laila does not tell Khanum about this encounter. Oblivious to her daughter's relationship with Khanum, Laila's mother invites Khanum to Delhi to spend the winter vacation with Laila's family.

Laila ultimately finds the courage to come out to her mother about bisexuality and her relationship with Khanum, both of which her mother strongly disapproves. Laila also confesses to Khanum that she had sex with Jared and asks for her forgiveness. Feeling betrayed by Laila, Khanum breaks up with her and leaves for New York. Shubhangini is diagnosed with advanced colon cancer which has relapsed after previous treatments. Laila and her mother move past their differences while Laila tends to her at the hospital. The two eventually reconcile shortly before Shubhangini's death. Laila plays a song (recorded by Shubhangini) at Shubhangini's funeral telling how much she loved her and how she was the only one who ever understood her. Laila is later seen drinking a margarita with a straw.

Cast

Credits adapted from Rotten Tomatoes.[3]

  • Kalki Koechlin as Laila Kapoor
  • Revathi as Shubhangini Kapoor
  • Sayani Gupta as Khanum
  • Kuljeet Singh as Laila's father
  • Hussain Dalal as Dhruv
  • William Moseley as Jared
  • Malhar Khushu as Monu
  • Tenzin Dalha as Nima
  • Shuchi Dwivedi as Sameera
  • Doug Plaut as Rob
  • Jennifer Silverstein as Nancy
  • Marco Torriani as Charles

Production

Development

"Khanum is so striking, just such a fantastic character. And there was this really boring, British boy who lived in America. When I owned the character, writing from being Laila myself, Laila was like 'Are you kidding me? This is the more interesting person ...' But I didn't do it consciously thinking, Laila just fell in love with Khanum and it happened organically, not from me wanting to deal with this issue."

— Bose on Laila's sexuality[4]

Shonali Bose began working on a story in January 2011, on what would have been her son's 17th birthday (he had died the year previously). She worked on the first draft extensively for about a month. Although the main character of Laila is based on her cousin Malini Chib, a disability rights activist, the narrative follows Bose's own experience of losing a family member. She acknowledged the difficulty of incorporating elements from her personal life into the story, calling it a "tough emotional journey".[5] The idea of working on a film about disability was conceived during a casual conversation between Bose and her aunt (Chib's mother), who wanted her niece to work on a similar project aimed at creating awareness regarding the subject.[4] Having grown up in the same household as Chib, Bose was familiar with the discrimination faced by people with disabilities. She was especially intrigued by the general ignorance exhibited towards the sexuality of people with disabilities, and therefore decided to incorporate it into the narrative.[6]

Bose later adapted the original draft into a feature film-length script for Margarita with a Straw with co-writer Nilesh Maniyar. In 2012 the script won the Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award.[4] As part of the prize, the duo were awarded mentorships from the Sundance Institute's staff and creative advisors, and participated in a Feature Film Program Lab, which is where Bose decided to modify the story.[7] After being told by the advisory board that she was "not in the skin of the character", Bose decided to rewrite the script from her own perspective, instead of solely trying to incorporate Chib's point of view. She said that only after winning the award did she incorporate (unconsciously) her experiences as a bisexual woman in India. Bose and Maniyar worked for two years on the script as it went through more than forty revisions before becoming the final screenplay.[4]

Casting

 
William Moseley plays the love interest for Koechlin's character.

Bose originally intended to cast actors with the same disabilities as the characters of Laila and Khanum. Since there were no actresses with cerebral palsy in India, she held auditions for the role in institutions that catered to patients, but could not find a suitable person to play the central role. Bose also had a meeting with a blind actress in her early thirties to discuss the role of Khanum, a character she associated herself with. The actress refused to pursue the role, being uncomfortable with the sexual content of the script. She nevertheless helped Bose by assisting Sayani Gupta, who was eventually cast as Khanum.[6]

Having decided to cast a professional for the part of Laila, Bose approached Kalki Koechlin, who she said was her "first and only choice" for the role.[8] Since Koechlin was still shooting for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) at the time, Bose began looking for other actresses to play the role, but felt that "something was missing" in each one. She eventually decided to push the filming back for three months to accommodate her first choice.[9] Koechlin admitted that the role was the most challenging of her film career and she took six months to prepare for it.[10][11] She underwent a six-week training workshop with actor Adil Hussain, which was aimed at making her "body language seem natural", while also focusing on the speech pattern of patients with cerebral palsy.[12] Koechlin spent considerable time with Chib and her physiotherapist and speech therapist. She also attended a month-long workshop in Delhi, where she worked on body part movements.[13] Although the film addresses aspects of the challenges of physical disability, Koechlin dubbed it "a romcom within some hurdles".[13] Bose too described the film as a coming-of-age story about a "woman's journey of finding love".[14][15]

Maniyar, who also served as the casting director for the film, contacted Gupta for the role of Khanum while she was working on the travel show Yeh Hai India Meri Jaan. Immediately drawn to the character, Gupta agreed to audition and was cast for the role after a lengthy selection process that lasted about a month.[16] She said in a later interview that she had felt fortunate to have bagged the character of Khanum.[17] To prepare for the role, Gupta stayed blindfolded while doing daily activities such as cooking and bathing and spent time with a special voice and accent trainer. She also attended classes at the National Association for the Blind, where she learned basic braille.[18] Revathi, who had previously played a mother to a young child with cerebral palsy in Anjali (1990), agreed to play Laila's mother after reading the script.[19] William Moseley was cast as Jared, a British student in Laila's class.[17]

Filming and post-production

 
The latter half of the film is set in Greenwich Village, New York City.

Principal photography for Margarita with a Straw began in 2013 and took place at New Delhi and New York with two separate schedules. Anne Misawa worked as the director of photography.[8][20][21] While the first half of the story is set in the Shri Ram College of Commerce of Delhi University, it was mainly filmed at Miranda House.[22] Students and staff members from institutions such as Ramjas College and Lady Shri Ram were involved actively in the project. Tenzin Dalha, a final year political science student from the former, played one of Koechlin's love interests in the film; Shuchi Dwivedi from the latter played Koechlin's best friend. Other students from the university were cast as members of a local band, which also included Dalha and Dwivedi. Koechlin's father was played by Kuljeet Singh, an English Literature professor from Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College.[22]

Set in the neighbourhood of Greenwich Village, the second half of Margarita with a Straw was shot during the summer in New York.[6] Filming took place at Roosevelt Island and Coney Island.[23][24] Snow machines created the artificial environment required for various sequences set during winter season. The crew faced difficulties in filming certain scenes. At one point, the van that was used to carry Koechlin in her wheelchair broke down and had to be manually stabilised during the shoot.[25] Prior to the filming of the sex sceness, the cast attended workshops to develop a better understanding of emotional and sexual intimacy. Moseley, who was especially anxious about his scenes with Koechlin, attended a workshop conducted by Bose herself.[6] The complete film was shot in two months.[26]

Margarita with a Straw was selected for the National Film Development Corporation of India's Work in Progress Lab initiative during post-production in 2013.[24] It was edited by Monisha Baldawa and the sound mixing was done by Resul Pookutty and Amrit Pritam.[1] Certain scenes with frontal nudity were removed during the editing process to avoid a conflict with the Central Board of Film Certification.[27] Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Ishan Talkies, in association with Jakhotia Group and ADAPT, the film's final cut ran for a total of 100 minutes.[1] Bose had funded the project herself as Viacom18 covered only half the estimated 65 million production cost.[2] Another partner withdrew financial support around ten days prior to commencement of filming. Bose had to apply for a personal loan to pay the bills, but was able to complete the film with support from the crew members, who agreed to their payments being delayed.[15] The international distribution rights for Margarita with a Straw were acquired by Wide Management, a Paris-based sales-production-distribution house.[1]

Soundtrack

Margarita with a Straw
Soundtrack album by
Released3 April 2015 (2015-04-03)
Recorded2015
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelZee Music Company
ProducerMikey McCleary

Music director and singer Mikey McCleary composed the soundtrack for Margarita with a Straw, with Joi Barua serving as the guest composer for both versions of the song "Dusokute". The lyrics for the album were written primarily by Prasoon Joshi, except for the tracks "I Need a Man" and "Don't Go Running Off Anytime Soon", the latter featuring English lyrics written by McCleary. Artists such as Sharmistha Chatterjee, Sonu Kakkar, Anushka Manchanda, Rachel Varghese, Vivienne Pocha, and Rajnigandha Shekhawat provided vocals for the album on various tracks.[28] The first track to be released, the soft rock number "Dusokute", was originally composed by Barua in Assamese and was rewritten in Hindi by Joshi.[29] In April 2015 the complete soundtrack was released under the Zee Music Company label.[28]

Critics such as Kasmin Fernandes and Joginder Tuteja gave positive reviews of the soundtrack's unconventional style.[30][31] The former appreciated Barua's "energetic vocals" in "Dusokute" and the "desi yet classy" number "Foreign Balamwa" in her 3-out-of-5-star review for The Times of India. She described the lyrics by Joshi as "cheerful", but was less impressed by McCleary's "passable" writing.[30] Tuteja, writing for Bollywood Hungama, noted the album's lack of a commercial appeal and wrote that at best it "fit[s] in well into the stage and setting that the film stands for". He praised McCleary's command of the English compositions and his "boyish charm" as a vocalist. Tuteja was particularly impressed by Pocha's "thumping vocals" in "I Need a Man" and the serene effect of the final two tracks of the album. He also found the choice of such artists as Manchanda and Kakkar odd for what he described as an album heavily influenced by Western music.[31] Bryan Durham of the Daily News and Analysis considered the duo's respective tracks "unusual" and "candid". He singled out the instrumental number, "Laila's Theme", as "the beating heart of the film".[32]

Track list
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Dusokute"Prasoon JoshiJoi BaruaJoi Barua2:30
2."Dusokute" (Duet version)Prasoon JoshiJoi BaruaJoi Barua, Sharmistha Chatterjee4:41
3."Foreign Balamwa"Prasoon JoshiMikey McClearySonu Kakkar2:28
4."Choone Chali Aasman"Prasoon JoshiMikey McClearyRachel Varghese3:53
5."Meri Aadat Mera Hissa"Prasoon JoshiMikey McClearyAnushka Manchanda2:24
6."I Need a Man"Mikey McClearyMikey McClearyVivienne Pocha2:45
7."Don't Go Running Off Anytime Soon"Mikey McClearyMikey McClearyMikey Mccleary2:56
8."Aai's Aalap"Prasoon JoshiMikey McClearyRajnigandha Shekhawat4:04
9."Laila's Theme (instrumental)" Mikey McCleary 3:28

Release

Margarita with a Straw premiered worldwide at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation. The event was attended by the cast and crew, including Bose and Koechlin; the latter said she was overwhelmed by the response and "loved to see the audiences cry and laugh with the movie".[33] The film was subsequently screened at film festivals across Europe, including the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival,[14] the BFI London Film Festival,[14] the Galway Film Fleadh,[34] the Vesoul Festival of Asian Cinema,[35] and the Giffoni International Film Festival.[36] Margarita with a Straw had its American premiere at the 2015 Palm Springs International Film Festival.[37] It was screened in Castro Theater at CAAMFest, and shown at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival later that year.[14][38] The film opened the 2015 New York Indian Film Festival,[39] and also featured at the 19th Busan International Film Festival and the Istanbul Film Festival.[14] Out on Film, Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and Reeling were among the LGBT events that screened the production.[40][41][42]

After garnering acclaim at the international film festival circuit, the producers of Margarita with a Straw sent it straight to the Central Board of Film Certification. The decision to not send it to any of the major Indian film festivals was looked upon by commentators such as Uma Da Cunha, editor for Film India Worldwide, as a part of a marketing strategy. Srinivasan Narayan, organiser of the Mumbai International Film Festival, said that while Indian film festivals have grown they have not yet reached a level where they can compete for international premieres.[43] Instead, Margarita with a Straw had pre-released screenings for members of the Indian film industry in Mumbai. Along with the cast and crew of the production, these showings were variously attended by Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Vidya Balan, Anurag Kashyap, and Shraddha Kapoor. The film was positively received at the time; Bollywood personalities including Khan and Hrithik Roshan hosted separate special screenings for the film.[44][45][46]

Ahead of its commercial release, the crew organised several promotional events.[47] In an interview with the Indo-Asian News Service Koechlin talked about the importance of marketing for an independent film, saying that although the content of the films is becoming better, Bollywood remains an industry largely driven by box office gains.[48] Bose wanted the film to be marketed as a commercial one despite its art house appeal; she was not very keen on sending it to film festivals and later asked the producers to avoid mentioning the accolades at any of the promotional events.[49] The official trailer was released on 4 March 2015 on Viacom18 Motion Pictures' official YouTube channel.[50] First look posters featuring Koechlin sipping margaritas using a drinking straw were also unveiled on the same day. The film was released theatrically in India on 17 April 2015.[51] It is available on Netflix.[52]

Reception

Critical reception

Margarita with a Straw received positive reviews,[53][54] with some describing the film as "wonderfully liberating"[55] and "an achievement [for Indian cinema]".[56] Particular praise was directed towards Koechlin's performance and Bose's sensitive depiction of cerebral palsy.[53][57] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV lauded the honest depiction of disability and was pleased with how Laila's handicap eventually ceases to matter.[58] Baradwaj Rangan similarly found Bose's treatment of disability and normalcy refreshing: according to Rangan, "there's not a trace of stereotype, not a shred of self-pity" in the characterisation, and the most remarkable thing is that "Laila isn't a differently abled person. She's a person who is differently abled [...] human being comes first, the condition only later."[59] Firstpost's Deepanjana Pal was especially impressed by the sex scenes, which conveyed a "tenderness towards the on-screen lovers" without being weird or coy.[60]

 
Koechlin's performance was acclaimed, and she received several accolades, including a National Film Award.

Koechlin's performance as Laila drew a lot attention from film critics,[61][62][63] who variously attributed her screen appeal to the lack of acting pretence[60] and her "understated artistry".[64] Venky Vembu of The Hindu wrote that Koechlin lent "such verisimilitude to her portrayal of a person with cerebral palsy, that you forget [...] she's an able-bodied actress."[64] Writing for The Commercial Appeal, John Beifuss compared Koechlin's performance to Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the biopic The Theory of Everything (2014). He wrote that her performance would have attracted Academy Award notice in a major film studio production.[65] This view was echoed by other writers as well.[59][66] The supporting cast also received positive reviews. Revathi's "finely nuanced"[67] portrayal of a mother was lauded, and her performance was singled out as "[more] compelling"[68] than any other in the film. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Gary Goldstein offered a mixed response to the production, but wrote that "it's hard not to be captivated" by Koechlin's and Gupta's performances.[69]

Observers also praised the film's technical aspects, while ascribing its appeal to its script, which was "emotionally arresting and startlingly revelatory"[58] and "straight from the heart".[70] Bose's direction was praised for its restraint and its "luminous austerity"[56] and the "expert use of emotions and moments".[71] Many also highlighted the cinematography and commended Misawa for her "judicious work"[70] and "charming frames lit up with an almost dream-like, soft light".[55]

Commentators such as Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters and Mihir Fadnavis of Firstpost were critical of the change of tone and hurried narrative in the film's second half.[72][73] Although the latter was pleased by the film's first half, he thought that after a "glorious, powerful beginning, Bose fails to figure out a proper resolution."[73] Devesh Sharma was critical of the film's scattered plot in his review for Filmfare. He wrote that it "skips and jumps from one plot point to the other", leaving the viewer unsatisfied.[74] Jamkhandikar similarly noted that Bose introduced "too many contrivances and conflicts" in the narrative.[72]

Box office

Margarita with a Straw released in India on about 250 screens.[2] After collecting the meagre sum of 5 million (US$63,000) on its opening day, the figures began to grow over the following days, largely because of positive word of mouth. The film collected improved totals of 7.2 million (US$90,000) on Saturday and 9 million (US$110,000) on Sunday bringing the opening weekend collections to 21.2 million (US$270,000).[75] It faced competition from other productions, including Mr. X and previous releases Ek Paheli Leela and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!, in its opening weekend at the box office, but was expected to do well because of the positive reviews. The first week's numbers held steady at 32.4 million (US$410,000).[76] The film did particularly well in urban areas like Mumbai and National Capital Region where it collected 19 million (US$240,000) and 15 million (US$190,000) respectively.[2] This trend was analysed by Shobha De as marking a "dramatic shift in urban audiences' tastes". She made note of the newfound acceptance of unconventional and sexual themes in Indian cinema.[77] Margarita with a Straw grossed a total of 74 million (US$930,000) during its theatrical run.[2]

Accolades

Bose won the NETPAC Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.[78] The production was subsequently awarded the Audience and the Youth Jury prizes at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema, respectively.[79][80] Koechlin won several accolades for her performance, including the Best Actress Award at Tallinn, the Screen Award for Best Actress, and the Jury Award at the 63rd National Film Awards.[81][82] She also garnered nominations for Best Actress at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Asian Film Awards.[83][84] McCleary won the Best Composer Award at the latter ceremony.[85][86]

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External links

margarita, with, straw, 2014, indian, hindi, language, drama, film, directed, shonali, bose, stars, kalki, koechlin, indian, teenager, with, cerebral, palsy, relocates, america, undergraduate, education, comes, following, complex, relationship, with, blind, gi. Margarita with a Straw is a 2014 Indian Hindi language drama film directed by Shonali Bose It stars Kalki Koechlin as an Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who relocates to America for her undergraduate education and comes of age following her complex relationship with a blind girl played by Sayani Gupta Revathi Kuljeet Singh and William Moseley play supporting roles Produced by Bose in partnership with Viacom18 Motion Pictures Margarita with a Straw was co written by Bose and Nilesh Maniyar The film deals with the challenging concepts of sexuality inclusion self love and self acceptance Margarita with a StrawTheatrical release posterDirected byShonali BoseWritten byShonali BoseNilesh ManiyarProduced byShonali BoseStarringKalki KoechlinRevathiSayani GuptaWilliam MoseleyCinematographyAnne MisawaEdited byMonisha BaldawaMusic byMikey McClearyProductioncompanyViacom18 Motion PicturesRelease dates8 September 2014 2014 09 08 TIFF 17 April 2015 2015 04 17 India Running time100 minutes 1 CountryIndiaLanguageHindiBudget 65 million 2 Box office 74 million 2 Bose conceived the idea for the film in January 2011 during a conversation with Malini Chib her cousin and a disability rights activist about the latter s desire to have a normal sex life Inspired by Chib s story Bose wrote the first draft of the film s script After winning a Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award for the draft she modified the script to reflect her own perspective incorporating several personal experiences into the narrative Bose completed the screenplay with co writer Maniyar and the advisory council of the Sundance Institute Bose was keen to cast an actress with cerebral palsy for the central part but eventually hired Koechlin who learnt the movements and speech patterns of people with the disorder Filming took place in Delhi and New York in 2013 with Anne Misawa as the director of photography The film was selected for the National Film Development Corporation of India s Work in Progress Lab initiative during post production which was completed in the latter half of 2013 The soundtrack for the film was composed by Mikey McCleary Margarita with a Straw premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival It was also screened at the Tallinn Black Nights the BFI London the Vesoul Festival of Asian Cinema and the Galway Film Fleadh The film was released theatrically in India on 17 April 2015 to positive reviews Commentators praised most aspects of the production Koechlin s performance and Bose s direction Koechlin won the Screen Award for Best Actress and the National Film Award Special Jury Award and Bose won the NETPAC Award at Toronto Commercially Margarita with a Straw grossed over 74 million against a production budget of 65 million Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Development 3 2 Casting 3 3 Filming and post production 4 Soundtrack 5 Release 6 Reception 6 1 Critical reception 6 2 Box office 6 3 Accolades 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditLaila Kapoor is a teenager with cerebral palsy studying at Delhi University She is an aspiring writer and also composes music for an indie band at the university Laila develops feelings for the lead singer but is heartbroken when she is rejected Moving on from the experience Laila is overjoyed to receive a scholarship for a semester s study at New York University Despite her father s reservations she moves to Greenwich Village Manhattan with her orthodox Maharashtrian mother Shubhangini Damle Laila meets an attractive young man named Jared who is assigned to help her in the creative writing class She also meets a young activist Khanum a blind girl of Pakistani Bangladeshi descent with whom she falls in love Laila is enamoured by Khanum s fiercely independent personality and her positive perspective towards her own disability The two spend most of their time together filling in as each other s caregivers Laila becomes confused about her sexual orientation as she is attracted to men Jared in particular while being in a serious relationship with Khanum She has sex with Jared only to regret it immediately Laila does not tell Khanum about this encounter Oblivious to her daughter s relationship with Khanum Laila s mother invites Khanum to Delhi to spend the winter vacation with Laila s family Laila ultimately finds the courage to come out to her mother about bisexuality and her relationship with Khanum both of which her mother strongly disapproves Laila also confesses to Khanum that she had sex with Jared and asks for her forgiveness Feeling betrayed by Laila Khanum breaks up with her and leaves for New York Shubhangini is diagnosed with advanced colon cancer which has relapsed after previous treatments Laila and her mother move past their differences while Laila tends to her at the hospital The two eventually reconcile shortly before Shubhangini s death Laila plays a song recorded by Shubhangini at Shubhangini s funeral telling how much she loved her and how she was the only one who ever understood her Laila is later seen drinking a margarita with a straw Cast EditCredits adapted from Rotten Tomatoes 3 Kalki Koechlin as Laila Kapoor Revathi as Shubhangini Kapoor Sayani Gupta as Khanum Kuljeet Singh as Laila s father Hussain Dalal as Dhruv William Moseley as Jared Malhar Khushu as Monu Tenzin Dalha as Nima Shuchi Dwivedi as Sameera Doug Plaut as Rob Jennifer Silverstein as Nancy Marco Torriani as CharlesProduction EditDevelopment Edit Khanum is so striking just such a fantastic character And there was this really boring British boy who lived in America When I owned the character writing from being Laila myself Laila was like Are you kidding me This is the more interesting person But I didn t do it consciously thinking Laila just fell in love with Khanum and it happened organically not from me wanting to deal with this issue Bose on Laila s sexuality 4 Shonali Bose began working on a story in January 2011 on what would have been her son s 17th birthday he had died the year previously She worked on the first draft extensively for about a month Although the main character of Laila is based on her cousin Malini Chib a disability rights activist the narrative follows Bose s own experience of losing a family member She acknowledged the difficulty of incorporating elements from her personal life into the story calling it a tough emotional journey 5 The idea of working on a film about disability was conceived during a casual conversation between Bose and her aunt Chib s mother who wanted her niece to work on a similar project aimed at creating awareness regarding the subject 4 Having grown up in the same household as Chib Bose was familiar with the discrimination faced by people with disabilities She was especially intrigued by the general ignorance exhibited towards the sexuality of people with disabilities and therefore decided to incorporate it into the narrative 6 Bose later adapted the original draft into a feature film length script for Margarita with a Straw with co writer Nilesh Maniyar In 2012 the script won the Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award 4 As part of the prize the duo were awarded mentorships from the Sundance Institute s staff and creative advisors and participated in a Feature Film Program Lab which is where Bose decided to modify the story 7 After being told by the advisory board that she was not in the skin of the character Bose decided to rewrite the script from her own perspective instead of solely trying to incorporate Chib s point of view She said that only after winning the award did she incorporate unconsciously her experiences as a bisexual woman in India Bose and Maniyar worked for two years on the script as it went through more than forty revisions before becoming the final screenplay 4 Casting Edit William Moseley plays the love interest for Koechlin s character Bose originally intended to cast actors with the same disabilities as the characters of Laila and Khanum Since there were no actresses with cerebral palsy in India she held auditions for the role in institutions that catered to patients but could not find a suitable person to play the central role Bose also had a meeting with a blind actress in her early thirties to discuss the role of Khanum a character she associated herself with The actress refused to pursue the role being uncomfortable with the sexual content of the script She nevertheless helped Bose by assisting Sayani Gupta who was eventually cast as Khanum 6 Having decided to cast a professional for the part of Laila Bose approached Kalki Koechlin who she said was her first and only choice for the role 8 Since Koechlin was still shooting for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani 2013 at the time Bose began looking for other actresses to play the role but felt that something was missing in each one She eventually decided to push the filming back for three months to accommodate her first choice 9 Koechlin admitted that the role was the most challenging of her film career and she took six months to prepare for it 10 11 She underwent a six week training workshop with actor Adil Hussain which was aimed at making her body language seem natural while also focusing on the speech pattern of patients with cerebral palsy 12 Koechlin spent considerable time with Chib and her physiotherapist and speech therapist She also attended a month long workshop in Delhi where she worked on body part movements 13 Although the film addresses aspects of the challenges of physical disability Koechlin dubbed it a romcom within some hurdles 13 Bose too described the film as a coming of age story about a woman s journey of finding love 14 15 Maniyar who also served as the casting director for the film contacted Gupta for the role of Khanum while she was working on the travel show Yeh Hai India Meri Jaan Immediately drawn to the character Gupta agreed to audition and was cast for the role after a lengthy selection process that lasted about a month 16 She said in a later interview that she had felt fortunate to have bagged the character of Khanum 17 To prepare for the role Gupta stayed blindfolded while doing daily activities such as cooking and bathing and spent time with a special voice and accent trainer She also attended classes at the National Association for the Blind where she learned basic braille 18 Revathi who had previously played a mother to a young child with cerebral palsy in Anjali 1990 agreed to play Laila s mother after reading the script 19 William Moseley was cast as Jared a British student in Laila s class 17 Filming and post production Edit The latter half of the film is set in Greenwich Village New York City Principal photography for Margarita with a Straw began in 2013 and took place at New Delhi and New York with two separate schedules Anne Misawa worked as the director of photography 8 20 21 While the first half of the story is set in the Shri Ram College of Commerce of Delhi University it was mainly filmed at Miranda House 22 Students and staff members from institutions such as Ramjas College and Lady Shri Ram were involved actively in the project Tenzin Dalha a final year political science student from the former played one of Koechlin s love interests in the film Shuchi Dwivedi from the latter played Koechlin s best friend Other students from the university were cast as members of a local band which also included Dalha and Dwivedi Koechlin s father was played by Kuljeet Singh an English Literature professor from Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College 22 Set in the neighbourhood of Greenwich Village the second half of Margarita with a Straw was shot during the summer in New York 6 Filming took place at Roosevelt Island and Coney Island 23 24 Snow machines created the artificial environment required for various sequences set during winter season The crew faced difficulties in filming certain scenes At one point the van that was used to carry Koechlin in her wheelchair broke down and had to be manually stabilised during the shoot 25 Prior to the filming of the sex sceness the cast attended workshops to develop a better understanding of emotional and sexual intimacy Moseley who was especially anxious about his scenes with Koechlin attended a workshop conducted by Bose herself 6 The complete film was shot in two months 26 Margarita with a Straw was selected for the National Film Development Corporation of India s Work in Progress Lab initiative during post production in 2013 24 It was edited by Monisha Baldawa and the sound mixing was done by Resul Pookutty and Amrit Pritam 1 Certain scenes with frontal nudity were removed during the editing process to avoid a conflict with the Central Board of Film Certification 27 Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Ishan Talkies in association with Jakhotia Group and ADAPT the film s final cut ran for a total of 100 minutes 1 Bose had funded the project herself as Viacom18 covered only half the estimated 65 million production cost 2 Another partner withdrew financial support around ten days prior to commencement of filming Bose had to apply for a personal loan to pay the bills but was able to complete the film with support from the crew members who agreed to their payments being delayed 15 The international distribution rights for Margarita with a Straw were acquired by Wide Management a Paris based sales production distribution house 1 Soundtrack EditMargarita with a StrawSoundtrack album by Mikey McClearyReleased3 April 2015 2015 04 03 Recorded2015GenreFeature film soundtrackLabelZee Music CompanyProducerMikey McClearyMusic director and singer Mikey McCleary composed the soundtrack for Margarita with a Straw with Joi Barua serving as the guest composer for both versions of the song Dusokute The lyrics for the album were written primarily by Prasoon Joshi except for the tracks I Need a Man and Don t Go Running Off Anytime Soon the latter featuring English lyrics written by McCleary Artists such as Sharmistha Chatterjee Sonu Kakkar Anushka Manchanda Rachel Varghese Vivienne Pocha and Rajnigandha Shekhawat provided vocals for the album on various tracks 28 The first track to be released the soft rock number Dusokute was originally composed by Barua in Assamese and was rewritten in Hindi by Joshi 29 In April 2015 the complete soundtrack was released under the Zee Music Company label 28 Critics such as Kasmin Fernandes and Joginder Tuteja gave positive reviews of the soundtrack s unconventional style 30 31 The former appreciated Barua s energetic vocals in Dusokute and the desi yet classy number Foreign Balamwa in her 3 out of 5 star review for The Times of India She described the lyrics by Joshi as cheerful but was less impressed by McCleary s passable writing 30 Tuteja writing for Bollywood Hungama noted the album s lack of a commercial appeal and wrote that at best it fit s in well into the stage and setting that the film stands for He praised McCleary s command of the English compositions and his boyish charm as a vocalist Tuteja was particularly impressed by Pocha s thumping vocals in I Need a Man and the serene effect of the final two tracks of the album He also found the choice of such artists as Manchanda and Kakkar odd for what he described as an album heavily influenced by Western music 31 Bryan Durham of the Daily News and Analysis considered the duo s respective tracks unusual and candid He singled out the instrumental number Laila s Theme as the beating heart of the film 32 Track listNo TitleLyricsMusicSinger s Length1 Dusokute Prasoon JoshiJoi BaruaJoi Barua2 302 Dusokute Duet version Prasoon JoshiJoi BaruaJoi Barua Sharmistha Chatterjee4 413 Foreign Balamwa Prasoon JoshiMikey McClearySonu Kakkar2 284 Choone Chali Aasman Prasoon JoshiMikey McClearyRachel Varghese3 535 Meri Aadat Mera Hissa Prasoon JoshiMikey McClearyAnushka Manchanda2 246 I Need a Man Mikey McClearyMikey McClearyVivienne Pocha2 457 Don t Go Running Off Anytime Soon Mikey McClearyMikey McClearyMikey Mccleary2 568 Aai s Aalap Prasoon JoshiMikey McClearyRajnigandha Shekhawat4 049 Laila s Theme instrumental Mikey McCleary 3 28Release EditMargarita with a Straw premiered worldwide at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival where it received a standing ovation The event was attended by the cast and crew including Bose and Koechlin the latter said she was overwhelmed by the response and loved to see the audiences cry and laugh with the movie 33 The film was subsequently screened at film festivals across Europe including the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 14 the BFI London Film Festival 14 the Galway Film Fleadh 34 the Vesoul Festival of Asian Cinema 35 and the Giffoni International Film Festival 36 Margarita with a Straw had its American premiere at the 2015 Palm Springs International Film Festival 37 It was screened in Castro Theater at CAAMFest and shown at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival later that year 14 38 The film opened the 2015 New York Indian Film Festival 39 and also featured at the 19th Busan International Film Festival and the Istanbul Film Festival 14 Out on Film Miami Gay amp Lesbian Film Festival and Reeling were among the LGBT events that screened the production 40 41 42 After garnering acclaim at the international film festival circuit the producers of Margarita with a Straw sent it straight to the Central Board of Film Certification The decision to not send it to any of the major Indian film festivals was looked upon by commentators such as Uma Da Cunha editor for Film India Worldwide as a part of a marketing strategy Srinivasan Narayan organiser of the Mumbai International Film Festival said that while Indian film festivals have grown they have not yet reached a level where they can compete for international premieres 43 Instead Margarita with a Straw had pre released screenings for members of the Indian film industry in Mumbai Along with the cast and crew of the production these showings were variously attended by Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan Aamir Khan Kiran Rao Vidya Balan Anurag Kashyap and Shraddha Kapoor The film was positively received at the time Bollywood personalities including Khan and Hrithik Roshan hosted separate special screenings for the film 44 45 46 Ahead of its commercial release the crew organised several promotional events 47 In an interview with the Indo Asian News Service Koechlin talked about the importance of marketing for an independent film saying that although the content of the films is becoming better Bollywood remains an industry largely driven by box office gains 48 Bose wanted the film to be marketed as a commercial one despite its art house appeal she was not very keen on sending it to film festivals and later asked the producers to avoid mentioning the accolades at any of the promotional events 49 The official trailer was released on 4 March 2015 on Viacom18 Motion Pictures official YouTube channel 50 First look posters featuring Koechlin sipping margaritas using a drinking straw were also unveiled on the same day The film was released theatrically in India on 17 April 2015 51 It is available on Netflix 52 Reception EditCritical reception Edit Margarita with a Straw received positive reviews 53 54 with some describing the film as wonderfully liberating 55 and an achievement for Indian cinema 56 Particular praise was directed towards Koechlin s performance and Bose s sensitive depiction of cerebral palsy 53 57 Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV lauded the honest depiction of disability and was pleased with how Laila s handicap eventually ceases to matter 58 Baradwaj Rangan similarly found Bose s treatment of disability and normalcy refreshing according to Rangan there s not a trace of stereotype not a shred of self pity in the characterisation and the most remarkable thing is that Laila isn t a differently abled person She s a person who is differently abled human being comes first the condition only later 59 Firstpost s Deepanjana Pal was especially impressed by the sex scenes which conveyed a tenderness towards the on screen lovers without being weird or coy 60 Koechlin s performance was acclaimed and she received several accolades including a National Film Award Koechlin s performance as Laila drew a lot attention from film critics 61 62 63 who variously attributed her screen appeal to the lack of acting pretence 60 and her understated artistry 64 Venky Vembu of The Hindu wrote that Koechlin lent such verisimilitude to her portrayal of a person with cerebral palsy that you forget she s an able bodied actress 64 Writing for The Commercial Appeal John Beifuss compared Koechlin s performance to Eddie Redmayne s portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the biopic The Theory of Everything 2014 He wrote that her performance would have attracted Academy Award notice in a major film studio production 65 This view was echoed by other writers as well 59 66 The supporting cast also received positive reviews Revathi s finely nuanced 67 portrayal of a mother was lauded and her performance was singled out as more compelling 68 than any other in the film Writing for the Los Angeles Times Gary Goldstein offered a mixed response to the production but wrote that it s hard not to be captivated by Koechlin s and Gupta s performances 69 Observers also praised the film s technical aspects while ascribing its appeal to its script which was emotionally arresting and startlingly revelatory 58 and straight from the heart 70 Bose s direction was praised for its restraint and its luminous austerity 56 and the expert use of emotions and moments 71 Many also highlighted the cinematography and commended Misawa for her judicious work 70 and charming frames lit up with an almost dream like soft light 55 Commentators such as Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters and Mihir Fadnavis of Firstpost were critical of the change of tone and hurried narrative in the film s second half 72 73 Although the latter was pleased by the film s first half he thought that after a glorious powerful beginning Bose fails to figure out a proper resolution 73 Devesh Sharma was critical of the film s scattered plot in his review for Filmfare He wrote that it skips and jumps from one plot point to the other leaving the viewer unsatisfied 74 Jamkhandikar similarly noted that Bose introduced too many contrivances and conflicts in the narrative 72 Box office Edit Margarita with a Straw released in India on about 250 screens 2 After collecting the meagre sum of 5 million US 63 000 on its opening day the figures began to grow over the following days largely because of positive word of mouth The film collected improved totals of 7 2 million US 90 000 on Saturday and 9 million US 110 000 on Sunday bringing the opening weekend collections to 21 2 million US 270 000 75 It faced competition from other productions including Mr X and previous releases Ek Paheli Leela and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy in its opening weekend at the box office but was expected to do well because of the positive reviews The first week s numbers held steady at 32 4 million US 410 000 76 The film did particularly well in urban areas like Mumbai and National Capital Region where it collected 19 million US 240 000 and 15 million US 190 000 respectively 2 This trend was analysed by Shobha De as marking a dramatic shift in urban audiences tastes She made note of the newfound acceptance of unconventional and sexual themes in Indian cinema 77 Margarita with a Straw grossed a total of 74 million US 930 000 during its theatrical run 2 Accolades Edit Main article List of accolades received by Margarita with a Straw Bose won the NETPAC Award at the Toronto International Film Festival 78 The production was subsequently awarded the Audience and the Youth Jury prizes at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema respectively 79 80 Koechlin won several accolades for her performance including the Best Actress Award at Tallinn the Screen Award for Best Actress and the Jury Award at the 63rd National Film Awards 81 82 She also garnered nominations for Best Actress at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Asian Film Awards 83 84 McCleary won the Best Composer Award at the latter ceremony 85 86 References Edit a b c d Harvey Dennis 16 January 2015 Film Review Margarita With a Straw Variety Archived from the original on 8 September 2017 Retrieved 3 January 2018 a b c d e f Margarita with a Straw Box Office India Archived from the original on 28 July 2017 Retrieved 28 July 2017 Margarita with a Straw Rotten Tomatoes Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 6 January 2018 a b c d Sebastian Meryl 31 October 2014 Interview In conversation with Shonali Bose on Margarita with a Straw Daily News and Analysis Archived from the original on 29 December 2017 Retrieved 28 December 2017 There is a lot of me in Margarita With A Straw Shonali Bose The Indian Express 10 April 2015 Archived from the original on 28 December 2017 Retrieved 28 December 2017 a b c d Stein Sophia 14 June 2016 Margarita with a Straw Yes please Cultural Weekly Archived from the original on 29 December 2017 Retrieved 27 December 2017 Smith Claiborne 26 January 2012 Sundance Institute Mahindra Global Filmmaking Awards Recognize Emerging Independent Filmmakers Sundance Institute Archived from the original on 29 December 2017 Retrieved 28 December 2017 a b Chatterjee Suprateek 16 April 2015 How Kalki Koechlin Literally Lived Her Role In Margarita with a Straw HuffPost Archived from the original on 15 January 2018 Retrieved 31 December 2016 How Kalki Koechlin Almost Missed Margarita With A Straw Role NDTV 17 April 2015 Archived from the original on 1 January 2017 Retrieved 31 December 2016 Gupta Priya 31 March 2015 Kalki Koechlin I practised being on the wheelchair two hours a day for six months The Times of India Archived from the original on 20 October 2016 Retrieved 3 April 2016 Why Vidya Balan s comment on Margarita with a Straw was special for Kalki Koechlin Daily News and Analysis 30 April 2015 Archived from the original on 21 November 2016 Retrieved 3 April 2016 Pacheco Sunitra 4 May 2015 Exclusive Kalki Koechlin on being Laila in Margarita With a Straw The Indian Express Archived from the original on 29 March 2016 Retrieved 3 April 2016 a b Singh Suhani 13 April 2013 Kalki Koechlin takes us through Margarita with a Straw s journey India Today Archived from the original on 16 April 2016 Retrieved 3 April 2016 a b c d e Pacheco Sunitra 4 May 2015 Exclusive Kalki Koechlin on being Laila in Margarita With a Straw The Indian Express Archived from the original on 22 December 2015 Retrieved 13 December 2015 a b Margarita With A Straw a very personal film Shonali Bose The Indian Express 5 October 2014 Archived from the original on 29 December 2017 Retrieved 28 December 2017 Upadhyay Karishma 29 April 2015 How Sayani Gupta stirred it up in Margarita amp why she wants to work in bangla The Telegraph Archived from the original on 29 December 2017 Retrieved 28 December 2017 a b Kalki and Sayani play lesbians on screen The Times of India 11 January 2017 Archived from the original on 30 December 2017 Retrieved 28 December 2017 Mitra Das Srijana 13 April 2014 Kalki Koechlin I was super excited to show my naked body The Times of India Archived from the original on 1 May 2015 Retrieved 29 December 2017 Bhattacharya Roshmila 19 September 2014 Wrote the first draft after my son s death Shonali Bose The Times of India Archived from the original on 21 September 2014 Retrieved 28 December 2017 Bhattacharya Anirudh 28 September 2014 Margarita with a Straw is an intensely personal tale fictionalised for film Hindustan Times Archived from the original on 15 January 2018 Retrieved 3 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw Cast amp Crew Bollywood Hungama Archived from the original on 3 January 2018 Retrieved 3 January 2018 a b Aggarwal Umang 8 April 2015 In Kalki Koechlin s next Khalsa prof plays her dad and Ramjas student her love interest The Times of India Archived from the original on 7 April 2015 Retrieved 3 January 2018 Koechlin Kalko 19 April 2014 Margarita with a Straw My Laila Diary I Kissed My Bro amp Other Things That Happened On The Set HuffPost Archived from the original on 15 January 2018 Retrieved 3 January 2018 a b Luce Jim 5 May 2015 Film Margarita with a Straw Unexpected Brilliance From India HuffPost Archived from the original on 15 January 2018 Retrieved 3 January 2018 Kalki Koechlin Revathy bond while shooting for Margarita with a Straw The Times of India 8 April 2015 Archived from the original on 7 April 2015 Retrieved 3 January 2018 Scary to play a real life person Kalki Koechlin on Margarita With A Straw News18 9 April 2015 Archived from the original on 4 January 2018 Retrieved 3 January 2018 Kalki Koechlin s Margarita with a Straw cleared by Censor Board with only one cut Daily News and Analysis 30 March 2015 Archived from the original on 4 January 2018 Retrieved 3 January 2018 a b Margarita With a Straw Original Motion Picture Soundtrack iTunes Archived from the original on 5 January 2018 Retrieved 4 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw s first song Dusokute is about love The Times of India 4 April 2015 Archived from the original on 5 January 2018 Retrieved 4 January 2018 a b Fernandes Kasmin 17 April 2015 Margarita with a Straw The Times of India Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 4 January 2018 a b Tuteja Joginder 9 April 2015 Music review of Margarita with a Straw by Joginder Tuteja Bollywood Hungama Archived from the original on 5 January 2018 Retrieved 4 January 2018 Durham Bryanmin 17 April 2015 Music Review Margarita With A Straw Mr X Daily News and Analysis Archived from the original on 5 January 2018 Retrieved 4 January 2018 Exclusive Cerebral Palsy doesn t stop one from having fun says Margarita with a Straw star Kalki International Business Times 14 November 2014 Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Dore Shalini 12 July 2015 Song of the Sea wins best Irish feature at the Galway Film Fleadh The Irish Times Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw showcased in Vesoul Film Festival Sify 5 March 2015 Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw Giffoni International Film Festival Archived from the original on 5 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 USA Premiere of Margarita with a Straw The Times of India 21 January 2015 Archived from the original on 10 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw CAAMFest Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Dore Shalini 11 March 2015 Margarita With a Straw to Open New York Indian Film Festival Variety Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw Out on Film Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Stamets Ben 17 September 2015 Reeling Chicago LGBTQ International Film Festival 2015 Preview Ebert Digital LLC Archived from the original on 18 June 2017 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Barquin Juan 28 April 2015 Margarita with a Straw Depicts Life of a Queer Disabled Woman Miami New Times Archived from the original on 5 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Bhadani Priyanka 17 October 2014 Margarita with a Straw to take a global gamble before India release The Indian Express Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 PIX Aamir Shabana Javed Shraddha watch Margarita With A Straw Rediff Movies 9 April 2015 Archived from the original on 10 September 2015 Retrieved 6 January 2016 PIX Bachchans Kalki at Margarita With a Straw screening Rediff Movies 15 April 2015 Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2016 Hrithik Roshan to Host Special Screening of Margarita With A Straw NDTV 11 April 2015 Archived from the original on 3 January 2016 Retrieved 6 January 2016 Shonali Bose and Kalki Koechlin Promote Margarita with a Straw at Radio Mirchi 98 3 FM Rediff Movies Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Bollywood has become a business Kalki Koechlin The Indian Express 12 April 2015 Archived from the original on 8 June 2017 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw is a commercial film says director Shonali Bose News18 12 April 2015 Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw Trailer Kalki Koechlin in Cinemas now YouTube 4 March 2015 Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Margarita with a Straw Bollywood Hungama 4 March 2015 Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Margarita With a Straw Netflix Retrieved 3 September 2019 a b Mehta Ankita 16 April 2015 Margarita With a Straw Movie Review Roundup Kalki Starrer is a Must Watch International Business Times Archived from the original on 22 December 2015 Retrieved 13 December 2015 Margarita with a Straw Response on Twitter The Times of India 28 April 2015 Archived from the original on 24 April 2015 Retrieved 9 January 2018 a b Sharma Paloma 17 April 2015 Review Margarita With a Straw is refreshing brutally honest Rediff com Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 a b Gupta Shubhra 18 April 2015 Margarita with a Straw review Kalki Koechlin pulls it off and makes us believe in her Laila The Indian Express Archived from the original on 9 July 2017 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Vidya Balan s comment on Margarita with a Straw was special for me Kalki Koechlin The Indian Express 30 April 2016 Archived from the original on 13 April 2016 Retrieved 5 May 2017 a b Chatterjee Saibal 16 April 2015 Margarita with a Straw Movie Review NDTV Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 a b Rangan Baradwaj 25 April 2015 Margarita With a Straw A light lovely tale of sexual awakening and other things that make up life Baradwaj Rangan WordPress Archived from the original on 12 October 2016 Retrieved 1 March 2018 a b Pal Deepanjana 17 April 2015 Margarita with a Straw review Kalki Koechlin is brilliant in this heartfelt yet flawed movie Firstpost Archived from the original on 13 December 2015 Retrieved 13 December 2015 Felperin Leslie 15 September 2014 Margarita With a Straw Toronto Review The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on 15 April 2016 Retrieved 4 April 2016 Chatterjee Saibal 16 April 2015 Margarita With A Straw Movie Review NDTV Archived from the original on 1 April 2016 Retrieved 4 April 2016 Jha Subhash 16 April 2015 Movie Review Margarita With a Straw The Hans India Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 a b Vembu Venky 20 April 2015 Margarita with a Straw A beautiful mind in a disobedient body The Hindu Archived from the original on 10 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Beifuss John 10 September 2015 Tab Hunter Wonder Woman and other LGBT heroes in spotlight at Outflix Film Festival The Commercial Appeal Archived from the original on 26 January 2016 Lodge Guy 4 December 2014 Foreign Actors Forge Global Careers After Film Breakthroughs Variety Archived from the original on 28 December 2017 Retrieved 4 May 2017 Chatterjee Suprateek 17 April 2018 Film review Margarita With A Straw Livemint Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 Retrieved 7 January 2018 Sharma Sanjukta 17 April 2015 Review Margarita With A Straw Is Flawed But Admirable HuffPost Archived from the original on 15 January 2018 Retrieved 7 January 2018 Goldstein Gary 19 May 2016 Strong performances stir Margarita romance Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on 8 January 2018 Retrieved 7 January 2018 a b Bhattacharya Ananya 19 April 2015 Margarita with a Straw review Carry enough tissues to the theatre India Today Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Balapurwala Tasneem 17 April 2015 Movie Review Margarita With A Straw is a moving tale of a special life The Economic Times Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 a b Jamkhandikar Shilpa 17 April 2015 Movie Review Margarita With a Straw Reuters Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 6 January 2018 a b Fadnavis Mihir 16 April 2015 Why Margarita With A Straw could have been the best film of the year and why it isn t Firstpost Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Sharma Devesh 16 April 2015 Movie Review Margarita With A Straw Filmfare Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Kalki Koechlin s Margarita with a Straw mints Rs 2 12 cr in opening weekend The Indian Express 20 April 2015 Archived from the original on 8 June 2017 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Hooli Shekhar 19 April 2015 Mr X Margarita with a Straw Saturday Second Day Collection at Box Office International Business Times Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 De Shobha 18 April 2015 The Age of Laila And Leela Mumbai Mirror Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 6 January 2018 Kannan Indira 16 September 2014 Margarita with a Straw wins NETPAC Award at Toronto film fest India Today Archived from the original on 15 January 2018 Retrieved 15 January 2018 Kalki Koechlin s film Margarita with a Straw wins two awards at the Vesoul Film Festival The Times of India Archived from the original on 28 December 2017 Retrieved 7 January 2018 Kalki bags top honors at Tallinn Film Festival The Times of India 29 November 2014 Archived from the original on 28 February 2018 Retrieved 20 January 2016 Live Amitabh Kangana bag national awards The Hindu 28 March 2013 Archived from the original on 28 March 2016 Retrieved 8 January 2018 Screen Awards 2016 Complete List of Winners NDTV 9 January 2016 Archived from the original on 10 January 2016 Retrieved 8 January 2018 Kilday Gregg 6 July 2015 The Dark Horse Wins Top Honor at Seattle Film Fest The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on 22 December 2015 Retrieved 3 May 2017 Mehta Ankit 26 February 2015 Asian Film Awards 2015 Haider Bags Four Nominations Kalki Koechlin Nominated for Best Actress Category International Business Times Archived from the original on 26 September 2015 Retrieved 24 January 2016 Kalki Koechlin s Margarita with a Straw wins at Asian Film Awards Zee News Archived from the original on 15 January 2018 Retrieved 15 January 2018 Kalki Koechlin Starrer Margarita with a Straw Becomes Only Indian Film to Win Asian Film Awards Photos Winners List International Business Times 26 March 2015 Archived from the original on 15 January 2018 External links EditMargarita with a Straw at IMDb Margarita with a Straw at Metacritic Margarita with a Straw at Frameline Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Margarita with a Straw amp oldid 1134763478, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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