Synopsis(from filmibeat.com):
Laila (Kalki Koechelin) is a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy. She is a student at Delhi University and an aspiring writer who writes lyrics and creates electronic sounds for an indie band at the university. She gets admitted to New York University and moves with her mother (Revathy). Living in Manhattan, she falls in love with fiery young activist Khanum (Sayani Gupta). Thus she embarks on a journey of sexual discovery which hinders the relationships between her family and friends.
What is your opinion of the film? Do you think
the film accurately portraits the dual theme of sexual identity and disability?
Do you think it prefers one over the other? What is the conclusion of the film?
(Explain what is the possible message of this conclusion)
Margarita,
with a straw is a movie that talking about identity. At first, we were
introduced to the main character, Laila, that suffers from cerebral palsy. Despite
of having life with cerebral palsy, Laila is able to live a life like a normal
person. She never treated her disability as a weakness. We can see how she is
fully accepted her condition and her condition can never stopped her from doing
something that she likes. The story then change its setting, it is no longer in
India but in New York. She received an offer to NYU. Out of frustration for
being rejected by her crush, she decided to accept the offer. New York has
given her a new experience. She is now discover a new identity of her which is bisexual.
In my opinion, the theme of sexual identity and disability are kind of
balancing each other. This is because I feel that Laila and Khanum are able to
develop a mutual feeling since both of them are disable, which makes them
understand each other better. However, for Laila, she still wants to feel like
a ‘normal’ person by having sex with Jared.
Both identities portray in the film
are taboo in our society. It is interesting to put this two themes together as disability
is something that we can see but sexual identity is not hidden until that
person tell us. The director has done a great job by combining them. The movie
ends with a very meaningful message to all of us. The most important thing for
us is to accept our own self, only then we can have a better life. Our self-acceptance
allows us to be confident in life and no matter what life brings to us, we are
going to be alright even though people might not like us.
