Ribbon makes one realise several things about the world around us — jobs have become demanding beyond decency, maternity leave is a career killer and an inconvenience at best and trust no one with your minor child. But despite all the ills inflicted upon us, it summarises with the predictable message that if we band together, we’ll get by.

For all that is going for it, Ribbon falls a trifle short of hitting home, but it does provide enough evidence to suggest that Rakhee Sandilya has it in her to be a director to watch.

Ribbon is an insightful and mature relationship drama that showcases the trials and tribulations of parenting in the city. In a way it’s a perfect companion piece to Vikramaditya Motwane’s Trapped in which a young man is pushed to his mental and physical limits as he becomes a forgotten entity in the crowded metropolis.

At a time when Bollywood is journeying away from the usual potboilers, a film like Ribbon is more than welcome. It addresses subjects that Bollywood and even parents sometimes shy away from addressing to their children. So even if the film is a little bland and a little uneven per se, Ribbon makes for a better watch than most of the no-brainers today.

At the end of all, Ribbon tries to portray something really bad happening around us. It’s just the sludgy route it takes that bothers throughout. Watch only if you can ignore all of the above flaws.

Ribbon has its share of flaws. So relentless is the focus on the protagonists’ lives that we barely get a glimpse into the lives of the other (interesting but sketchy) characters, like Sahana’s friend or Karan’s father or the babysitter who evidently leads a life as adventurous as her employers, if not more.
But that, some other time.

Not all ideas translate well to film and though are some moments of note, if Ribbon works at all, it is credit to Koechlin’s and Vyas’ committed and convincing performances.

Despite its relevant premise, Ribbon fails to leave an impact.

Though the movie piques your interest in bits and pieces, especially in the second half, the abrupt end will leave you disappointed.  

The vantage point that the audience has been given is only interesting for a while, even though Koechlin and Vyas seem capable enough for their roles. Sandilya’s attempt at giving us a glimpse into the unseen pressures of urban life is commendable, but the story has neither meat nor heft to keep the audience interested.

Nice to see man and woman working, and dealing with stuff that happens post-marriage: all the messy, irritating stuff that has not been part of the happily-ever-after Bollywood landscape. Kalki Koechlin leaves a mark as a harried professional.

Ribbon rakes up a lot of issues that deserve at least a discourse in the current scenario, but instead, ends up only fleetingly touching these. Neither the characters nor the narrative take upon the evils and the evil-doers.

Ribbon starts off with one storyline and ends with another, but fails to capture the gamut of both. Rakhee Sandilya has started a conversation on a less-spoken human emotion, very humanely. If only she had taken one route and explored it to its optimum level.