Zwigato

Zwigato
Zwigato
Directed by	Nandita Das
Written by	Nandita Das; Samir Patil
Produced by	Sameer Nair; Deepak Segal; Nandita Das
Starring	Kapil Sharma; Shahana Goswami;
Cinematography	Ranjan Palit
Music by	Score:; Sagar Desai; Songs:; Hitesh Sonik
Production; companies	Applause Entertainment; Nandita Das Initiatives
Distributed by	Viacom18 Studios
Release dates	9 September 2022 (Toronto); 17 March 2023;
Running time	104 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	₹2–3.53 crore

Zwigato is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Nandita Das.^[5] The film is produced by Applause Entertainment and Nandita Das Initiatives. Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami star as the leads.^[6]^[7] The film debuted at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was theatrically released on 17 March 2023. At the 69th Filmfare Awards, the film received three nominations, including Critics Best Film and Critics Best Actress^[8]

Plot

The film, set in current times in Bhubaneswar, explores the life of Manas, an ex-factory floor manager. After losing his job, he is forced to work as a food delivery rider, grappling with the app on his phone and the world of ratings and incentives. He struggles to make ends meet for his wife, Pratima, his two children, and an ailing mother. Simultaneously, Pratima a homemaker, begins to explore different work opportunities to support his income, from being a masseuse for rich women to being a cleaner at a mall. The fears of these new experiences are coupled with the joys of newfound independence.^[9]

Cast

Kapil Sharma as Manas Singh Mahto
Shahana Goswami as Pratima Mahto
Gul Panag as herself
Sayani Gupta as zonal head
Swanand Kirkire as Govind Raj
Tushar Acharya as Raghu

Production

The film has been extensively shot and set in Bhubaneswar.^[10]^[11]

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by Hitesh Sonik. The lyrics were written by Devanshu And Geet.^[12]

Track listing
No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Yeh Raat"	Devanshu, Geet	Sunidhi Chauhan	2:29

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival at the Contemporary World Cinema section in September 2022.^[13] The Film had its Asian premiere at the Busan International Film Festival at 'A Window of Asian Cinema' in October 2022.^[14] It was the opening film of the ‘Kaleidoscope section’ at the International Film Festival of Kerala in December 2022.^[15]

It was released theatrically on 17 March 2023.^[16] After the theatrical release, the Odisha Government declared the film tax-free in the state.^[17]

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.^[18] Anna MM Vetticad in Firstpost wrote "Zwigato is a film of unassuming depth and unobtrusive commentary. Why on earth didn’t someone make this before?"^[19] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote "Unpretentious but unfailingly pertinent. Zwigato hits home with equal measures of power and pathos."^[20] SR Praveen from The Hindu wrote, "Deftly weaved. A poignant story of the new working class."^[21]