Credit: Special Arrangement
An elderly couple is on the verge of their much-awaited European holiday, but the wife ends up in the hospital due to a brain haemorrhage.
Unfortunately, not much brainpower seems to have gone into the film’s proceedings.
The story of a middle-class man battling astronomical medical bills to keep his partner alive should pull at your heartstrings. But ‘The Signature’, adapted from the 2013 Marathi film ‘Anumati’, evokes little emotion.
It feels more like a documentary — and a dull one at that — on how society treats senior citizens. Often considered “useless” and unworthy of insurance policies.
Anupam Kher finds himself Rs 5 lakh poorer just a week after his wife (Neena Kulkarni) is hospitalised. A DNR (do-not-resuscitate order) is thrust on him — he has to sign the form saying the patient need not be resuscitated if her heart stops.
The son doesn’t want to spend more on his mother’s ventilator support, but the daughter parts with her bangles to pay the mounting bills.
Kher desperately tries to raise money through all possible means: selling ancestral property, pleading with his brother for his share, knocking at newspaper offices for fundraisers, and even prostrating before insurance agents.
Mahima Chaudhary makes an abrupt and awkward entry as Kher’s ex-flame, contributing little to the medical crisis narrative. The drama succeeds in one aspect though — highlighting the plight of “valueless” senior citizens pitted against the youth, who are considered “national treasures”.
The film tries hard to work the tear ducts. It only elicits a weary sigh.