Zwigato is a movie about Manas Singh Mahto (Kapil Sharma), a food delivery rider living in Bhubaneswar with his family. He dreams of finding a “Sugam Form,” an application for a government job, but wakes up to reality and continues his gig job of delivering food to earn incentives. His wife, Pratima (Shahana Goswami), wants a sweeper’s job at a mall, causing Manas to feel insecure. The film explores the struggles of the working class in India, which is often overlooked in mainstream Hindi cinema and national discourse.
The script by Nandita Das and Samir Patil is beautiful in parts but also includes scenes that slow down the narrative, such as a Muslim delivery guy who is afraid to go to a temple and a person getting declined for a government job due to their caste. The story bites off more than it can chew and spreads itself too thin. The cinematography by Ranjan Palit captures the gloomy lanes and down-and-out thoughts of the character’s mind.
Kapil Sharma’s performance lies between a complete miscast and nailing the character. His real-life backstory helps connect with the innocence of Manas, but his “comedy master” tag proves to be a hindrance at times. Shahana Goswami is excellent as Pratima, but the character could have been better written.
Director Nandita Das loves slow-burn movies, but this one drags at places and gets monotonous too soon. Sagar Desai’s background score and Hitesh Sonik’s songs complement the narrative. Overall, the film is a commendable effort but falls short in execution.
