Pihu (2017)
Pihu is an Indian thriller/drama movie that came out in 2017.
So this movie opens up with a depiction of young Pihu's 2nd birthday party that was thrown just the day before. Everyone is all happy singing happy birthday to her. There's no music just people being people at a birthday party. It is rather somber. Ever watched a scene just be so happy that it's eerie?
The next morning, little Pihu wakes up but can't find any of her parents.
Since it's already in the movie poster I'm just going to cut to the chase: Pihu's mom killed herself. Her act of suicide was not shown but it is blatantly revealed that she has self harm scars on her left wrist and her hand clenching a bottle of pills in the other. She also has bruises on her face indicating she is a victim of domestic violence. Pihu can't comprehend her mother's state so she continues to interpret this as a late slumber being that her mother is still in bed. She is forced to be self reliant on doing tasks such as going to the bathroom, brushing her teeth, feeding herself and so on.
Definitely the most triggering scene that personally got me was when she walked into the bathroom and sees the mirror that Pihu's mother wrote her suicide note in red lipstick. She applies the same lipstick to herself and gives her mommy a kiss on the cheek. She obviously can't read it but it's still a sad scene.
Pihu then ventures around the house which this really illustrates the death traps around her as an unsupervised toddler. Everything from playing around a plugged in iron, potentially starting a fire on the stove, broken glass, risk of electrocution, even playing with the very pills that took her mother's life. This movie seemed to explore aplenty of death traps a child could get into. The balcony scene TOTALLY made my heart race like holy shit!
The father is revealed to be on a business trip en route to Kolkata but he has been calling the mother's phone sporadically throughout the day. But this movie exclusively focuses on what goes through the mind of a 2 year old and the obvious dangers of an unsupervised child.
I found this movie pretty interesting in execution. I admit this movie was definitely hard to watch especially the scenes where Pihu was crying for her mom to wake up repeatedly. I legit cried even though I know it's just a movie. It's the realism that really does it for me as there are actual cases of this happening If this doesn't fit into a horror movie then I don't know what does. As a mother myself, this has always been my number one fear when my child was a toddler. This movie is basically an extended version of a PSA very gripping.
Disclaimer. Well that's self explanatory as I mentioned above that there's self harm depictions and suicide. Added with the distress of a child.
If this movie had a message, what would it be? Wow probably always expect the unexpected. Always have a plan b.
Tough call but my verdict?
