Relationships are often the topic of discussion amongst women, so the infatuation with Bollywood movies is not surprising. When I think of Bollywood, I think of a really long movie with hundreds of singing and dancing scenes, and an exaggerated love story. I was in the mood for a Bollywood movie, so I asked a friend for a recommendation, and she suggested Piku. Piku is about a woman named Piku, hence the title, who spends the majority of her time, outside of working at an architectural firm, taking care of her father, Bhashkor. Bhashkor suffers from chronic constipation, so Piku gives her father daily check ups, and forces him to take his medication, but most importantly, she makes sure that she’s doing everything in her power to better his digestive health. Piku is only as happy as her father’s bowels, which honestly sounds like the origin story of a future serial killer. Although Piku was supposed to be a comedy, it failed to make me laugh. A movie about a serial killer would have been funnier than Piku.

Most of the movie’s plot is centered around Bhashkor’s spontaneous visit to his ancestral home in Kolkata, India. Piku did not allow her 70-year-old father to travel alone, so she accompanied him. The drive consisted of a lot of arguing between Bhashkor, the taxi driver and Piku. The taxi driver got fed up with constantly pulling over for restroom stops, and listening to Bhashkor talk about how everything is related to bowel movements.

This movie is extremely different from other Bollywood movies for a few reasons. Firstly, it is centered around an old man and his bowel movements. Bollywood movies and movies in general almost never involve taboo topics such as pooping. Secondly, 95% of the Bollywood movies I’ve seen have a love story. There was nothing even remotely close to romance in this movie. Thirdly, there was no dancing. Bollywood isn’t Bollywood without singing and dancing.

I had no idea that this movie was actually going to be a movie about a constipated old man. By the end of the movie, I was irritated at my friend for recommending such a terrible movie that I wasted more than two hours on. I was expecting two people to fall in love, find reasons why they can’t be together, and then eventually end up together. Of course, I also expected musical performances, which in my opinion is the best part of Bollywood movies. However, this was not the case. I was confused for the whole duration of the movie, and I kept expecting a romance to spark between Piku and the taxi driver.

Although, this movie is very unusual and not as humorous as it was intended to be, there are a few lessons that one could learn from watching this movie. Piku tried to remain patient with her father when he made bad decisions regarding his health, and when he was rude to the help. She took care of him, just as we should take care of our parents when they grow old and frail. The Qur’an stresses the importance of respecting your parents:“Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: “My Lord! Bestow on them your Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood” (Surah al-Isra, v: 23-24). With that in mind, we should definitely take Piku’s relationship with her father as an example of how we should treat our own parents. In order to secure our spot in jannah, we need to ensure that we treat our parents with respect and kindness now, and when they reach old age.