I Want To Talk review: Shoojit Sircar gives Abhishek Bachchan his Piku, actor gives his best performance after Guru

While the one liner of I Want To Talk forces one to compare it to the 2022 acclaimed Hollywood film The Whale, there’s a big difference here: I Want To Talk is based on a real story, The Whale was not.

Abhishek Bachchan plays Arjun Sen, a marketing professional, who is diagnosed with last stage cancer, and he is told by doctors he has about 100 days to live. Naturally worried, he starts spending more time with his daughter Reya (younger version played by Pearle Dey) as his divorce with his wife Indrani is finalised. He even thinks of ending it all one day, only to be convinced otherwise by his nurse, Nancy. And what gives him hope is a request by his daughter: she wants to dance with him at her wedding in the future.

Shoojit Sircar, the director, is in no hurry with I Want To Talk. It’s an indulgent film, which takes its own sweet time to move the story forward. The first half is about Arjun’s struggle to come to terms with being a patient (both as a noun and a verb), and forces you to think: what would you do if you were given just a few months to live, one fine day?