How to Actually Portray Disability on Screen Right

A rebellious young woman with cerebral palsy leaves India to study in New York. On her journey of self-discovery, she unexpectedly falls in love.

In terms of representation, there were quite a few things in this film I could personally identify with and even experienced myself. So it is actually refreshing to see that realistically played out on screen and not made into a faux inspirational piece.

What makes this film stand out against others which portray cerebral palsy, is that it looks at the entire family’s dynamic and there are some genuinely nice moments between them. Another standout I appreciate is having a character with a disability be a fully fleshed out protagonist and not have her disability treated like a character trait - because it’s definitely not, especially when you’re born with it.

Leila was a difficult character to empathise with at times, especially when it came to her romantic entanglements. The director didn’t shy away from the fact this was a flawed character who was making mistakes, but it is understandable to an extent her behaviour. It’s always appreciative to see that growth instead of the ensemble cast validating inappropriate and hurtful behaviour just because she is the protagonist.

Kalki Koechlin as Laila Kapoor Was actually a really good casting choice. Although some may argue that Shonali Bose should’ve found and cast an actress with that specific form of cerebral palsy and another actress who was blind, I will always commend any actor or actress who goes out of their way to research the subject matter properly before taking on the role. Before Eddie Redmayne took on Professor Stephen Hawking, he researched the mannerisms, style of speech and mobility range of his character - here Koechlin did the exact same thing and I personally think she did it just as well as he did. I know people who have Leila’s form of CP and her six months of research definitely captured an authentic portrayal in her performance.

Like many coming-of-age films, especially those within the disability and LGBTQ genres - sexuality was explored through this film. In terms of its portrayal of disabled characters having sex, it was rather tasteful (bit graphic at times) and to be honest, this is one of the first films that I’ve seen where both love interests are disabled and it’s not portrayed as a tragedy. Yes, the relationship reaches a heartbreaking conclusion - but the reasons behind that are universally relatable.

The standout performance was definitely played by Sayani Gupta - her character was definitely the most purest at heart and quite frankly, she was too good for Leila. Revathi and Kuljeet Singh were good in their supporting roles, I had mixed feelings on William Moseley who played one of the love interests and not just because his character was from Birmingham and lacked even a hint of a Brummie accent. I can see that this was one of his first roles outside of the Chronicles of Narnia franchise, so naturally he’d want to do something more grown-up and even a little risqué - which he found both with this character. My issue with Moseley’s Jared that aside from causing conflict between Leila and Khanum, his purpose in the story felt rather flat compared to Khanum’s enigmatic stage presence. His character also quite literally vanishes from the story, there is no real conclusion or explanation of what happens after a pivotal scene - yes, more important stuff that’s happening takes priority, but I think we should’ve had that ending for his character. Did he have feelings for Leila? Was even attracted to her or was it an ego boast? How did he feel after that staying with her? Are they even still friends when she leaves for India? Those were questions I genuinely had.

This was a moving, frustrating, poignant and genuinely sad film at times – but I commend the cast and crew for creating such a naturalistic coming-of-age film which explores sexuality and cerebral palsy truthfully without falling on melodrama.

My rating for Margarita with a Straw ★★★½.