| Margarita with a Straw | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Shonali Bose |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Shonali Bose |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Anne Misawa |
| Edited by | Monisha Baldawa |
| Music by | Mikey McCleary |
Production companies | Viacom18 Motion Pictures Ishan Talkies |
Release dates |
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Running time | 100 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹65 million[2] |
| Box office | ₹74 million[2] |
Margarita with a Straw is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Shonali Bose. It stars Kalki Koechlin as an Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who relocates to America for her undergraduate education and comes of age following her complex relationship with a blind girl, played by Sayani Gupta. Revathi, Kuljeet Singh, and William Moseley play supporting roles. Produced by Bose in partnership with Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Margarita with a Straw was co-written by Bose and Nilesh Maniyar. The film deals with the challenging concepts of sexuality, inclusion, self-love, and self-acceptance.
Bose conceived the idea for the film in January 2011 during a conversation with Malini Chib, her cousin and a disability rights activist, about the latter's desire to have a normal sex life. Inspired by Chib's story, Bose wrote the first draft of the film's script. After winning a Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award for the draft, she modified the script to reflect her own perspective, incorporating several personal experiences into the narrative. Bose completed the screenplay with co-writer Maniyar and the advisory council of the Sundance Institute.
Bose was keen to cast an actress with cerebral palsy for the central part, but eventually hired Koechlin, who learnt the movements and speech patterns of people with the disorder. Filming took place in Delhi and New York in 2013, with Anne Misawa as the director of photography. The film was selected for the National Film Development Corporation of India's Work-in-Progress Lab initiative during post-production, which was completed in the latter half of 2013. The soundtrack for the film was composed by Mikey McCleary.
Margarita with a Straw premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also screened at the Tallinn Black Nights, the BFI London, the Vesoul Festival of Asian Cinema, and the Galway Film Fleadh. The film was released theatrically in India on 17 April 2015 to positive reviews. Commentators praised most aspects of the production, Koechlin's performance, and Bose's direction. Koechlin won the Screen Award for Best Actress and the National Film Award – Special Jury Award, and Bose won the NETPAC Award at Toronto. Commercially, Margarita with a Straw grossed over ₹74 million against a production budget of ₹65 million.