Movie Review - थप्पड़

In a 1986 multi starer movie Karma - The jailor played by Dilip Kumar saheb slaps the villain Dr. Dang played by Anupam Kher. Dr. Dang then delivers the timeless dialogue that still rings in the minds of the movie buffs "इस थप्पड़ की गूंज सुनी तुमने..इस गूंज की गूंज तुम्हें सुनाई देगी...पूरी ज़िंदगी सुनाई देगी"
Director writer Anubhav Sinha tries to deliver this message, this time to his audience in his latest drama - "thappad". He is kind of  almost successful in echoing the sound of that slap metaphorically in the minds of the audience as they leave the theater brooding over the two hours of steady and thoughtfully crafted movie.

Amrita is a typical young educated, bubbly, dedicated housewife happily married to a typical young educated, ambitious, go-getter and successful guy who is about to take a big leap in his career. Both are happy and in love with each other, or at least that's what both of them think, dreaming to move to London as the big leap in his career approaches. And then something happens - that metaphorical Thappad which changes the environment completely for Amrita. The movie is a sensitively and craftily done tale of Amrita's dealing with her disappointment, anger and frustration that follows and in the process identifying herself as a person dealing with the innumerable stereotypes and deep seated notions and bias in the society. 

Sounds boring !? It is actually not that simple. There are other stories woven in this one, by peeking into the private spaces of multiple couples with varied backgrounds right from that of a chawl of a housemaid to the bedroom of a elite, successful, upwardly mobile lawyer all having a common thread - the dilemma that Amrita faces. She becomes the quintessential example case for women of this world to discuss and decide what they want from their lives. And there is the caring mother who in her anxiety to see her daughter settled forgets that even she is a women who sacrificed her ambition to manage her family.

There is that father of a darling daughter who is the quiet strength behind her steely resolve. There is a brother who is unwittingly exposed to his own manly biases in being protective of his sister. There is that not so commonly available mother in law who feels the pain of her daughter in law but is helpless in her own web of relationships - and responsibilities of keeping the nest together. There is this successful lawyer husband who lives in his father's world of "हम तो शहंशाह है - तुम क्या चीज़ हो" world. On the other extreme is the husband who routinely hits his wife believing that is how to keep her going while the wife probably has always been believing that its his love for him. Then there is a Bhabhi who is able to empathise with the protagonist and is more blunt and stronger than Amrita herself. You also meet a lady who is on the verge of exploring relationships outside her marriage to release herself from the suffocation of maintaining a good marriage. And yes not to forget a divorcee friend who is also a liberal single parent of a intelligent teenager who is quietly behind Amrita offering her strength. All in all its a intricate world of human emotions, paradoxes and complex relational challenges none of which have easy answers. And believe me I haven't listed them all.

The film is successful in helping the male mind among the audience take a pause and think about their own male biases - even for those who are the liberal types - like yours truly. It may actually be difficult to digest for whom these biases sound like mother nature. To that extent the movie will probably find more audience among the middle class housewife - even if just to comment later that the wife in the movie was being unfair and was creating a mountain of a molehill, The irony of the twists in the tale is that Amrita is able to sketch this powerful persona because of a quiet, firm, wise and loving male character - her father.

After a series of forgettable movies from Director-Write Anubhav sinha - he came into his own with the "Gulab Gang" since then he has already delivered "mulk" and "Article 15" - movies with powerful messages effectively delivered. These were probably not designed to be commercial successes but are movies that are ahead of times and will influence shaping up of future generations. In that sense these movies are close to yash chopra's "kabhi-kabhi" and "Lamhe". I will add "thappad" to this list. The movie compels you to think on a very sensitive, if not controversial, subject of male domination in a marriage. It treats the subject with empathy, sensitivity and yet firmness that it deserves. It brings out many shades of male domination in marriage so deep seated that some of them appear to us naturally correct - unquestioned even by women themselves. The film is able to bring out the difficulty of choice for women because in the Indian context she is married not just to a man - but to a family and a web of responsibilities that come with that fact. It awakens the society, the husband and amazingly even the wife to the reality that she is the "far granted" constant in a complex equation assumed to be available with known value.

Taapsee Pannu churns out another admirable performance in Thappad. She is one of the best in her generation who is both beautiful and can act in a variety of roles right from breezy light commercial singing-dancing-looking sexy roles like that of "Judwa", to the powerful, independent, individual characters like those in "Badla", "Pink", "Naam Shabana" or "Baby" and finally to the understated, quiet and exploratory characters like that in "Saand ki Aankh", the unpopular "Game Over" and now in "Thappad". She looks happy go lucky, bubbly. devoted and obedient at the start. Then she turns into vulnerable, undecided, hurt, angry and determined in the later half. She almost flawlessly depicts the journey from the vulnerable to the determined and self assured as the character deals with her insecurities. She is turning out to be the female version of Ayushman Khurana - experimenting with roles and themes and is certainly doing a better job of being a smita patil of her generation than Ayushman being the sanjeev kumar of the same generation.

Most of the star cast Pavail Gulati, Ratna Pathak Shah, kumud mishra, Tanvi Azami, Dia Mirza, Ram Kapoor, Gracy, Naila  are perfect in their roles and does a great job but this is a Taapsee Punnu and Anubhav Sinha film.

Most movies with such powerful themes do not know where and how to end the movie and so the climax in this one to appeared to be lost and fails to surprise. Thankfully however it is kept real and solidly with the message of the movie. For me the real bonus of the movie are two songs which will not be noted because the focus of its marketing lies elsewhere. Both "एक टुकड़ा धूप का अंदर अंदर नाम सा है" and "थोड़ी सी मै ऐसी हूँ, थोड़ी सी मै वैसी हूँ" are lyrically delectable and are sung very well by Ragav Chaitanya and Sharvi Yadav respectively.

Thappad has to credit its efficacy to good script and crisp dialogues. Some of them ring in for long after the movie is over
"Just a slap पर नहीं मार सकता"
"कई बार सही करने का result happy नहीं होता"
"All marriages are deals. A contract between two people. ताकि शादी के लिए प्यार mandatory न रह जाये"
"उस एक थप्पड़ से मुझे वो सारी unfair चीजे साफ साफ दिखने लगी जिसको मै अनदेखा करके move on करते जा रही थी"
"तुम्हें क्या लगता है दुनिया की सारी शादियाँ प्यार से चलती है? Its an unfair deal of some sense of dignity and security."

थप्पड़ has a must watch recommendation from me. Warning - its a difficult movie, its slow, low on entertainment and it will leave unanswered questions. But what the heck we should watch a few movies for intellectual stimulation and growth too. Go watch it. 

Movie Review - Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (SMZS) by its name appeared to be a sequel to a 2017 light, nice, breezy, hilarious Ayushmaan Khurana - Bhoomi pednekar flick "Shubh Mangal Saavdhan" (SMS). And one wondered, what more can a story writer stir up in a story of a couple who had a performance anxiety problem. It was clear in the first fifteen minutes of the two hour long movie that - except for a brief scene with bhoomi, probably just to remind one of SMS, there was no connection, thankfully.

Ayushmaan is now firmly established in the public perception as someone who will take a new challenge entering an uncharted territory with each of his movie. Right from the role of a sperm donor in his first movie "vicky donor" to the to the balding young insecure middle class guy in "Bala" - he has executed most offbeat characters with elan and conviction. In SMZS SMZS lives up to that reputation. He plays a gay - with confidence, not entirely convincingly but quite endearingly. A gay relationship will probably be commercially less risky thing to weave around two female characters - but this movie goes ahead and tells you a tale of two male characters madly in love with each other.

The unique thing is, there is hardly any parallel in the history to compare this movie with and so you sit through an original trying hard to see the inspiration in some old classic, all time hit and finding none. The only other recent effort towards making gays more acceptable to the society was the Sonam Kapoor effort in "ek ladki ko dekha" - however this movie does not even touch that one from a distance. So you are promised to keep guessing what comes next and I promise you most of your guesses will fail. You are kept surprised in almost every sequence (and the "almost" is a conscious insertion to ensure that I am not trolled if you are able to guess one odd sequence).

What is the easiest way to make something awkward almost taboo - acceptable to the audience !? Answer is comedy. SMZS uses incessant comedy to treat a sensitive, almost untouchable subject in a lower middle class society. In fact the movie is nonchalant about the gayness of its protagonists - to the extent that at times it turns that feature into a caricature, sometimes even mocking it.  To that extent, it does some disservice to the cause of making gay relationships acceptable - but then compensates it with being equally derisive of the orthodox father, cynical society and the illogical social norms that treats the subject with unnecessary embarrassment.

So the movie starts with two gay colleagues struggling in their jobs - happy loving & living with each other - the middle class family of one of whom has planned a nuptial match for him (for want of a better pronoun). He wasn't planning to go and attend his cousin's marriage but for his partner's insistence, joined the "baarat" of the lady (yes the logic in the movie is quite much turned upside down), gets caught by his father in the act on the moving train and then gradually the entire family and society gets involved. So starts a sinusoidal wave of confusions, insecurities, anger, frustration, and fights creating a fumny, laugh riot that makes you giggle through out and you are surprised at why you are laughing at so much stupidity. The only other parallels I can draw with are the 90's govinda flicks.

So did I like the movie? in most parts yes !! - Its a laugh a minute non-stop nonsense. If comedy is about timing - most sequences get it right. Crisp dialogues make even cheesy lines acceptable even while watching it in a family setup. I really liked the bluntness and clear matter of fact way of having said some quite scandalous almost blasphemous statements. The pace is fast - before you recover from one sequence other pops up and so audience is kept on the run always. Casting seems perfect - most characters are played as if were naturally made for them. The best thing was, movie did not stereotype the gays by making them pronounce the female behaviours with male structure of the protagonists. The movie consciously keeps away from sermonizing or preaching on the subject of how society treats the gays. Which by the way also happens to its weakness - most powerful messages have been reduced to a crisp line in order to avoid the preachy tone - thus the messages fail to either sting or to stick with the audience. Still a few that I wish people remember - "आपने कब decide किया की आप gay नहीं बनोगे" or "किसी ने कभी पूछा है जैक से की वो किस के साथ जाना चाहता है जिल के साथ या जॉनी के साथ" or "आपका oxytocin प्यार और मेरा oxytocin बीमारी"|

And now because I talk of weaknesses - the flow isn't smooth. The film bumps from one sequence to the other. Most Ayushman films suffer from one common problem - they do not have a powerful story - they are just based on an offbeat theme. That is why most of them fail to become a milestone movie despite having a different theme. Despite having a potential theme SMZS is neither a "Lamhe" nor an "Angoor" (which for the younger crowd, is neither "milestone path breaking" nor "all time classic comedy"). The movie has a commercial Happy Ending - all was well thereafter kind and hence fails to live an imprint of message that it tried to convey - Pyaar to Pyaar hota hai. One does not even understand why the long introductory sequence featuring Bhoomi was even required.

Both leads - Ayushmaan and Jitendra are just OK. I feel Ayushmaan is unable to bring the variety in his acting that should live up to the variety that he gets in his roles. For the kind of dynamic roles he has got - he should have been the "Sanjeev Kumar" of his generation of actors which he certainly is not by a huge distance. I am told that Jitendra - an IIT grad is quite an internet sensation with his "Kota Factory" videos. If so, as an actor, he disappoints. He fails to convey either the gay love for his partner or the bottled up frustration of a gay who gives into the societal pressures to accept a "normal" marriage. That is probably why the movie is so weak on messaging.

The real soul of the movie are Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao. They are just so natural as the Elder brother and Bhabhi of the quintessential middle class Indian family in the UP that you fall in love with them specially if you have also seen them in "Badhai Ho". Three other actors deserve a rich mention - Manvi Gagroo who has featured in a web series on OTT platforms was in good form in the movie - she is able to make completely stupid statements appea natural and funny at the same time. In the role of half wit obedient and respectful younger brother manu rishi chaddha was
flawless - I was reminded of Manoj Pahwa in Mulk. He was ably supported by sunita rajwar as his wife. All in all the group created a delectably funny and cute joint family.

The movie is great funny watch - just don't take your brains with you in the hall and don't go expecting a sensitively or finely crafted piece on a contemporary subject.

"AAP"timystic Dilli

AAP clean sweeps yet again. Incredible performance by any standards !! Anti incumbency was against the AAP this time around and the BJP under shah went ballistic - almost 200 MPs - many leading names in the cabinet and 11 CMs were on the road campaigning for the party. Winning this election sweepingly against the BJP and its almost infinite resources at its command is indeed a stupendous feat.

This (Click here)  is what I had written on 10th Feb 2010 when AAP had beaten an invincible looking Modiji by a huge 67 seats to 3 with congress failing to even score. Let me start from the same post today when AAP has kind of repeated the performance of last elections (62-8) this time. 

First AAP -

This is what I wrote last time about AAP

with great power comes great responsibility. Here is one suggestion - do not follow the BJP carpet bombing strategy about grabbing power. Create a 10 yr. vision of growing nationally in phases. This means two things1. Get down to brass tacks create an action plan and focus on delivering a major part of your promises in Delhi.2. Create an organisation nation wide focussing on people with similar values.

Honestly, after the landslide victory last elections - in the initial years AAP looked distracted. They tried to go national overnight and actually following the carpet bombing strategy that I had opined against - and lost badly. Then they created a hulla as if they are winning Punjab elections (that too did not happen). There were internal fights - many people parted ways - Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav, Kumar Biswas to name a few. They even fought the bureaucrats and kept targeting Modiji as someone who was a terrible obstructionist.

However, the good thing was they learnt fast  (as they do often) and cooled down, started focussing and worked on at a few deliverables, This seems to have worked handsomely for them as they created an image of doers who brought about a sea change in delivery of basic governance in the city/state. But they seem to have made almost no inroads that of creating a national alternative to opposition. In fact, they seem to have become a one man Party - kejriwal. So here is my suggestion for them now

1. Keep the focus on delivering on your promises as was there in the last three odd years. 
2. Go to old friends and hug them back into the party/ organisation. They were real strength for AAP as well as for citizens of India. 
3. Start working on point 2 of last election's post - pan national organisation. Then leave Delhi to Sisodiaji and move out to build India wide presence. If AAP fails to do that this time around they may not get another chance. 

 For BJP 

All five points I mentioned last year remain as true & relevant for then this time as well. So read them again - here they are 

Second for BJP(Modiji) and its (blind) supportersYou are very strong nationally - take this defeat humbly. You stuck out your neck every time - took the risk and won with flying colors till now. Law of averages has finally caught up. That is no big deal. Collaborate with the new Govt. in Delhi and don't block growth - it will be counter productive.Stop trying to form Governments at any cost (like you are trying to do in Bihar now)3. Stop rebranding and spending on promotions and focus on delivering a few specific promises as - in any case you cannot deliver on all of them.4. Control motormouths who are scaring communities. They seem to be deserting you.5. Finally don't dream of 'Congress Mukt Bharat' because die hard congress supporters probably consolidate with a credible opposition if there is one.

May I just stress point 5 of last year again. Here is data to prove the point

	AAP		BJP		INC
	Seats	Vote Share	Seats	Vote Share	Seats	Vote Share
2015	67	54.3%	3	32.3%	0	9.7%
2020	63	53.5%	7	38.75%	0	4.3%

While the decimation of congress has resulted in increased percentage of vote share of the BJP (in this election) by an impressive 6 plus percentage but it would be simplistic to say that congress votes simply shifted to the BJP.  In fact, last election the total annihilation of Congress helped consolidate the anti BJP votes leading to a clean sweep for the AAP.  Obviously the BJP need tripartite/multi-cornered contest to win in states. So stop looking for congress-mukt bharat. 

Add the following this year to the list

1. Please avoid divisive agenda - the silent majority feels unhappy about it. This election tried to make communal polarization the new normal with even cabinet ministers stooping down to gutter level language.
2. Focus on the economy - time is running out for the country.
3. Modiji should come down to Delhi and accept the responsibility of this defeat. That will be a great gesture to tone down the arrogance that has built up in the party over time of invincibility. 

For Congress

All three points I made last year repeated with more stress and more power of conviction. Here is what This is what I had written then 

1. Sonia and Rahul - take responsibility & resign. Pass on the baton to young and deserving leaders.2. Reinvent and learn the art of better communication in the new young and digital world.3. Go on the streets and connect to real people.

Nothing more to add. Change or be perished. Here is data for you to chew - Congress candidates has lost deposits in 63 out of 66 seats they contested in Delhi.

Let me end this too with the same line that I ended last election's post - "Long live the Indian Democracy".

Movie Review - पंगा

I am not really a Kangana fan. In fact, I quite dislike her because of her unnatural and very average acting skills. So, when my wife suggested watching Panga on her Birthday - I was faced with a devil's choice. You know what I mean - either endure Kangana for three hours or watch a kangana like expressionless face for weeks, if not months.

But then, to my surprise, Panga turned out to be a great flick, "potentially". It starts as the nuclear family version of a suraj badjatya flick "ham saath saath hai", then takes a "dangal" turn and finally turns into a "marry kom" with a "Jo jeeta vo sikandar" finish. The movie turned out to be nice one time watch. 

Panga is a story of a typical middle class housewife jaya nigam who is steel inside. Someone who sacrifices her passion for her duties and then adjusts her duties to pursue her passion. Its a story of how a Indian female has to manage a balancing act all the time and it inspires them to pursue what they believe in. It also is a tale to inspire those who missed the first chance. Or is it really !?

The movie attacks many stereotypes at the same time. That, a working lady has to manage both the fronts, that a husband is not made to manage the house, that there is a right age for everything, that women needs to marry sooner or later and bear children, that independent, ill-mannered, arrogant woman are bad, that woman are..... - so on and so forth. In that sense the movie could have been a very powerful one; the key phrase is "could have been". It fails to be a powerful statement. The director looks confused about whether she is making a light entertaining movie, a movie that drives a strong message, or a movie that will be a commercial success. It thus turns out to be none.

There are many flaws - for a start its script required a lot of pruning and baking to make it crisp. At times the sequence stretches, is slow and lasts longer than the message and then at times it is curtly finished in a single dialogue. The dialogues are OK but fail to stay with you or to hit you hard. Most characters are underdeveloped. The loving husband seems to be a loser which hopefully was not the message. Ashwini iyer Tiwari assumes that audience would know and understand kabbadi and its rules - she failed to learn from the excellent presentation of "dangal". Also movie in most sequences fails to generate the adrenaline that a fast game like kabbadi should have pumped up. In most parts the movie was quite predictable - fails to surprise. In that sense Ashwini turned a nice sweet movie closer to her "Nil Battey Sannata" rather then the more interesting "Bareilly Ki Barfi". Shankar Ehsaan Loy too fail to weave the usual magic they do - music was good but fails to inspire.

I think, the weakest aspect of the movie is its casting - Richa Chaddha's immense talent is being wasted as the second lead - here is an unpopular original opinion - Richa would have turned out to be fitter in the role that Kangana played in the movie. Someone like Taapsi would also have done a great job in the role. And I don't say this because of my innate dislike for Kangana (I rather think this was one of her better performances) but because the character she played, had immense potential for some great acting. Jassie gill was sweet and underwhelming - he just did his job. His character wasn't really developed well. The kid yagya bhasin is impressive and confident. Richa Chaddha is the reprieve you get from dull acting in the movie. She tries hard - however she has been typecasted in the "fukrey" mould. Someone needs to offer her more challenging roles. Neena Gupta did not even get the screen time to make a mark. 

The positive was that the movie was quite real. One feels it is happening around us. Maybe that's why it fails to inspire. It does not look like many middle aged will feel like making a second try after watching the movie. However, full points to the director for keeping the story practical. She avoids the temptation to turn a women in thirties to become a superwomen. She focused on the mental, psychological endurance rather than the physical one - which is good. More often than not the protagonist is faced with hard realities of life rather than winning real battles in a fantasy world of bollywood. The movie kind of pulls you back in the climax and you feel like connecting again and then it ends - just like that. :-)

Panga is a sweet, nice, watchable flick for a movie on the go. Nothing spectacular to remember and for viewers like me - it is a wasted opportunity to actually craft a potentially memorable film. It could have been a big box office hit as well but for the lax treatment of a great story.You can wait for it to appear onn your TV screen or maybe watch it because you don't have a better option. 

Temporary setback or start of a decline !?

With Jharkhand slipping out of the BJP grip quite convincingly - BJP/modi haters are quite ecstatic. Despite an invincible looking Lok sabha win five states slipping out of the BJP fold in just one year does make them look vulnerable suddenly (they have a government in Haryana/Karnataka, however the mandate was not really for them).

Some say that the "Modi Tsunami" is finally waning away - a substantial share of seats that Modiji campaigned for in state elections before and after the 2019 Lok sabha polls were lost by the BJP. Various memes are viral on the social media that compares the BJP's rule between Dec 2018 and Dec 2019; the states under BJP rule shrinking from 19 to 13, The area it governs shrinking from 71% to 35% of India, The population it rules from approx 69% to 42.5%. An interesting statistic is that in the Lok Sabha BJP represents 51% of the Assembly Constituencies whereas at the Vidhan Sabha level - after jharkhand elections it represents just 32% of the constituencies. 

So what does this mean !?
The question is should we start writing the fall of the modi empire and that BJP's achche din as getting over. Like always the answer is not so simple or straight forward. Historically, supporters of either side would like to believe that their perception is the correct one. Let's dip a little into data to understand the nuances.

Let's look at election data for BJP in the three assembly elections conducted in 2019 after the Loksabha elections

BJP vote share and seats won in assembly elections (Src : ECI website)

Year -- >	2009		2014		2019
State	Vote Share	Seats	Vote Share	Seats	Vote Share	Seats
Haryana	9%	4	33%	47	36%	40
Maharashtra	14%	46	27.8%	122	25.7%	105
Jharkhand	20.2%	18	31.26	37	33.7	25

After the stupendous climb in the vote share in 2014 over the 2009 levels the BJP has either maintained or even bettered that vote share in the 2019 elections. However a minor decline in the total number of seats won by the BJP has resulted into government slipping from their grip sometimes.

The results of these elections however - has elated the congress much. So much so that some supporters have started mocking at the "congress mukt bharat" slogan. A few have even shown the gall to phrase the term "BJP mukt bharat" based on the number of states, area under BJP and similar data. So let's look at what is the situation of Congress

Congress vote share and seats won in assembly elections (Src : ECI website)

Year -- >	2009		2014		2019
State	Vote Share	Seats	Vote Share	Seats	Vote Share	Seats
Haryana	35%	90	20.5%	15	31%	31
Maharashtra	21%	82	18%	42	15.9%	44
Jharkhand	16.2%	14	10.5%	6	13.9%	16

As the above table clearly shows after a total rout of sorts for the Congress in 2014 there does seem to have been a modicum of recovery for the Congress. However, to feel elated about this recovery can mean that the Congress still does not understand the depth and quality of decay in their reputation among the masses. They are currently at half the vote share to that of the BJP and are hardly a competition to the BJP as of now. While they may be partners in the Government in the states but politically they are fast transforming into a lightweight.

What explains the BJP setback then !?
The Question then is what is the reason for the BJP setback then. Here is another table for the same states for the 2nd/3rd largest performer in each state (combined for states with more than one strong player)

Regional Party(ies) vote share and seats won in assembly elections (Src : ECI website)

	2009		2014		2019
State	Vote Share	Seats	Vote Share	Seats	Vote Share	Seats
Haryana  (INLD+Ind+JJP)	39%	38	37%	24	29.4%	18
Maharashtra (NCP+SS)	32.7%	106	35.25%	164	32.6%	110
Jharkhand (JMM)	15.2%	18	20.4%	19	18.7%	30

What this table tells is common knowledge, but it is cemented by data proof. In most states now there is a strong regional party/combination that challenges the BJP domination. The arrogance of the BJP brought about by the dizzying success achieved first in 2014 and then in the Lok sabha elections of 2019 may have created this speed breaker of sorts. Alienating the AJSU in jharkhand and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra may have costed it dearly. In at least 10 seats for example in Jharkhand the combined vote share of BJP and AJSU was more than the winning candidate. In the recent future the BJP is going to face elections in West Bengal, Bihar and Delhi where there are regional players TMC, RJD and AAP respectively. 

An interesting statistic to point out is that Excluding J&K India has Total 4033 MLAs out of which

BJP - 1315

Congress - 844

Others - 1865

Vacant - 9

This when the BJP is at the peak of its popularity and the Congress at the Nadir. This is why the BJP will need partners in state to maintain its dominance and for that it must contain its arrogance.

While this is the picture of only three states but it is true of many more states including the north east. The elections of hindi speaking belt (MP/Rajasthanan and Chattisgarh) does not show this trend because none of these states have a strong regional party. Congress improved its performance in these states and so have taken over the Government from the BJP - however a I had shown in an analysis in Dec 2018 then - BJP remains very strong in these states too - except chattisgarh where the congress win emphatic and sweeping. In these states historically - a swing of a couple of percentage points in vote share is substantial in terms of seats won. Here is the analysis if you are interested to read it.

For the congress the important point to brood over is that in most of these states at least one strong regional player was once part of the Congress. It has to come up with strategy and a leader that can help them lead the opposition consolidation that seems to be happening in the states on probably survival instinct. The problem with their leadership is that had their not been sharad pawar in maharashtra they would have let the government there also slip away to the bJP because of their dithering and indecision. In Haryana for example they failed to even build a challenge.

Here is what the Loksabha elections of 2019 looked like

Vote share and seats won in Parliamentary Elections 2019

Party	% of votes polled		No of Seats
	Of Total Voters	Of Votes Polled
BJP	25.16%	37.76%	303
INC	13.12%	19.7%	52
Trinamool	2.74%	4.11%	22
BSP	2.44%	3.67%	10
NCP	0.93%	1.4%	5
CPI(M)	1.18%	1.77%	3
CPI	0.39%	0.59%	2

There is little evidence on the ground that this has changed. The congress should not feel happy about being second nationally with about half the vote share than that of the BJP. BJP has no competition at the national level and the only way to defeat them currently is when they themselves commit harakiri. 
The point in short is 

Despite this setbacks in government formation the BJP support is intact and growing. What has happened is that the opposition in states have consolidated to prevent them to form the government. This is not bad for democracy but is not a durable template for the long term.

While the BJP should seize this opportunity by being humble and including more people in its ambit (although it seems to be doing quite the opposite by being all the time combative, arrogant and in denial). They need to earn trust of fence sitters but their recent aggression probably may have the opposite effect. I have said this earlier - wish to repeat it here. "Congress Mukt Bharat" is actually deleterious to their fortunes - because the more congress shrinks the more regional satraps become stronger.

On the other hand the Congress need to realise the rot and slumber that it is in and should find new credible leadership to create alliance and help consolidate the opposition to become its national face. Of course, at this point of time this looks like wishful thinking as the congress dithers, splutters, stumbles and still moves on !!

Regional parties have the onus till then to fight it out on the ground. The problem however is that most regional parties are out of sync with the millennials as they beat on the same traditional - old lines. They need more progressive approach to reach out to the youth of the country.

Hope we see fundamental changes in politics of all these formations in the new year. Wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous new year.