When Small Dreams Become Cinema: The Real Stories Behind Crispy Rishtey
When Crispy Rishtey came out on Jio Cinema late in 2024, it didn’t appear to be a blockbuster. There were no megastars, no fancy marketing, and no big production company to back it. But there was something about it that felt genuine, and it was a film not produced with a formula, but with a personal conviction. After all, it was the story of a man’s long journey to transform feeling into art.
From Jaipur to the Screen: A Director’s Long-Held Dream
Director and actor Jagat Singh had Crispy Rishtey in his heart for years prior to the film’s release. What started out as a short film idea, after five years of persistence, ended up a feature. Jagat, who acted in acclaimed films like Lipstick Under My Burkha and Jai Gangaajal, had always sought to craft emotionally and socially truthful narratives.
For him, Crispy Rishtey was not just another project — it was proof of his small-town dreams and the world he came from. He had roots in Jaipur and the discipline of a theatre actor, so he understood that his debut as a director would need honesty more than flair. This is why the film, even though it is set in the familiar world of love and marriage, prefers to speak in muted tones — about the choices one makes, the guilt that follows, and the tricky balancing act of meeting family expectations.
What the Story Tries to Tell
Crispy Rishtey revolves around Karan (played by Jagat Singh), who agrees to marry Anjali to fulfill his father’s wishes and who, on a logical level, is still tied to his first love, Natasha. On the surface, it sounds like a typical love triangle. But Crispy Rishtey is not about betrayal — it is about emotional debts, and the weight of duty that is ever-present within Indian families.
Karan’s silence becomes the loudest voice in the film. Anjali begins to sense the emotional void between them, while Natasha hovers over Karan as both memory and regret. The story plays out not in heated confrontations, but in glances, pauses, and a world of unspoken ache.
The film’s fifteen songs – a remarkable feat for contemporary cinema – resonate on a deeply emotional level. Rather than being focused on choreography, each piece forms a soundtrack of sorts to a character’s internal dialogue. Each score is a thematic manifestation of a character, moving the emotional currents of a scene.
The visual landscape of the film is equally telling. Most films depicting Rajasthan revel in the opulence of palaces and the inhospitable, barren deserts. Crispy Rishtey, instead, takes the viewer through the ‘real’ Rajasthan, the ‘real’ India, with its vibrant, chaotic, hand-painted dwellings and market places. Most viewers will relate to this India, with its modern attitudes and sentiments embedded within layers of traditional, socio-cultural frameworks.
The People Behind the Lens
Crispy Rishtey is equally textured because of Jagat Singh’s unique journey from actor to director. Singh has a background in social and realism cinema and has keenly cultivated a vision, enabling him to work with emotional restraint. Balakrishnan and Singh’s collaboration sought to reinforce the notion that sincere narratives from tier-two and tier-three cities deserve global exposure.
The cast incorporates both seasoned performers and fresh talent. Murli Sharma, Brijendra Kala, Shruti Ulfat, and Ravi Jhankal are seasoned performers, and Diljott and Manmeet Kaur are fresh talent. The synergy between performers and characters is fundamental to the film. No character feels superfluous. Even the smallest gestures by characters feel real and add something to the film.
The film’s soundtrack is the work of multiple composers and reflects the character’s fragmented emotional states. Romantic, melancholic, and hopeful moods are created and yet they seamlessly blend. The voice overs of Shreya Ghoshal, Mohit Chauhan, Papon, Jubin Nautiyal, KK and the late KK are nostalgic and warm reminding the audience of an older soulful bollywood.
The only thing Crispy Rishtey is lacking is ambition. In a film industry where everything is shot with a fast pace, Crispy Rishtey is a breath of fresh air. The storytelling is subtle. The film’s message is powerful in that it doesn’t need to over explain.
Anjali’s heartbreak, Natasha’s resignation, Karan’s confusion – they unfold without grand speeches, relying solely on glimpses and movements. It’s a place where individuals adore one another, without articulating their feelings. In silence, love is both an expression and a wound. Such emotional restraint, however, is a common phenomenon. While Bollywood thrives on the dramatization of heartbreak, Crispy Rishtey focuses on the everyday pathos of emotional suppression within the family, where obligation overshadows personal want.
The film, however, is not without its pitfalls. Certain scenes feel as though they are dragging on, and could benefit from a more decisive cut. The 15-song structure is a commendable musical enterprise, but it certainly risks decelerating the storyline on a few occasions. Still, for viewers who find concentration and sentiment in a film, there are moments that are certain to stay.
Crispy Rishtey garnered some pre-release buzz for its title and cast. Projections of the first poster led to the anticipation of a light romantic musical. After its release, however, viewers expressed disbelief that the film’s intricate, deeply plotted, and mature storyline lay hidden beneath layers of romantic fluff.
Some critics noted its authenticity even if not all of them were sold on its pacing. Positive remarks were made about the use of music — the emotional commentary it conveyed without resorting to theatricality. Discussions on social media platforms described the film as “an old-school Hindi emotional film made for today’s streaming world.”
The film received warmer responses online compared to its theatrical release. Streaming audiences were able to appreciate the film’s rhythm and the value of its silences and slow reveal. Many young audiences noted they watched it with their parents and ended up discussing real family dilemmas afterward — which, in a way, is the film’s biggest achievement.
Few know that Crispy Rishtey took nearly seven years to complete. Jagat Singh started the project by writing a short film and gradually expanding it as he located the right collaborators and secured funding. He sought to film in real neighborhoods of Jaipur as opposed to the usual sets. Locals were used as extras, and live sounds of the streets were captured in place of studio sound.
The lack of lip syncing in the film’s musical sequences lacked attention. Singh said the songs should serve as “background voices of the soul,” and not divert attention from the emotions being portrayed. Such an approach, in the Indian context cinematic context, could be considered ‘risky’ as the audience ‘s expectation of a film still weighs heavily on the presence of songs and visuals. Nevertheless, the film was able to present its own, ‘Quiet Dignity’.
While, they did not have the budget to have a ‘star’ in the ‘Musical Family Drama’ it was rumored that distributors were ‘shy’ to approach it. But Singh and Shrivastawa were ‘stubborn’ and did not ‘compromise’ on the content, in terms of ‘prop’ songs, and sill commercialized “Songs.” Thus, the ‘stubbornness’ did not in any way harm the ‘film’s Heart’ and, in fact, helped maintain its ‘soul’.
Crispy Rishtey is extremely fascinating in the way it links to Indian social realities. In rhis, the social institution of marriage is not portrayed as a ‘happily ever after’ ending, rather like a juggling act. It reframes the way the young Indians today, ‘walk’ along their personal dreams and the socio-familial ‘expectations’ placed on them.
Crispy Rishtey conveys sentiments in a manner that evokes nostalgia — it prioritizes quiet, unvoiced, and deeply reflective emotions in everyday life. The film, below the family drama and soft background music, explores the unsaid emotional challenges that contemporary India faces. It explores the paradox of love and sacrifice, and the acceptance of both as an integral part of life. While the film is soft, it resonates profoundly. It quietly lingers — much like a song from which the notes have been played, but the music continues to reverberate in the silence.
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