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Pagglait is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language black comedy drama film written and directed by Umesh Bist. The film was produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Achin Jain under the banners Balaji Motion Pictures and Sikhya Entertainment. The film features Sanya Malhotra, Ashutosh Rana, Shruti Sharma and Raghubir Yadav in lead roles.
The film follows a young widow as she learns how to face the family and was released on 26 March 2021 on Netflix.
At the 2021 Filmfare OTT Awards, Pagglait received 3 nominations, including Best Actress in a Web Original Film (Malhotra) and Best Supporting Actress in a Web Original Film (Sayani Gupta), and won Best Supporting Actor in a Web Original Film (Rana).
Sandhya and Astik were never really a close couple in the few months they shared. While looking for Astik's documents for the bank claim, Sandhya finds a photo of a girl in the closet. Sandhya feels anger towards her dead husband thinking he was cheating on her. When Astik's colleagues visit her to offer condolences, she finds the girl from the photo, Aakanksha. Sandhya confronts her in private about her affair. Aakanksha states that she and Astik were deeply in love since college and they both worked in the same company. But he never cheated on his wife, and that they were together until Astik married Sandhya. They could not get married as her parents did not agree to their union. Sandhya finds this hard to believe. The two, however, grow close as she tries to learn more about Astik from Aakanksha.
Meanwhile, members of the family react strongly when it is revealed that Astik had signed an insurance policy for INR 50 lakhs, of which Sandhya is the sole nominee. Shivendra's brothers Tarun, Ghanshyam, and Pappu convince him to use the insurance money for repaying his own bank loans, and he unwillingly tries to replace Sandhya with himself and Usha as nominees. Shivendra and Usha, still grieving the loss of their son, try to come to terms with the family's proposal that Sandhya should be married off to Astik's paternal cousin, Tarun's son Aditya, who is unemployed and failing to manage money for his hotel business.
Sandhya asks Aditya why he wants to marry her. He says he is in love with her, which touches her heart and she accepts the proposal. This angers her parents and Alok, who is also in love with her. On the 13th day of Astik's funeral, Aditya leaves hastily. His parents tell everyone that Sandhya told him that she was pregnant with Astik's child. It is revealed by Aditya's sister, Aditi, that Sandhya lied about her pregnancy to test Aditya's love for her. Sandhya goes missing from the house after the funeral.
Sandhya, meanwhile, is ready to begin a new life with a new job in a new city. Even after being a topper in her M.A. class, her family never let her settle for a job. She shares how since childhood, the main focus of her parents was to marry her off, without any concern for her independence. Seeing Aakanksha working a job, she becomes motivated to work, and become financially independent. She realises that if she had stayed back, she could never live her own life; because in a patriarchal society, other people make decisions for women.
Eventually, in three separate letters to Usha, her mother, Alka, and Alok, Sandhya bids goodbye to her in-laws. Shivendra finds a cheque for the full insurance money, which Sandhya left for him as she believed he'd need it more than her. She also promises to support her in-laws as her husband did.
Sandhya meets with Aakanksha one last time and apologises for earlier her outburst, and gives her the photograph Astik had kept in his book. In the end, she travels on a bus, ready to face life afresh.
Certain audiences noted that the film had similarities with Seema Pahwa's directorial debut Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi. Speaking about the film, Pahwa stated that this was due to both films having a similar setting.
She went on to commend the actors' performances, especially Malhotra's, but objected to the fact that the film portrayed humour in a family at a time when they had just lost a young member.
| Best Sound | Pagglait | |
| Best Supporting Actor in a Web Original Film | Ashutosh Rana | |
| Best Supporting Actress in a Web Original Film | Sayani Gupta | |
| Best Original Screenplay | Umesh Bist | |
| Best Dialogues | ||
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Sanya Malhotra | |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Ashutosh Rana | |
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Sheeba Chaddha | |
| Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast | Cast of Pagglait | |
| Best Music Direction – Songs | Arijit Singh | |
| Best Original Song | “Phire Faqeera” – Arijit Singh, Neelesh Misra, Raja Kumari & Amrita Singh | |
| “Thode Kam Ajnabi” – Arijit Singh, Neelesh Misra & Himani Kapoor | ||
| Best Playback Singer – Female | Himani Kapoor – “Thode Kam Ajnabi” | |
| Best Lyricist | Neelesh Misra – “Phire Faqeera” | |
| Neelesh Misra – “Thode Kam Ajnabi” |
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