If you're in the mood for a heartwarming, tear-jerking, and occasionally hilarious film,
then you gotta check out 'The Sky is Pink.' This movie is based on the real-life story
of Aisha Chaudhary, a spunky and spirited young girl who refuses to let a rare genetic
disorder hold her back. This is a story about love, perseverance, and the true meaning of
family. But be warned, you may need to bring a box of tissues to this one because it's
a real emotional rollercoaster. Get ready to laugh, cry, and maybe even be inspired
by this incredible story. The story opens with a young couple, Aditti
and Nirren, who’ve just discovered that they’re expecting. And while this might
be good news for some, Aditti and Nirren are not that delighted because, for one, they
already have their son (Ishaan), who keeps them busy enough, and secondly, they didn’t
plan a baby. More importantly, though, the two of them are not ready to have another
baby after losing their daughter Tania to a rare genetic disease. The story is narrated
by Aisha herself as she explains her struggles and how they both brought her family together
and tore them apart at the same time. She admits that she feels that she was the reason
her parents argued most of their lives because, of course, two kids meant too many responsibilities,
and so, these two love birds had more than just their hands full. Aisha has even given
her family nicknames like Panda for Nirren, Moose for Aditti, and Giraffe for Ishaan.
But coming back to Aditti and Nirren, they had been in love for the longest time. However,
two years into their marriage, Moose converted to Christianity, but Panda did not object.
In fact, he fully supported her decision until this moment when he realized that abortion
was a sin in the Bible. So, he insists that they should get an abortion because it’s
the only option. The baby could turn out just like Tanya, and they couldn't bear that loss
a second time. Plus, they were already lucky enough to have Ishaan; he was all they needed
to be happy. Still, Aditti is adamant that the baby was coming for a special reason and
the devout Christian within her could never abort her child. And as Aisha explains, Moose
always gets her way. So, fast forward to the birth of their baby,
Aisha Chaudhary, a true beauty named "life." The celebration is immense, as it should be.
And the entire family reassures Nirren and Aditti that this time will be different because
God will not make them suffer again. And at this moment, everything is genuinely perfect.
But alas, all good things must come to an end. And Aisha soon reveals that the story
ends with her death. But don’t worry because the story still has loads of suspense to keep
you hooked to your seat – we promise! Oh, and don’t picture Aisha as a ghost because
that’s definitely not how she wants to be remembered – she’s still got it in her.
Sure, Panda and Moose were happy, but that didn't mean they were rich. They didn't even
have enough for their honeymoon in Nepal – let alone London. And though it wasn't in the
best circumstances, they also got to see London. Something was not right with Aisha, and they
had to fly all the way to London to get a second opinion. But it turns out that their
troubles were far from over. It seemed that Aisha suffered the same fate as Tanya, but
they were prepared this time – and they would risk it all to save their daughter.
The procedure was risky, but their only hope was a sibling donor. As for the price of the
procedure, well, that was something they couldn’t really cover with sheer hope and determination.
Paying for the flight to London had been hard as it was, and now they had to fund almost
enough to land on the moon – 120,000 pounds, to be exact.
You could say that Panda and Moose were more resilient than most parents because they were
so ready to fight, even if it seemed like a lost battle, to begin with. So much so Panda
vowed that he would save Aisha even if it meant that he had to beg for the money – he
would do it. He would do it for her. Because he really couldn’t lose another daughter.
And beg he did – by distributing posters in almost every nook and cranny of London.
He even went on a radio program called Sunrise Radio to appeal for donations. The host, Arjun
Gill, told him not to get his hopes up because he probably wouldn’t be able to get more
than 20,000 pounds at most. So, he shared his story about how his daughter was born
with Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID) which makes it close to impossible for her
body to fight infections. Such babies usually don’t survive more than a year unless they
get the treatment they need. He then goes on to explain how their first-born daughter
succumbed to the same condition. He elaborates that only one in one million couples have
a baby with SCID, but they somehow ended up with two. With their families' help, they've
managed to collect around 60,000 pounds, but they still need another 60,000 to fund the
operation. And that’s really all Panda could manage before his voice breaks and Arjun takes
over. Even Moose leaves a note at her church, reminding God that Aisha meant 'the one who
stays alive.' Panda and Moose are desperate at this point,
so they're thinking of the worst-case scenarios. They both suggest that the other should marry
rich to get the money. And Moose even suggests that she’ll move to her parents' house with
Aisha so Panda and Ishaan won’t get too attached to her. Not to mention, they also
need to explain the situation to Ishaan. But they somehow manage to calm themselves and
decide to just tackle one thing at a time. And sure enough, life throws yet another problem
to occupy their minds. Apparently, Nirren is not Ishaan’s father – or at least that’s
what the doctor believes after analyzing the test results. However, he also informs them
that it’s probably just a mistake and that they’ll repeat the tests before making any
decisive conclusions. Still, the cat is out of the bag, and Nirren is not ready to let
it go so easily. Nirren accuses Aditti of cheating on him,
claiming that it’s the only explanation for why Ishaan is normal. He thinks that Tanya
and Aisha got the SCID gene from him, and Ishaan didn't because he's not his son. And
this seriously riles up Aditti, who tells him to take his suspicions and narrow-mindedness
back to North Delhi. A few harsh words are exchanged between the two as both consider
the other's claims downright ridiculous. They needed money for one kid and proof for the
other – and the only person smiling through this crisis was Ishaan, that too only because
he didn't know what was up. In fact, the only reason the two of them were still together
was because of Aisha. Fortunately, the test re-test results came out pretty soon, revealing
that Ishaan is their child after all. At this, Nirren remarks that he never had a doubt but
was only acting stupidly because of the tense situation and even surprises Aditti with Indian
sweets, and they make amends. With one problem out of the way, the two of
them can finally take a moment to just breathe, and it’s time to start worrying about funding
Aisha’s operation again. Before the anxiety can fully grip them, though, Nirren receives
a call from Arjun at Sunrise Radio, who announces that they’ve managed to collect almost 250,000
pounds for baby Aisha through their national and international listeners. Nirren is obviously
over the moon and has no words to express his gratitude, so he says that he’s thankful
to everyone for treating their daughter as his own. And with that, it was on to the next
problem for the Chaudharies. The bone marrow test results revealed that Ishaan was not
a suitable match for Aisha, so this was also a task for Panda – he had to make yet another
sacrifice, though this was nowhere near the last one. And Panda did not think twice before
making his choice, so Aisha became the first SCID patient to receive both a bone marrow
and stem cell transplant. But Aisha’s new cells would take time to develop into fully
functional immune cells, years even, which meant the Chaudharies still had many things
to worry about. Moose would stay with Aisha in London while Panda would take Ishaan back
to India until they could all safely relocate to India. And though this might seem like
a fairly simple arrangement, Panda and Moose have never been apart for so long since their
eight-year marriage. Thus, this was the start of one of the hardest parts of their struggle
yet. Not only would they miss each other, but they’d both have to stay apart from
one of their kids for as long as it took Aisha to develop stable immunity – and nobody
really knew for sure how long that would be and if it even happened eventually.
Now that Ishaan wasn't around his mother anymore, things were also starting to take a toll on
him. In fact, he can't help but cry on the phone to his mother, explaining how his teacher
scolded him for coloring the sky pink. So much so, he innocently seeks reassurance from
Aditti over the sky being pink. And, of course, Aditti reaffirms that Ishaan can paint the
sky whatever color he feels like. And if he thinks the sky is pink, then it most certainly
is! In her emotional rant, she tells him to never give up on his dreams and to follow
his heart no matter what anyone else says. And finally, she soothes him by telling him
about the toy train that she sent for him as a gift. But things aren't easy for Moose
because while the rest of the family is in India, she's alone with Baby Aisha in London.
And to top it off, the doctors have recommended keeping Aisha isolated to avoid her catching
some kind of infection. So, for her own sanity, they also suggest that Moose should start
making home videos to pass the time. Caring for Aisha is no easy task since everything
needs to be germ-proofed. After all, let's admit that cuteness does have its limits,
and babies are a mess. Moose is counting the days, even though she
is not ready to give up. She didn’t even have too many options, to begin with. But
one day, on the phone with Panda, she discovers that he’s made lunch plans with a woman
named Sonia, who apparently needs help navigating through her divorce. But Moose is suspicious
about why she would want help from Panda rather than an actual divorce lawyer. What’s more,
Panda admits that he’s planning on wearing his cool shirt, which really ticks her off,
and when he eventually hangs up, she is absolutely furious. As Aisha narrates, there is something
about the name Sonia that just naturally raises a lot of eyebrows – had it been Sheela,
Shushma, or even Mamta, Moose probably wouldn’t have batted an eyelash. But now, she couldn’t
help but wonder how he used to be all over her before they got married – the romance
was real then. And it seemed like maybe distance was a bit of a deal breaker.
The two lovebirds, Panda and Moose, had been so romantic that baby Aisha had been to her
first Bollywood movie even before she was born. Instead of the regular hymns, she heard
Bollywood songs and famous dialogues as a fetus. And now, Moose had even stopped responding
to Panda’s calls. She wouldn’t settle for a half-hearted apology, that much she
knew. So, after five days, Panda finally turns up at their doorstep in London and admits
that the long distance was really taking a toll on their relationship. Also, he announces
that he’s been transferred to London for six months so that they can all stay together.
But Moose drops another bomb on him by informing him that they’re not talking months but
years -like ten years or more. Aisha’s body is a deadly warzone until she develops fully
functional B and T cells – and that’s going to take a little more than just a few
months. But Moose also emphasizes that it's just ten years, and if ten years could save
Aisha's life, it wasn't asking too much, was it?
So, the family settles in London and continues with their somewhat mundane routine – but
at least they’re together now. Aisha narrates that while everyone had their fair share of
problems, she was the cause of most of these problems when it came to the people around
her. Yet, they never wavered in their support – not even for a second. She even jokingly
calls herself the villain of the story. Still, things had started getting better for the
Chaudharies, and despite all odds, Panda actually started minting money – without robbing
a bank! They moved to a quiet suburban area in London to avoid large crowds and the germs
that came with them. And unlike most other kids her age, Aisha didn't visit Buckingham
Palace, the London Eye, or Big Ben – rather, she frequented the Great Ormond Street Hospital.
She wasn't even allowed to stop and pet a dog because you guessed it: germs! Even Aisha
herself was pretty much done with the whole situation – but her family was not ready
to give in – they would fight till the last second.
At one of her bi-yearly appointments, to everyone’s surprise, the doctors declare that Aisha’s
condition is finally stable and that she can go on to have a normal life – at least as
normal as one could, given the circumstances. And with that, the family wasted no time in
moving back to India, where they could get back to the life of their dreams. It seemed
that London had not really grown on them all that much. How could it, though, given their
situation? Despite Moose's apprehensions, they move back, considering they could always
return to London if something went wrong. And moving to India wasn't such a bad idea
– even for Aisha. She wasn't being homeschooled anymore, and she could actually flaunt the
Bollywood skills that she had acquired from hours of binging in the name of learning Hindi.
She fit in just fine with the other kids and even developed a crush on one of the senior
boys, Karan. But Moose didn’t change even after moving back to India – she was still
very much obsessed with disinfecting everything for Aisha. And things were going pretty swell
for a while – like they say, it was the calm before the storm.
And the storm hit them when they least expected it. The Chaudharies threw a party at their
house, and the walls were literally echoing with laughter – but it’s cut short a little
too soon when Ishaan finds Aisha sprawled unconscious on the floor. Then, all hell breaks
loose. Doctors had warned that the chemotherapy might have side effects. They'd repeated numerous
times how they couldn't guarantee anything – but did Panda and Moose really have a
choice? It was either that or let Aisha die before she even had a chance to stay alive.
Moose and Panda did what they could because they could not let their second daughter die
in vain. But now, it turned out that chemo did have side effects for Aisha, even if they
showed up after a whopping 14 years. She has what they called Busulfan lung damage which
leads to pulmonary fibrosis – and the worst part is that the condition is not yet curable,
which means that the four of them are back where they started.
Aisha was admittedly frustrated. All those years of caution for nothing? Maybe Moose
actually should have aborted her while there was still time. After all, she was going to
die now anyway – at least that would have been less painful for all of them. Now, she
had only five more years left, and she had to spend them counting her days. Moose, however,
fast-forwarded her feelings of sadness. She wanted to ensure that Aisha made the most
of her life – she wanted her to experience everything she could ever want in whatever
time she had left. So, she decides that the most important thing now is Aisha’s happiness.
She starts off by adopting a dog that they named Rolo. This surprises Aisha and Ishaan,
but Moose brushes it off, saying that Aisha can take anti-allergy pills.
But Moose’s “Operation Aisha” doesn’t end there. In fact, she gets Ishaan to somehow
convince Karan to start hanging out with Aisha more often. And if that wasn’t ridiculous
enough – she goes against store policy to sneakily get Aisha’s size in a sweater.
She didn’t mean any harm, though. She only wanted Aisha to experience everything in life,
including love and intimacy, before she ran out of time. Still, Moose pretty much drove
Ishaan crazy until he left for London to escape the madness. And now, even more than before,
Panda and Moose’s entire attention is focused on Aisha. They made her exercise to keep her
lungs working. Still, Panda would at least sleep at night since he had to go to work,
but Moose was hell-bent on spending every waking moment with Aisha. So much so, even
Panda started working from home – specifically from Aisha’s room.
One day when Karan is visiting, he asks about one of Aisha’s paintings that depicts Rolo
sitting on her bed. But Karan doesn’t quite understand that concept until she explains
that the idea behind the portrait is that she'll be here forever, even when she's gone.
At this, Karan remarks that Aisha could make a great inspirational speaker – and that's
just another idea for Moose to execute, so she's on it in a flash. And thus, Aisha gets
to give her first speech in front of at least a thousand people. She jokes that anything
she'd say would be a hit because the audience would sympathize with the dying girl. Regardless,
the speech was a huge success. However, it turns out that Karan actually only likes Aisha
as a friend, which breaks her heart. And since Moose and Panda thought the best way to treat
a broken heart would be to go on an impromptu family vacation, that’s what they did. They
even call Ishaan all the way from London. Panda and Moose even try to get Aisha to try
parasailing because, at this point, keeping her happy is more important than keeping her
alive. Nevertheless, this didn’t mean Aisha didn’t
appreciate her family’s efforts. In fact, when they took her underwater, it was one
of those moments where you spend your life to the fullest. And in her own words, life
didn’t give her these moments – Panda and Moose created them. However, the plane
ride back isn’t so smooth. Aisha struggles to breathe due to the air pressure but survives
nonetheless. But it was clear that her condition was deteriorating and that she might need
to go for a lung transplant soon. But the couple is divided over this decision. Moose
thinks that a lung transplant is risky even for a healthy body and Aisha wouldn’t be
able to take it, while Panda insists that they should at least try because it might
increase Aisha’s lifespan by ten years. This soon escalates into a heated conversation,
wherein Moose even taunts Panda about Tanya and how his insistence on following the doctors
led them to lose their daughter. Ultimately, though, they decide to leave this decision
to Aisha herself. And as expected, Aisha decides against getting
a transplant because she thinks that dying at 28 would be no easier than dying at 18.
Still, she dials up Ishaan and confesses that she’s not really ready to die. But he consoles
her, saying that the rest of them will be joining her soon in their next life. This
helps soothe her for the time being, but it obviously can’t help her condition. As for
Moose, there was no stopping her either – she wouldn’t even sleep. This obviously makes
her very irritable until she finally has a psychotic breakdown. Hence, she's hospitalized
at a mental health facility, and Panda is left to deal with the responsibility of Aisha
alone. But Aisha promises him that she won't leave, at least until Moose gets back home.
And Moose does come back after a week when she’s back to her senses. What’s more,
Aisha is finally done writing her book because she jokes, not everyone can avoid responsibilities,
like Moose having a psychotic breakdown. So much so, they’ve even found a publisher
called Bloomsbury for her book. But Aisha’s condition is only becoming progressively worse.
One day, Aisha wakes up, and her breathing is worse than normal, so Moose gets straight
to work. She calls Panda and Ishaan to sit beside her. But she also doesn’t want Aisha
to leave without seeing her book published, which is why she dials up the publisher and
requests an early copy. After consistent persistence, he agrees. But the main problem at this point
is that they can’t get their hands on enough oxygen cylinders, and Aisha is using up more
oxygen than usual. But despite everything, she still has her signature smile. And, of
course, she can't help but crack jokes even at a time like this. Aisha’s book arrives
just in time for her to see it. And just like that, she left. She arrived with a bang and
left with a bang, but this one was bigger, maybe even worth celebrating.
Moose takes Aisha’s Tree of Life necklace as a return gift. And Aisha is laid to rest
on top of her sister Tanya’s grave. Still, Aditti (Moose) did not speak for six months
after her passing, and even Nirren (Panda) refused to talk about it altogether. And when
his London office called, he decided to move back immediately. However, Aditti isn’t
too happy with the idea and decides to stay back. She explains that she doesn’t know
what to do with Aisha’s stuff – do they take it with them, throw it out, or just leave
it here? She doesn’t know which option would be right because she's not ready to accept
that their daughter is no more. But Nirren is also frustrated. Of course, he misses Aisha,
but he still wants to start a new leaf. And he's actually very disappointed to hear Aditti
talk so casually about living separately. Aditti admits that she spent all her life
caring for Aisha and that she really doesn't know what to do with her life anymore now
that Aisha’s gone. Nirren is given a farewell before leaving
for London. He reminisces over how the first time he went to London, he didn’t even have
enough money to go. Also, as part of his speech, he shows a video of Aisha that he found on
her laptop. It’s a video that she had recorded as a sort of message after her death. Nirren
admits that even the thought of Aisha haunts him because he, too, cannot fully accept her
death just yet. But he explains that he did go to her room one last time and found the
video. She uses the opportunity to say goodbye to everyone and explains that she lived her
life to the fullest, so she doesn’t have any regrets – and they shouldn’t either.
She even apologizes for not going for the lung transplant and reminds them of the concept
behind her self-portrait. And she ends with how she’s now chilling with Taniya didi
in the pink sky that Ishaan painted. This finally gives them the closure they need.
Nirren settles in London, and Aditti also joins him after a few months. And that’s
how the story ends on a happy note. After all, we’re all going to die someday. And
at least Aisha lived a life fuller than most people ever will. Hence, there’s really
no room for regrets. The most we can do is spend every moment like it’s our last because
we never know when that’ll actually be true. As for Aisha, she’s been perpetuated thanks
to social media, and you can even find her on YouTube, including the Ted Talk she gave,
also known as the “inspirational” speech. So, if you’re still here, ask yourself if
you’re ready to die. Have you lived enough to die without regrets?