the unfulfilled road

At one point in Dev Benegal ‘s Road Movie , Satish Kaushik decides to cut off a few scenes from the reels of one of the movies they are showing to the villagers as they are too boring . How I hoped, why this thought never came to Dev’s mind . His ode to cinema could have been a mesmerizing tale where the effects of cinema on human mind is celebrated . But it ends up as a underwritten senseless movie that was supposed to be sensible in nature .
Cinema can have an unbelievable effect on human minds making them forget their problems & suffering for those precious 3 hours . We can all relate to being captured by the magical spell that cinema weaves on ones mind . Gaping on the movie posters of new releases every Friday . Having a dinner review on the movie just seen by the entire family . Dev had a very relatable idea .The impact of cinema (esp. commercial cinema) on small cities or villages of India which normally lead a boring & mundane life where the spurt of excitement come with the coming of a new movie .Cinemas , far away from the sophistication of multiplexes but are more often open cinemas or little huts with insects crawling all over them .
But Dev is let down as he tries to pack in too many things , water problem , water mafia , love story . travelogue , coming of age , with none of the plots getting a well written finish making it feel half baked & convulted. Especially , The way the characters escape water mafia is silly .Had it been a Priyadarshan movie or David Dhawan one , I would have taken it for its silliness , but for a movie that was supposed to be on realistic terms , I just cant swallow it. The whole fair stuff too is not well explained either. How do all the poor villagers assemble all those equipments & lightning for the fair
Infact initially I thought it will be a coming of age drama of Vishnu its protagonist (played by a restraint & natural Doel, conveying superbly through his eyes) . But if that was the case , it doesn’t quite make it clear to the viewer .
The saving grace in this movie are a few tender moments . Every time a film is used as a tool of escape by the characters followed by the scenes where the poor villagers go into a dream land with the projector playing one cinema after another & the audience bewitched - dancing , rejoicing , crying with it is one of the high points of the movie .had tit stuck with just that theme , it would have been a better movie .
The love making scene between the brilliant Tanishta & Doel is very well shot too. The relationship between the plump Santa who cares for all i.e. Satish Kaushik(, a real surprise his best work till date) & the kid is well shown too .There are some superb & witty dialogues . The way the initial minutes of the movie is showcased where Vishnu wants to run away , while his father wants him to sell oil , shows the stamp of a good filmmaker , slowly & stedily easing us into his world . The slow pace would have worked fine, if not for bad writing . The entire movie is superbly shot working as a visual delight . The way the whole road trip is captured combining the beauty of the deserts of Rajasthan along with the danger ,the boredom & laziness had given t filmamker enough help to setup his movie .
Road Movie could have been a compelling movie & though well shot remains half baked & unfulfilled .

the unfulfilled road

At one point in Dev Benegal ‘s Road Movie , Satish Kaushik decides to cut off a few scenes from the reels of one of the movies they are showing to the villagers as they are too boring . How I hoped, why this thought never came to Dev’s mind . His ode to cinema could have been a mesmerizing tale where the effects of cinema on human mind is celebrated . But it ends up as a underwritten senseless movie that was supposed to be sensible in nature .
Cinema can have an unbelievable effect on human minds making them forget their problems & suffering for those precious 3 hours . We can all relate to being captured by the magical spell that cinema weaves on ones mind . Gaping on the movie posters of new releases every Friday . Having a dinner review on the movie just seen by the entire family . Dev had a very relatable idea .The impact of cinema (esp. commercial cinema) on small cities or villages of India which normally lead a boring & mundane life where the spurt of excitement come with the coming of a new movie .Cinemas , far away from the sophistication of multiplexes but are more often open cinemas or little huts with insects crawling all over them .
But Dev is let down as he tries to pack in too many things , water problem , water mafia , love story . travelogue , coming of age , with none of the plots getting a well written finish making it feel half baked & convulted. Especially , The way the characters escape water mafia is silly .Had it been a Priyadarshan movie or David Dhawan one , I would have taken it for its silliness , but for a movie that was supposed to be on realistic terms , I just cant swallow it. The whole fair stuff too is not well explained either. How do all the poor villagers assemble all those equipments & lightning for the fair
Infact initially I thought it will be a coming of age drama of Vishnu its protagonist (played by a restraint & natural Doel, conveying superbly through his eyes) . But if that was the case , it doesn’t quite make it clear to the viewer .
The saving grace in this movie are a few tender moments . Every time a film is used as a tool of escape by the characters followed by the scenes where the poor villagers go into a dream land with the projector playing one cinema after another & the audience bewitched - dancing , rejoicing , crying with it is one of the high points of the movie .had tit stuck with just that theme , it would have been a better movie .
The love making scene between the brilliant Tanishta & Doel is very well shot too. The relationship between the plump Santa who cares for all i.e. Satish Kaushik(, a real surprise his best work till date) & the kid is well shown too .There are some superb & witty dialogues . The way the initial minutes of the movie is showcased where Vishnu wants to run away , while his father wants him to sell oil , shows the stamp of a good filmmaker , slowly & stedily easing us into his world . The slow pace would have worked fine, if not for bad writing . The entire movie is superbly shot working as a visual delight . The way the whole road trip is captured combining the beauty of the deserts of Rajasthan along with the danger ,the boredom & laziness had given t filmamker enough help to setup his movie .
Road Movie could have been a compelling movie & though well shot remains half baked & unfulfilled .

wake up sid (review)

What is your Aim In Life ?
The first think that a career counselor had asked me in a group discussion when I was in my 10th standard was – What is your aim in life ? I was stumped went numb , not because I didn’t have any answers . This thought never came to my mind as I was too pre-occupied with other things ignoring the fact that one day I have to choose my identity in this competitive world . But one day this ignorance leads to failure that allows others to demand of you an answer to the same question again . It is then when you know that you are left with no choice with no choice but to grow up , leave the child in you behind & transform to a man .

Ayan’s Writing Moments
This reluctance to leave your childhood & teenage fun days , aimlessness , ignorance is what Ayan Mukherjee is trying to depict through his protagonist Siddharth Mehra who wants to have fun all his life , but is challenged by the hard complexities of life in the shape of his first big failure & has to choose his true calling & wake up . His life is comforted by the advent Of Ayesha Banerjee an independent girl who becomes an anchor in Sid’s life & shows him the way. Sids transformation is constructed superbly by Ayan who has penned an exciting screenplay . Though the movie is extremely simple in idea , Ayan brings in some superb moments in the screenplay that are relatable & heart warming .Right from the first scene to last there are umpteen moments that you will find have happened in your own life . It is this relatablity that helps the viewers interested in the proceedings.
That Ayan is a wonderful writer is shown with the way he has written the smaller players in the story not allowing them a different space & treating them as characters who come in & out as Sid’s Journey progresses . But Ayan still manages to flesh them out by giving each their moments . Wether they are Laxmi’s outburst at Sid telling him he is not the only one who has failed & her frustration with weight gain or talented Samit Sen’s scene when he shares the real reason with Sid on why his girlfriend dumped him or The delightful Kashmeera Shah (watch out Miss Rakhi Sawant she can act you can’t) enquiring Konkana about her sex life is hilarious . Even the girl who hates Ranbir for his privileges instead of her being the most deserved one & Neha the girl who falls for her have been given their moment to shine . But for me the cutest scene in the movie is when the little kid gaps at her double aged Kashmeera showing signs of childhood first love . Infact Kashmeera’s character points to first signs of sexuality in Sid as well. This is surprising for a movie that aims at being realistic but has no mention of sexual awakening , an issue that is so prevalent in youngsters of today .Perhaps that’s the Dharma Effect emphasizing on a clean movie

Ayan the Visionary Filmmaker
That Ayan is an excellent writer is proven , but not all good writers can make for superb visionary filmmaker but Ayan scores here as well . That he isgreatly inspired from Farhan style of Cinema is evident even though he is making a movie for Dharma . The way he has extracted performances from even the smallest characters right from the kid to the servant to the friends & others authenticates that . So does his handling of scenes & use of music . The Musical score& background are used to fill in the silences where nothing is said using the scores as a means to convey those emotions . He even knows when to use the silences , using them in the most dramatic of scenes like the confrontation scenes between Sid & his parents or later with Konkana , never allowing such scenes to go into melodramatic territory .His use of Mumbai ( I got that right O.K.) as a character as well depicting its spirit & welcoming nature for outsiders who start feeling at home in a few days is once again a piece of genius from the young filmmaker . Though the film is polished in look , he never allows te camer to take over the story with strange camera angles as some people in the factory m ight do . The film moves at a leisurly pace , but it is justified as it showcases the slow lazy life that Sid lives & never once does its pace bore you .

The little Screenpaly issues
That Ayan understands Sid’s character to the core is quite apparent , he must have led that kind of life himself to know it so well . But the screenplay does have its glitches . The sudden decision of Sid to do a job is not justified having shown him as lazy , aimless boy . Some more scenes could have been included to make him realize that . Also Sid gets a job & success pretty quickly something that is hard to fathom . Life on the other hand is not that easy for an undergraduate in real life .

The Ensemble Performances
There are many mundane moments of silences which are not easy to depict on screen from paper , but Ayan is helped by the excellent ensemble cast . Apart from the brilliant support cast the big players too pitch in with their best . Kher is natural as the father & helps bringing in the tender moments to life through his acting talent . The underused Supriya Kapur is a delight to watch . Konkana , though is not at her best . In the role of a girl who thinks she is matured , but likes having as much fun as Sid she is at times inconsistent making her look artificial , while in some scenes she is brilliant. Having said this , her chemistry with Ranbir works as there are some lovely romantic moments written between them .

Ranbir –The Perfect Sid
But Wake Up Sid is clearly a film that belongs to an actor who is a pleasure to watch on screen , the most talented of this generation Ranbir Kapoor . Ranbir is spontaneity at its best creating an identifiable natural character out of Sid providing a certain amount of laziness though his body language something that is inherent to the character . He coveys all emotion through eyes & is restraint to the core . The man is showing rare signs of maturity , something that many other actors achieve quite late in their careers .

Inspite of some discrepancies Wake Up Sid is an easy watch ., We can all relate to his coming of age drama , self realization journey , finding his true self . Some are still trying to find it , some are choosing their parents whishes , some are still struggling in life . Sid is in all of us.

3 ½ /5