Review of Gour Hari Dastaan: The Freedom File

Image Courtesy: Indiannerve.com

Cast: Vinay Pathak (Gour Hari Das), Konkana Sen (Lakshmi), Ranvir Shorey (Rajiv Singhal), Tannishtha (Anita), Saurabh Shukla (Special Secretary – Freedom Cell), Rajit Kapoor (Mohan Joshi), Vipin Sharma (Ahirkar), Vikram Gokhale (Chief Minister), Rahul Vohra (Editor), Ganesh Yadav (Home Minister), Vinay Apte (MLA Olwe), Asrani, Vidya Malwade, Mohan Kapur (Doctor), Murli Sharma (Godbole), Neha, Achint Kaur, Tapasvi Mehta, Siddarth Jadhav (Tout)

Direction: Anant Narayan Mahadevan

Produced by: Bindiya Khanolkar, Sachin Khanolkar

Screenplay: Anant Narayan Mahadevan, CP Surendran  

Music: Dr. L Subramaniam

Cinematography: Alphonse Roy

Edited by: Sreekar Prasad

Sound Designer: Resul Pookutty

Re-Recording: Anup Dev

Release Date: 14^th August, 2015

Duration: 111 minutes

Language: Hindi

Gour Hari Dastaan: The Freedom File – A film by National Award Winning Filmmaker Anant Narayan Mahadevan. When I watched this film during Jagran Film Festival in July 2015 at Delhi, I did feel that I watched one of the best films of my life. After watching it for the second time in theater on our 69^th Independence Day, I reiterate that, Gour Hari Dastaan is indeed one of the best movies I have watched in my life. Impeccable directing by Anant Mahadevan.

What is so special about Gour Hari Dastaan: One might wonder, what makes this movie special. There are so many factors, I would certainly mention a few of them, although I would also ensure that I don’t steal your right of experiencing the same by watching it on screen.  

One of the factors is that it is a biopic on Gour Hari Das, a freedom fighter, who is now 84 years old and living in Mumbai. It is his story of fighting with lots of patience and persistence for his own rights against the bureaucracy, red-tapism, corruption etc. prevailing in our country. 

The Real Gour Hari Das (Image Courtesy: firstpost.com)

Another factor is the way this story has been treated, conveyed and directed by Anant Mahadevan. Certain details are covered in such a natural manner, which is certainly going to leave you spellbound. Terrific acting by ensemble cast who have put soul into every character: Vinay Pathak as Gour Hari Das, Konkana Sen as Lakshmi, Ranvir Shorey as Rajiv Singhal, Tannishtha as Anita are all just awesome. A few other actors who had very less screen time, but still left a deep impact via their performances viz. Saurabh Shukla, Rajit Kapoor, Vipin Sharma, Vikram Gokhale, Asrani, Vidya Malwade, Mohan Kapur, Murli Sharma, Achint Kaur. Veteran Dr. L. Subramaniam’s music needs no mention and is so good. Even the release date is so well-timed, eve of 69^th Independence Day and it is indeed dedicated to an unsung hero (and many like him) who was part of freedom struggle. It has received so many accolades and awards in International Film Festivals. In short, Gour Hari Dastaan is a perfect combination of ethos, pathos, logos, story, direction, acting etc. This film is going to move you, touch your hearts. Rather, every Indian is going to love this film.

The Review: Gour Hari Dastaan is the story of Gandhian Freedom Fighter Gour Hari Das (Vinay Pathak). The film begins with Andre Gide’s quote: “To know how to free oneself is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with one’s freedom.” This quote actually sets out the whole tone of the movie. Gour Hari Das, an unsung hero of our freedom struggle, who first fought for the country, but later on had to fight against the country.

The initial frame of the movie shows a teenager trying to escape on railway tracks with a train running parallelly. Background dialogues mention that the freedom struggle is not only fought by Nehru or Gandhi, but these young people are also fighters. They were making mention of Mahatma Gandhi’s Vanar Sena who was part of freedom struggle. Vanar Sena was basically children’s army, who used to pass on the secret messages to revolutionaries. Gour Hari Das joined freedom struggle at the age of 14 in 1945, was also part of this Vanar Sena, fought for country’s freedom, went to jail.

Frames move to the decade of 70’s where Gour Hari Das is shown in his house with his son Alok. Alok wanted to have his father’s Jailor Certificate, which could have fetched him Engineering college admission in special quota assigned to freedom fighters. But college principal denies to acknowledge Gour Hari Das as a freedom fighter on the basis of this certificate. Disappointed Alok vents out his frustration at his father and asks in doubt – “Were you actually a freedom fighter”. Here begins the story of Gour Hari Das versus India’s systems. Alok decides to go abroad for his studies and further career. But Gour Hari Das consistently continues writing to the Indian Government to grant him Tamarapatra (Certificate of him being a Freedom Fighter). Standing along with him is his wife Lakshmi (Konkana Sen Sharma, what a performance by her!), a strong pillar of support. Lakshmi’s unconditional support reflects so beautifully through her body language. She is neither judgmental for her husband’s 32 years of fight nor for her son’s flying abroad for better prospects.

For Gour Hari Das, it was a matter of restoring his own identity. When asked by others whether it is his fight to get the freedom fighter’s pension, he soulfully conveys, no, it isn’t about pension or any sort of ego. He was part of the freedom struggle, who fought from Balasore (Odisha) and was jailed for almost 90 days. This was so much part of his identity that if the Tamarapatra was not given to him, he felt that his identity itself was at stake.

Journalist Rajiv Singhal (Ranvir Shorey) is trying to cover the story of Gour Hari Das in Mid Day for which he is questioned by his boss, who wants him to focus on gay rights, the stories which could sell more. Rajiv does not pay heed to his boss and wants to further explore the truth associated with Gour Hari Das’ story. Anita (Tannishtha), Rajiv’s colleague, supports him to explore the truth.

Gour Hari Das’ dastaan continues. It is his struggle for 32 years, knocking 321 doors, writing 1043 letters to different officials, climbing 66000 steps, pleading 2300 times in the Post-independence period to prove that he was the freedom fighter who was even blessed by Mahatma Gandhi and jailed for fighting against Britishers. He visited government offices, influential politicians, ministers, media, jail officials etc. During this turbulent journey, he was called ‘fraud’, ‘thief’, ‘crazy’, ‘eccentric’ by others. But he continued his journey with strong determination. But it took away from him 3 decades of lifetime to finally get justice.

One has to watch the movie and experience his journey. It is amazing to see his perseverance. A dialogue which stayed with me was: “I feel The British did lot of good, atleast we knew, who the enemy was?” The tragedy which is depicted in this film is that Gour Hari first fought for the country’s freedom, but in spite of getting freedom, later on he had to fight against the country.  

Gour Hari Das with Wife (Image Courtesy: www.indiatimes.com)

 Beautiful moments, many of them brought tears to my eyes and gave me goosebumps:

·         Real Gour Hari Das on screen at the end of the film

·         Gour Hari Das taking out the laminated copy of Jailor’s Certificate to give it to his son Alok.

·         Gour Hari Das’s filing all the papers systematically and carrying it wherever he goes and knocks doors, be it media, be it government officials, be it home minister etc. He calls it ‘The Freedom File’.

·         Gour Hari Das’ typing letters to various officials.  

·         The manner in which Lakshmi, son Alok and daughter-in-law Neha break the news to Gour Hari Das in regard to government sanctioning his Tamarapatra

·         Gour Hari Das’ expressions when he actually got his Tamarapatra in his hands

·         Gour Hari Das’ denying an offer of having tea with the Minister and telling him, half of his life was spent on fighting for the country, and rest of his life was wasted in fighting against the country.

·         Gour Hari Das looking at the boys at a traffic light with a deep sigh when the boys were trying to sell Indian Flag for 5-10 Rupees.

·         Gour Hari Das taking his foot back, when he saw the reflection of Indian Flag on water in road.

·         The Climax Scene

National Award-Winning and other prestigious award winning Team of Gour Hari Dastaan: Anant Narayan Mahadevan, Konkana Sen Sharma, Tannishtha, Vikram Gokhale, Rajit Kapur, Saurabh Shukla, Sreekar Prasad (Editor), Anup Dev (Re-Recordist), Resul Pookutty (Oscar-Winning Sound Designer), Alphonse Roy (Emmy Award-winning cinematographer), Dr L Subramaniam (Grammy Nominee), Producers-Bindiya Khanolkar & Sachin Khanolkar.

Made its presence felt in various film festivals

Image Courtesy: Facebook Page of Gour Hari Dastaan

 Gour Hari Dastaan, a must-watch film by every Indian. Perfect blend of ethos, pathos, logos, impeccable direction, acting by ensemble cast, excellent screenplay. This film is going to move you, touch your hearts. One question which pops up in mind –“When will we be free in real sense, and what will we do with this freedom?” This movie is beyond any rating, I want to give it 5+.

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

ZenFestival: Zensation on the Rise

Image Courtesy: Facebook Page of ASUS India

Smartphones have already changed the way we live our lives. Although popularized initially as a handy emailing tool for busy executives on the move, now, smartphones have become an integral part of people’s lives, and used for leisure, entertainment, social networking, photography etc. Smartphone has become ubiquitous.

Exclusive Superpass for ZenFestival 2015

It was in the month of April, 2015 that I got to attend ASUS ZenFone 2 launch. I was equally excited when I got my ‘Exclusive Superpass’ invite for the launch event at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for unleashing the superpowers of new variants of ZenFone on 6^th August, 2015. This turned out to be a huge event, rather it actually turned out to be a festival in real sense – the Zen Festival. Media, bloggers, technical experts, young students from various institutes formed the audience. ASUS’ attempt to have more real-time interaction, closer relationship with consumers reflected through this Zen Festival and is incredible.

Me at the event along with friends Pooja, Vivin, Vijay, Raj

My Incredible T-shirt and Zenny

I was overwhelmed to see the huge turnout of audience. Although  I regret not being able to meet many of my blogger friends. The registration area had Digital Graffitti wall and Photo Op Zone as well. People enjoyed clicking themselves in these zones. The auditorium was also jam packed.

Image Courtesy: Facebook Page of ASUS India

Let me try to share with you a glimpse of ZenFestival event.

The event was hosted by very famous VJ Cyrus Sahukar. He interacted with the audience as well. The event kickstarted with an awesome performance by drummers and dancers. 

Host Cyrus Sahukar; Image Courtesy: Facebook Page of ASUS India

Drummers & Dancers;   Image Courtesy: Facebook Page of ASUS India

Drummers & Dancers; Image Courtesy: Vijay Raj - IClickd

It was followed by ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih taking stage to do the announcements and launch formalities. He expressed his delight : “We are very excited to bring our latest ZenFone models and all new ZenPad series to the Indian Market. These brand new innovations are each an empowering luxury that strikes the perfect balance of beauty, functionality and performance, and offers Indian consumers a premium user experience tailored to their individual mobile needs.”

ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih;  Image Courtesy: Facebook Page of ASUS India

Jonney  Shih expressed his gratitude towards India for welcoming ASUS ZenFone 2 with open arms. He mentioned about 25000 units’ sale on a single day in India and also about  15,00,000 shipments made to India during the period of last one year. He also spoke about the ZenFone 2’s performance in other countries globally viz. Taiwan, China, South East Asia, France, Italy, Japan, US etc.

Indian Market appears to be very good for ASUS ZenFone

Announcements were made in regard to the features, pricing and availability of the latest additions to the ZenFone and ZenPad families viz. ZenFone 2 Deluxe, ZenFone 2 Laser, ZenFone Selfie, ZenPad 7.0, ZenPad 8.0 and last but not the least ZenFone Max.

Jonney Shih unleashed the superpowers of ZenFone 2 Deluxe, ZenFone 2 Laser. Actress Sonakshi Sinha joined Jen Chuang (from ASUS Design Team) to launch ZenFone Selfie. Sonakshi even tried some selfie on-the-spot. Jen Chuang later unveiled ZenPad 7.0 and ZenPad 8.0. The event also saw the worldwide debut of incredible new model ZenFone Max, which was done by Jonney Shih.

Jen Chuang; Image Courtesy: Vijay Raj - IClickd 

Actress Sonakshi Sinha; Image Courtesy: Vijay Raj - IClickd

Zenny made a cute appearance on stage giving good moments of entertainment.

Zenny and Jonney; Image Courtesy: Facebook Page of ASUS India

Unleashing Superpowers; Image Courtesy: Facebook Page of ASUS India

The details about different ZenFone mobiles are mentioned below.

ZenFone 2 Deluxe: See the Crystal Miracle

ZenFone2 Deluxe introduces a stunning new multifaceted polygonal design aesthetic to the ZenFone 2, offering beauty and power in abundance. It includes the latest ASUS ZenUI – the world’s first fully-customizable mobile interface – and Trend Micro^TM  security software for safe web browsing.

ZenFone 2 Laser: See at the Speed of Light

It includes laser auto-focus technology in its 13MP PixelMaster camera for clear, near-instant shots. Available in 5 inch, 5.5 inch, and 6.0 inch versions with upto 1920 X 1080 – pixel full HD resolution, ZenFone 2 Laser also incorporates the latest and toughest Corning Gorilla Glass 4. It boasts an upto octa-core 64-bit Qualcomm^® Snapdragon^TM  processor with upto 3 GB of fast memory for unwavering performance.

ZenFone Selfie: See the Perfect You

ZenFone Selfie is the ultimate choice for selfies, with its twin 13MP PixelMaster cameras and a dual-colour, dual-LED Real tone flash at both front and rear. It is a trailblazing fusion of fashion, technology and craftsmanship that lets users see their perfect selves. It also has laser auto-focus for ultra-fast shots with complete clarity. Its ergonomic arc design and intuitive rear key makes capturing selfies easier than ever, with live digital cosmetics to aplly some magical glamour – all enjoyed instantly on the stunning 5.5-inch Full HD display.

ZenFone Max: See for Longer

ZenFone Max is the latest addition to ZenFone family. It features an ultra-high-capacity 5000 mAh battery for incredible battery life, plus a 13MP PixelMaster amera with laser auto-focus for near-instant focusing and exceptional clarity.

ASUS ZenPad 7.0 and 8.0

These are the premium 7-inch and 8-inch tablets that combine refined styling, incredible entertainment capabilities with rich and vivid visual experience, and are the world’s first tablets to offer customizable functionality, as well as being the world’s first tablets to integrate DTS-HD Premium Sound^TM for the ultimate sound experience.

ZenPad is the world’s first tablet to feature an innovative interchangeable cover design that lets users easily customize their tablet with functional back covers. These can provide extra features and additional colour options, while perfectly matching ZenPad’s looks. Zen Clutch is a sophisticated carrying and protection solution for ZenPad; Zen Case lets users outfit ZenPad in their choice of five sleek or vivid colours and features a fine leather tecture; and Audio Cover brings immersive 5.1 – channel surround sound to a tablet for the first time. Power Case extends ZenPad’s battery life, giving users upto 16 hours of usage to easily get them through their day or even the long international flights.

ZenPad is available with LTE/3G connectivity and phone functionality or as a Wi-Fi- only model.

Comparison with IPhone 6 was done in many of the aspects, whether it was in terms of price range, camera, photo quality etc.

Availability

ASUS ZenFone 2 Deluxe, ZenFone Selfie, ZenFone 2 Laser will be available from August 2015 in India for online purchase through Flipkart, ASUS Exclusive stores and authorized retailers.

Source of Images

Wherever, I have not mentioned any courtesy for images in this post, those photographs are clicked by my mobile. For other images, I have mentioned the courtesy.

I would like to thank my dear friend Vijay Raj who has shared his photographs with me. He is a great photographer as well as a Tech Blogger. Please see more photographs of this event ZenFestival by Vijay at IClickd

I have also picked up a few photographs from the facebook page of ASUS India. Please have a look at this link of ASUS Page.

Further Information

Please visit http://www.asus.com/in for further information.

Pre-Order it here:

http://www.flipkart.com/mobiles/~new-range-of-asus-zenfone/pr?sid=tyy%2C4io

Review of Drishyam (Hindi)

Cast: Ajay Devgn (Vijay Salgaonkar), Shriya Saran (Nandini Vijay Salgaonkar), Tabu (IG Meera Deshmukh), Rajat Kapoor (Mahesh, Meera’s husband), Ishita Dutta (Anju, Vijay’s daughter), Mrinal Jadhav (Anu, Vijay’s daughter), Kamlesh Sawant (Inspector Gaitonde), Prathamesh Parab

Direction: Nishikant Kamat

Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Ajit Andhare, Abhishek Pathak

Production Company: Panorama Studios

Written by: Upendra Sidhaye (Adapted Screenplay and Dialogue)

Story by: Jeethu Joseph

Cinematography: Avinash Arun

Music by: Songs - Vishal Bhardwaj; Background Score – Sameer Phatarpekar

Edited by: Aarif Sheikh

Distributed by: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

Release Date: 31^st July, 2015

Duration: 2 hour 43 minutes

Language: Hindi

Drishyam is the remake of hugely successful Malayalam film and Mohanlal Starrer (2013) by the same name.  Drishyam in Malayalam had done huge amount of business at box office. It has already been remade in Kannada (Drishya in 2014), Telugu (Drushyam in 2014), and very recently in Tamil (Papanasam in 2015). The remakes were very well appreciated and received by the audience. So, now, it is the turn of Drishyam in Hindi.

Hindi Drishyam team has 10 national award winners coming together: Ajay Devgn (Zakhm, The Legend of Bhagat Singh), Tabu (Chandni Baar, Machis), Gulzar, Vishal Bhardwaj (Haider, Ishqiya, Omkara, The Blue Umbrella, Godmother), Director Nishikant Kamat (Best Feature Film in Marathi – Dombivali Fast), Cinematographer Avinash Arun (Killa – Best Marathi Film 2014), Editor Aarif Shaikh (Best Editor – Samay: When Time Strikes’), Viacom 18 Motion Pictures (Best Popular Film providing wholesome entertainment – Mary Kom and Best Hindi Film and Queen), Producers Kumar Mangat Patahk and Abhishek Pathak (Boond).

This review is very special for me, since, it has come full circle for me as a blogger. I started my movie reviews’ blog with the review of Malayalam Drishyam on 1^st January, 2014 and here I am reviewing its official remake in Hindi on 1^st August, 2015, exactly after 19 months of my blogging journey.

The Review

The film credits begin with the punch line: “Visuals can be deceptive”.  Indeed it turns out to be so. What we see could be absolutely deceiving. This film does not deal with the ‘right / wrong’. It neither promotes the ‘right’ nor condemns the ‘wrong’. No justification is given through the screenplay. The film depicts what one could do in a particular crisis. Especially, when it comes to one’s family, he / she can turn out to be very protective and go to any extent to save his / her family. Drishyam has to be watched not with the lens of wisdom, but with the lens of it being a piece of art, which showcases the journey of a head of a family who protects his family by all means.

Soon after the credits, we get to see a new Police officer taking charge in a Police Station, where Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) is waiting. Flash back takes us to the events which led Vijay to be sitting in the Police Station. The story is set up in Goa and is about a Marathi family. Vijay is a local businessman, running his cable company. At many occasions, during the movie, his journey as a self-made man is reiterated. He is an orphan and a 4^th class fail.

Vijay is shown to be part of a happy family with Nandini (Shriya Saran) as his wife and two daughters Anju (Ishita Dutta) and Anu (Mrinal Jadhav). Although it does appear to be strange that most of the nights Vijay is hooked on to movies at office. Vijay is also a great movie buff and he keenly watches various movies and also rationalizes the scenes. He emotes watching movies. Some very light moments are shown in his family, where he acts stingy and wife demands shopping, movie, eating at a restaurant etc. I just wished these family moments could have been made more engaging rather than limiting its portrayal through a song. These moments were very slow.

Another character which is introduced right from the initial frames is Inspector Gaitonde (Kamlesh Sawant), with whom, Vijay ends up having verbal tiffs most of the time. Inspector Gaitonde becomes an integral part of the whole plot.

There are some good moments of laughter between Vijay and his assistant, who takes care of the day-to-day cable network activities and troubleshooting.

Vijay’s happy family picture gets a blow when an unprecedented event hits them. This event sees the entry of IG Meera Deshmukh (Tabu) and her husband Mahesh Deshmukh (Rajat Kapoor) in the scene. Situations take such a turn where Vijay finds himself opposite to Meera and in the shackles of law. You are definitely going to get completely engaged and absorbed in the twist of events that begin to unfold in the second half. It is all about how Vijay and his family stand together, and despite the vengeful villainy of Inspector Gaitonde and the law taking its own course. Drama follows. Meera, who initially underestimates the uneducated 4^th standard failed Vijay, later understands that Vijay is too smart. The psychological cat-and-mouse game that ensues between Vijay and Meera has several moments which you are going to enjoy.  Mahesh, although in a brief role, brings a lot of balance to the situations with his very objective outlook even during the crisis.  

What is that one event which makes Vijay and his family land in trouble? How they find themselves in the clutches of law? What is the thread which connects Meera and Mahesh to this event? How do the story move further, and the events unfold? Will Vijay and his family’s lives be same ever again? Who is right: Vijay and his family or Meera & Mahesh? The climax is the high point of this movie, which is absolutely unpredictable. Watch it out yourself.

  

A Comparison between the Original and the Hindi Remake

It is natural to draw the parallels between the original and the remake. Mohanlal could bring so much depth and spontaneity to his character of Georgekutty in Malayalam. I remember watching Jeethu Joseph’s Malayalam Drishyam with bated breath, never wanting to miss a moment of the film on screen. This gripping tale had left me spellbound with its skillful craft.

Nishikant Kamat’s Drishyam misses the punch. The first half is very slow as well as shallow. The movie definitely picks up in the second half. Ajay Devgn is such a great actor and generally he is able to bring so much intensity to the character he plays, but somewhere his real intensity hasn’t come out optimally. Ajay Devgn has interpreted Vijay in his manner than the original. He has underplayed himself, was it the need of the script? His intensity does come out in the second half, still, I would like to say that we have seen more intense Ajay in other movies viz. Zakham, Gangajal, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai etc.

Another thing I could not decipher is that characters played by Ajay, Shriya, and their kids – Ishita and Mrinal all have been given a very submissive tone of communication even during happy times. In the original version, the whole family was full of life in the first half, banter between Mohanlal and his leading lady Meena was really interesting. The stingy behaviour of Georgekutty and demanding nature of his wife Rani generated lot of lighter sub plots in the original. Also, lots of hilarious moments were there between Mohanlal and his assistant in office. Mohanlal’s playfulness is missing in this version of Ajay Devgn.  Shriya Saran’s portrayal of Nandini lacked depth. Shriya definitely is looking very pretty on screen, but there is nothing more than this.

Who emerges the strongest in this Hindi version is Tabu and her portrayal of Meera Deshmukh. She is so convincing. Rajat Kapoor has a very small supportive role but he does add lot of value to the film with his sheer presence. Also, Kamlesh Sawant does a wonderful work.

Let me admit that Hindi Drishyam has immense scope of improvement. Having said this, I feel, for all those viewers, who have not watched the original or any other South Indian version, Drishyam must be watched for its interesting gripping storyline and especially for the 2^nd half.

Drishyam though lacks the punch of its original version (Mohanlal starrer Malayalam film Drishyam), will not disappoint you with its extremely gripping storyline unraveling with twists & turns in the 2^nd half, and also the very climax. My rating for this movie goes as 3 mainly because I did comparison with the original version. Am sure, in case, you are first time watchers and have not watched the original, you might be able to rate higher.

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Review of Masaan

Image Courtesy: www.bollywoodlife.com

Cast: Sanjay Mishra (Vidyadhar Pathak), Richa Chadha (Devi Pathak), Vicky Kaushal (Deepak Chaudhary), Shweta Tripathi (Shaalu Gupta), Pankaj Tripathi (Sadhya Ji), Nikhil Sahni (Jhonta), Satya Kam Anand (Vikram Mallah), Bhagwan Tiwari (Inspector Mishra), Vineet Kumar (Doctor Chaudhary), Bhupesh Singh (Sikandar Chaudhary)

Direction: Neeraj Ghaywan

Producers: Manish Mundra, Vikas Bahl, Melita Toscon du Plantier, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga, Vikramadita Motwane, Marie Jeane Pascal, Shaan Vyuas

Production Company: Drishyam Films, Phantom Films, Macassar Films, Shikya Entertainment  

Written by: Neeraj Ghaywan, Varun Grover

Music: Indian Ocean Band

Cinematography: Avinash Arun Dhaware

Edited by: Nitin Baid

Release Date: 24^th July, 2015 (19^th May, 2015 at Cannes)

Duration: 1 hour 49 minutes

Language: Hindi

Masaan, a film by debutant director Neeraj Ghaywan, is a very different film which Indian Cinema has not seen in the recent past. Masaan is going to touch your hearts. It has already won two awards at 68^th Cannes International Film Festival this year: International Federation of Film Critics award (FIPRESCI) and Prix de I’Avenir ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ award for Neeraj in the Un Certain Regard section. Masaan’s screening at Cannes fetched the whole team 5 minute long standing ovation. Neeraj has assisted Anurag Kashyap for Gangs of Wasseypur. When Varun Grover joined hands with Neeraj to write this film, the result which has come out as Masaan is a must watch. Indian Ocean Band’s music is a delight to ears. Masaan was also showcased as the opening movie in Jagran Film Festival (1-5^th July, 2015) at Delhi. I was one of the lucky one to catch this show, and I was touched, moved with the movie. Jam packed audience at Jagran Film Festival also gave the Masaan Team standing ovation.

Masaan has got raving reviews from all across the corner after its release. I feel very incompetent to review this movie, since many details are to be seen and felt, very difficult to express through writing.

Masaan is a story of life, death, innocent love, natural progression to explore love as adults, the need to be part of a family, conservative yet adopting a modern outlook towards life, complex mix of modernity with tradition, rebelling against the moral constructs of the society, corruption by a police officer etc.  Masaan is definitely going to have a lingering impact on you, make you accept death as an inevitable part of life, value life more, handle the loss of life, grow beyond grief, face the turbulence of life and the necessity to move on in life irrespective of situations. Oh yes, there are moments of innocent love which is going to bring lot of smile on your face. The film does not try to convey what is right and what is wrong, it does not take any stand as such. It just projects certain realities of life. Certain scenes are so intricately handled, minute details are covered, and these generate so many emotions within us.

The word Masaan means cremation grounds (Ghat), where dead bodies are cremated. The movie is set up in the backdrop of Banaras Ghat. Different stories are conveyed, intertwined with one another. Initial credits in the screen are followed by a message which meant that life is an arrangement of five elements whereas death is actually disarray of the very same five elements. It sets out the tone of the whole movie.

The film begins with Devi Pathak (Richa Chadha) watching a porn film and later going to meet her boyfriend Piyush Agarwal who used to come to her coaching institute where she was working as a receptionist. Both of them are caught red-handed by police officials in a hotel during their first sexual encounter. Inspector Mishra (Bhagwan Tiwari) does not waste a minute in shooting Devi’s video. Meanwhile, Piyush attempts to commit suicide in the restroom. Life takes a humiliating turn for Devi.

Vidyadhar Pathak (Sanjay Mishra, Devi’s father), once a professor, now sits in one of the ghat as a Pandit to conduct rituals and sell Puja materials, and also translates some work to earn a living. He reaches police station to bail Devi out. Oh, it is such a strong emotional moment, when Devi and Vidyadhar are sitting in two chairs adjacent to each other in front of Inspector Mishra. One can relate with both the characters. Vidyadhar is a person, for whom, respect in the society matters a lot. Vidyadhar and Devi’s humiliation reflect so much through their body language. Even after their coming back home, without uttering a word, Vidyadhar expresses to Devi his grief, pain, disbelief, humiliation. Inspector Mishra later emotionally blackmails Vidyadhar when Piyush dies and demands money from him.

And then there is story of Deepak Chaudhary (debutant Vicky Kaushal), who is from Dom community, lives in Harishchandra Ghat along with his parents, brother and sister-in-law. He is also pursuing his final year engineering from a polytechnic college. Masaan shows the lives of people of his community dealing with deaths every moment and earning their livelihood out of deaths. There is a dialogue in the movie which says: There are only two kings in Banaras – one is Kashi King and another one is Dom king; and how true this is.  The dom community is in ghat with the funeral pyre most of the time. They even use this holy pyre to light their stove at home to cook food.

Deepak falls in love with Shaalu Gupta (debutant Shweta Tripathi), an upper caste girl, who is so much a lover of poetry and well-versed with the works of Mirza Ghalib, Bashir Badr, Nida Fazli, Akbar Allahabadi etc. The way love blossoms between Deepak and Shaalu does bring lot of smile. It is interesting to see, how Deepak chooses facebook to connect with Shaalu. Music by Indian Ocean band, and lyrics by Varun Grover (inspired from the poet Dushyant Kumar’s ghazal) : “Tu kisi rail si guzarti hai, main kisi pull sa thartharata hum…” add so much meaning to Deepak and Shaalu’s love.

A strong bond is shown between Vidyadhar Pathak and adorable orphan kid Jhonta (Nikhil Sahni), who assists him in his shop at ghat. Jhonta loves to dive deep into Ganga but does not get permission from Vidyadhar.

Another character Sadhya ji (Pankaj Tripathi), is a clerk in the railway reservation center. How his character is introduced and his role adds to the film’s plot, watch the film to know.

How does the story of Masaan move further? Does Devi’s character succumb to guilt and humiliation? How does she address her own guilt? Does she outgrow it to take charge of her life? How the relationship between Devi and her father Vidyadhar shape up after the unfortunate incident? How do they arrange money for Inspector Mishra? What happens to Deepak and Shaalu’s love story? What actually happens when one person who sees deaths every moment but has to face the death of his most beloved one? How to overcome the grief and feeling of loss?  Does the holy river Ganges able to fill the gap between caste, genders created by human beings in the society? Although, the climax, rather the whole plot, might raise certain questions in your heart i.e. what if the things which happened never happened at all or had taken a different turn?

Certain moments which are definitely going to give you goosebumps: Understated emotions between Devi and Vidyadhar; Deepak trying to cry his heart out and say: ye dukh sala khatam hi nahi hota; Vidyadhar’s realization of how he became a self-centered person to fulfill his own motives, Jhonta’s love towards Vidyadhar and determination to help him; Skullcrushing scenes in the ghat; Deepak’s father wanting Deepak to move out of house / ghat life by fetching a job; Vidyadhar packing food for Devi etc.  

What a fabulous acting by Sanjay Mishra as Vidyadhar Pathak. He brings so much life to all those understated or unstated emotions. Richa Chadha has again proved herself, such a restrained performance. She brings out Devi’s guilt, rebelliousness, and desire to grow in life so well through her performance. The little kid Nikhil Sahni is simply adorable. Pankaj Tripathi is also very good. A special mention for debutants Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi, how innocently, naturally and beautifully they have loved each other in the film. Vicky and Shweta would make us want to fall in love again. Vicky has played his role & delivered the dialogue so convincingly. He expresses happiness as well as grief of Deepak so well. Shweta with her beautiful smile and poetry sprouting role as Shaalu has added lot of freshness to the film. Both Vicky and Shweta are awesome. Rest of the actors have also done justice to their characters.

Indian Ocean’s music, Varun’s lyrics and Avinash Arun’s cinematography adds lots of magic to the film.

Masaan, a must-watch film, showcases the journey of transformation, journey from the Ganges to Sangam; talks about the very essence of life.

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)