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Before going into the finer details, let’s study some important facts associated with the film called “Road, Movie”.
1. A widely appreciated new project from Dev Benegal, the director of a worth watching “English August” & a marginally good “Split Wide Open” coming after a long gap.
2. Featuring, Abhay Deol in the lead, who is now known for his off-beat choice of subjects and great understanding of the medium.
3. Presence of another veteran Satish Kaushik in a hopeful comic role which sounds pretty exciting.
4. Refreshing and innovative promotional material with visuals of an old truck painted with Indian slogans and inviting visuals depicting wide roads of Rajasthan.
5. And “Sar Jo Tera Chakraye” track from “Pyaasa” playing in the background of its introducing trailer.
What an ensemble of exciting stuff associated with a single project! And what a disastrous final product in the offering for all those viewers who were eager enough to see a realistic road movie featuring their favorite thinking actor, Abhay Deol. To be straight, I love artistic movies, especially the ones which have the power to enlighten and are widely acclaimed in the festival circuits. But with “Road, Movie”, I was highly disappointed as it had nothing as compared to its striking promotional campaign and the earlier two movies from the director mentioned above. Therefore I am unable to appreciate and praise this baffling movie which on the contrary was nominated and even awarded in many festival circuits around the world.
Now here’s the detailed review:
Once again, as seen in many of the current projects, the movie starts off brilliantly with an artistic feel and ambience. But right after the much publicized old truck comes in to the story, the film steps onto an escalator, slowly moving downwards. Abhay Deol, who is not interested in his father’s oil business, wakes up one morning and goes on to take an undisclosed assignment to drive an old truck to another unknown destination and keeps wandering in the deserts and plain regions with no living being in the sight. The viewer is never told in the narration that why he took up this job, what was the purpose of his voyage, what goods he had to deliver and what was the actual destination he was heading for. Also there is no explanation given for the fact that why he didn’t even know that there was a projector and whole equipment of showing a movie in the truck he was driving. Moreover he very unintelligently takes up the job of driving an old truck through the lonely roads of Rajasthan all alone without taking any cleaner or helper along with him as a helping hand. That was indeed very daring thought put in by the writers.
Besides all this confusion written in the script, a project with the title “Road, Movie” misses all those thrilling factors associated with a long road journey and its joy. The viewers who love travelling long distances through roads and enjoy the lengthy highways are sure going to be disappointed with the treatment given by the director to the theme. For instance, one strongly misses the highway chills, the roadside dhabas, the occasional stoppages, the view of wide barren lands along with great music running at the back, children waving from the roadsides and risky one nights stays in the cheap hotels while watching this weak movie on “Road theme”. There is nothing stated above in the entire movie.
In fact the director is more interested in emphasizing only on the outdoor cinema being arranged from the projector in the truck and its craze among the villagers in his vaguely written movie. Along with that, he also adds the plot of a mystified romance between Abhay and a nomad girl, the tragic end of a good hearted mechanic and a silly sequence about a desert don running a water-mafia. But sadly none of these sub-plots works in the movie.
On the contrary each new development on the screen makes the viewer even more confused than before and he keeps wondering what the story or director actually wants to convey? Especially the sequence about the grand fair in the lonely desert, coming out of nowhere. This particular part is the most confusing one in the entire movie and is also left unexplained by the director just like that. May be he wanted the festival people to make their own creative conclusion about the same. Likewise it was also quite puzzling to see the projector showing the movie with a great soundtrack too. The director never shows us any sound equipment being installed by anyone before screening the film in the outdoors. May be that was too a festival liberty taken by the director with style.
The other major question which came to my mind while watching “Road, Movie” was that why all the western filmmakers are still interested in showing the poverty, villages and rural areas of India in their movies more than anything else. Unfortunately the worldwide success of “Slumdog Millionaire” has contributed a lot in this direction and taking a clue from it, other film-makers have again started planning to make their new projects on this overblown underdeveloped image of India.
However, all these talented directors, making films around our rural India, simply forget the essence & culture of our country while shooting their intimate sexual scenes which seems to be quite funny. Like in “Road, Movie” too, at one end the director shows a nomad girl, who has never watched cinema in her life, taking lift in the truck. Yet in a later sequence he shows the same village girl smooching Abhay Deol in a pure western style and passion. Frankly speaking that was quite funny and amateur kind of direction from the experienced director.
Technically the film stands out with its stunning visuals and great cinematography. But the director seems to have taken care of his camera angles and locations more than his script and story. The film moves at a very lazy pace which forces the viewer to look at his watch repeatedly. The screenplay falls flat and has nothing exceptional in store for the thinking viewer. Musically the film misses any special tracks to enjoy on a long drive (as per its title) and "Pyaasa's - Tel Maalish" song is also not used in any respectable context by the director. Talking about the performances, Abhay Deol fits to the role as a T, but the film would not prove to be another ace up his sleeve. His honest effort gets betrayed by a badly written script. Satish Kaushik is completely lovable. Mohammed Faizal Usmani shines with his witty dialogues and Tannishtha Chatterjee does her job well.
In a nutshell, “Road, Movie” is not at all exciting as suggested by its title and eye catching promotional campaign. Its neither a thought provoking artistic venture nor an interesting novel project made on a different theme. Its just a tiring, fruitless journey heading towards no-where.
Rating : 1.5 / 5
Tags :
Road Movie Review, Road, Movie Film Review by Bobby Sing, Movie Review Raod Movie, Film Review Road Movie, Dev Benegal, Abhay Deol, New Bollywood Movies Reviews at bobbytalkscinema.com, Bobby Sing Bollywood Reviews, New Bollywood Movies Reviews, New Bollywood Movies Released, New Hindi Films Reviews, New Hindi Movies Reviews, New Hindi Movies Released, New Bollywood Reviews, Bobby Talks Cinema Review, Reviews By Bobby Sing, New Hindi Films Reviews at bobbytalkscinema.com,
At first the movie made a wrong impression when it came out with an inspired poster from the English Flick “License To Wed” as its first look. Later after the new posters came in, the makers couldn’t impress the viewers with their ‘Just OK’ promos on all the TV channels. As a result the film was not able to generate enough curiosity in the trade circles, despite of the presence of Paresh Rawal in its lead comic role.
And now after watching the so called comedy, it can be easily said that the final outcome is exactly similar to its average promotional campaign and nothing else. Though director Ashwni Dhir sincerely tries to revive the magic of those realistic and lovable films by Hrishikesh Mukherjee & Basu Chatterjee. But his ATKJ fails to make an overall impact on the viewer and misses the mark just like the recently released “Toh Baat Pakki”.
Based on the plot of an unwanted guest (Atithi) in the house, the movie starts off well and manages to impress the viewer with an appreciable climax too. But it’s between these two ends that it loses the grip over the subject and starts wandering into many predictable, uninteresting and repetitive sequences which unfortunately take away the beauty from its noticeable concluding 30 minutes. For instance how many times we have seen a married couple going to a hotel to spend few days and then being caught in a sudden police raid at the place.
Instead of writing some novel and fresh scenes in the script, the writers have gone for the usual comic punches involving the Police and Underworld Don seen many times before in similar other projects. To be precise the first scene of the movie itself is highly inspired from the famous Pakistani Stage Artist “Umar Sharif’s comedy play”. Apart from these, the overused farting sequences of Paresh also tend to go over the top after a while. Morevover, the characters remain the part of a movie only and the viewer never feels any empathy towards their tough & helpless circumstances.
However there are few worth watching moments in the flick, which are able to save it from being called a merely below average product. One is its beautifully directed final hour which gives you the glimpses of our rich traditional values and culture. Second are the highly enjoyable and well acted scenes of Satish Kaushik with Paresh Rawal, capable of moving you emotionally. And third are its two devotional tracks with their innovative western arrangements by Pritam especially the “Mata Ki Arti” track made on the composition of “Beedi Jaliye Le”
Performance wise, Paresh Rawal excels in the title role of an Atithi. He truly looks great and acts superbly as a village person visiting Mumbai after a long gap. Konkona is very natural and real in her portrayal of a lady trying to cope up between her home and work. But Ajay Devgan is strictly Ok with nothing exceptional to write about. Satish Kaushik is a delight to watch in his few scenes and from the rest of the cast Sanjay Mishra stands out as the watchman. The child artist playing the couple’s son doesn’t get much scope in the script. Musically the soundtrack is fine with a catchy title track from Amit Mishra, but it cannot sell as a Music CD alone in the market. Cinematography serves the purpose well and dialogues are good in some particular scenes.
In short, ATKJ is a sincere attempt but could have been much better with some fresh and hilarious sequences added into the script. Actually it’s a light comic drama and not a complete comedy as misleadingly projected by its makers. It fails to generate any laughter but is capable of making you smile at regular intervals. A simple and clean movie, which can be watched with the entire family on a weekend holiday.
According to the opening titles the movie is inspired from a short story or article by Late Sharad Joshi, but I also found the subject hugely similar to Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece “Agantuk” meaning Stranger, which had the great Utpal Dutt playing the unwanted guest in the house.
Rating : 2.5 / 5
Tags :
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge Movie Review by Bobby Sing, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge Film Review by Bobby Sing, Movie Review Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, ATKJ Movie Review By Bobby Sing, Movie Review ATKJ, ATKJ Film Review. Paresh Rawal, Inspired Movies, New Bollywood Movies Reviews at bobbytalkscinema.com, Bobby Sing Bollywood Reviews, New Bollywood Movies Reviews, New Bollywood Movies Released, New Hindi Films Reviews, New Hindi Movies Reviews, New Hindi Movies Released, New Bollywood Reviews, Bobby Talks Cinema Review, Reviews By Bobby Sing, New Hindi Films Reviews at bobbytalkscinema.com,
The topic says it all but the following short story may hopefully bring more positive changes in our attitude towards the parents while we are busy stepping into our own 40s.
An 80 year old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45 year old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow came on their window.
The Father asked his Son, "What is this?" The Son replied "It is a crow".
After a few minutes, the Father asked his Son the 2nd time,
"What is this?" The Son said "Father, I have just now told you "It's a crow".
After a little while, the old Father again asked his Son the 3rd time, “What is this?”
This time the son replied with a small expression of irritation and disbelief in his tone, "It's a crow, a crow".
A little after, the Father again asked his Son the 4th time, "What is this?"
But now the Son was angry and went on to shout as he answered, "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times 'IT IS A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?"
A little later the Father went to his room and came back with an old & torn diary, which he had maintained since his Son was born. On opening a page, he asked his Son to read that page.
When the son read it, the following words were there written in the diary :
"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow came flying and sat on the window in front of us. My Son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a Crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated, rather I felt affection for my innocent child and his concern".
While the little child asked him 23 times "What is this", the Father had felt no irritation in replying to the same question all 23 times and when today the Father asked his Son the same question just 4 times, the Son felt irritated, got annoyed and even shouted on his old father.
So….what had changed in all those years………it was only the Son’s attitude towards his father and nothing else. It seems to be unbelievable…….. but sadly it’s true that as we reach our own middle age milestone, our parents just not remain the same for most of the people who become more serious about their own families.
Very shamelessly we dare to think of them as a burden, which in my opinion is “The Biggest Sin of Life” and does not even give you any chance of repenting or apologizing.
And the other more scary thought is that in extreme possibilities, the moment one may realize his unforgivable mistake, his life givers may have gone back to the heavenly abode of the Holy Almighty and would never come back.
The article also reminded me of two great lines written in Punjabi by an unknown poet :
“Jadon Chhotey San Te Ladhdey Si, Maa Meri E, Maa Meri E,
Hun Wadey Han Te Ladhdey Han, Maa Teri E Maa Teri E”
(The above couplet describes the relationship between two brothers and their mother. It says, “When we were small kids, we used to fight that “Mother is mine, Mother is mine”. Now we are grown up but still fight that “Mother is yours, Mother is yours”)
I hope the story is able to make at least a small contribution in the life of all my readers.
(Thanks to Amit, for sending me this beautiful story in a mail)
Tags :
Importance of Parents in our lives, Old Parents, Taking Care of Old Parents, Life Saving Quotes, Live Changing Quotes, Few Life Inspiring Words, Inspirational Stories, Breaking Families, Nuclear Families, The Trend of Small Nuclear Families.
Mahendra Kapoor, a well known name in the history of Hindi Film Music is still remembered for his spirited rendering of all those famous patriotic songs (mainly from Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim) and soft romantic numbers (from Gumrah, Humraaz & more). His impressive body of work has a unique collection of unforgettable songs ranging from the subtle “Aadha Hai Chandrama” to the explosive “Na Munh Chhupa Ke Jiyo”. Very few music lovers know that Mahendra Kapoor was trained by the great Mohd. Rafi himself, in his initial struggle days in Mumbai and he really learned a lot from the great maestro of Indian Film Industry in those early days of his career.
Here I would like to share an amusing anecdote related with Mahendra Kapoor’s wide range of high notes used in the song “Na Munh Chhupa Ke Jiyo” from the film “Humraaz” enacted by Sunil Dutt on the screen.
In the start of the song and also in one of its Antra, Mahendra Kapoor goes for an effortless alaap of high notes and holds it for more than 3 bars in the song. However, while shooting the sequence, due to this brilliant rendition by the veteran, Sunil Dutt had a tough time as it was difficult to keep his mouth wide open for such a long time in the shot. But he was able to manage it fine with his innocent smile and cool persona on the screen. And now as we look back in the past, the incident can be taken as a big compliment from the great Sunil Dutt to another great Mahendra Kapoor, for his flawless singing skills.
To witness it clearly on the screen, just watch the song once again and you will notice the hitch clearly.
Tags :
Did You Know Facts about Bollywood, Hindi Films Unknown Trivia, Bollywood Trivia, Unknown Bollywood, Mahendra Kapoor and Sunil Dutt Amazing Trivia, Humraaz, Na Munh Chhupa Ke Jiyo, Palayback Singer Mohd. Rafi, Rafi taught Mahendra Kapoor.
The written content in the site is a collection of personal expressions of the writer with a motive of having a healthy discussion on different medium of art.
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Besides all this confusion written in the script, a project with the title “Road, Movie” misses all those thrilling factors associated with a long road journey and its joy. The viewers who love travelling long distances through roads and enjoy the lengthy highways are sure going to be disappointed with the treatment given by the director to the theme. For instance, one strongly misses the highway chills, the roadside dhabas, the occasional stoppages, the view of wide barren lands along with great music running at the back, children waving from the roadsides and risky one nights stays in the cheap hotels while watching this weak movie on “Road theme”. There is nothing stated above in the entire movie.
The other major question which came to my mind while watching “Road, Movie” was that why all the western filmmakers are still interested in showing the poverty, villages and rural areas of India in their movies more than anything else. Unfortunately the worldwide success of “Slumdog Millionaire” has contributed a lot in this direction and taking a clue from it, other film-makers have again started planning to make their new projects on this overblown underdeveloped image of India. 
However there are few worth watching moments in the flick, which are able to save it from being called a merely below average product. One is its beautifully directed final hour which gives you the glimpses of our rich traditional values and culture. Second are the highly enjoyable and well acted scenes of Satish Kaushik with Paresh Rawal, capable of moving you emotionally. And third are its two devotional tracks with their innovative western arrangements by Pritam especially the “Mata Ki Arti” track made on the composition of “Beedi Jaliye Le”
"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow came flying and sat on the window in front of us. My Son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a Crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated, rather I felt affection for my innocent child and his concern". 