Like any good movie this one too is a journey.
The journey details the paths taken by the film's three primary characters, Dulal, Ruma and Mainak. Dulal and Mainak are a writing duo hoping to make it big in bollywood. Ruma is a Mumbai girl hovering on the brink of self discovery. Through her photography she believes she has found herself and is looking to explore her depths. Their paths cross in a series of interesting coincidence that never seem forced or cliched. In fact this movie tries really hard to avoid any cliches. Certainly you can break it down into tropes if you so wish, but the tropes do not stand out. They do not at any moment overpower the script. Instead the script, their journey, flows seamlessly. Meandering this way and that. Like a gentle yet deep river. A river edging it's way not to a climatic waterfall, but the serene ocean. Providing the viewers with a thoroughly satisfying experience.
One of the many factors that work in favor of the film is it's accurate portrayal of a lifestyle many people are curious about, yet can rarely find on screen. The lifestyle of a writer, particularly one entrenched in the daily warland that is Mumbai and Bollywood. It plunges the viewer headfirst into this perspective and never drags it's feet. The dialogues shine through the clever writing. Personally I found the fact that everyone in Bombay has some nugget of knowledge/wisdom to impart particularly hilarious. The budding romance between Ruma and Dulal was also presented beautifully. Not for a moment does the movie get overbearing in it's aspects. The beautiful score blended wonderfully with the atmosphere, allowing me to enjoy every second of the film.
According to me...this is the one. The one film to change it all. All those of us who decry the frailties of Indian cinema, who bemoan the thousand splendid imperfections that shine bright in eastman color, this is the one you have been waiting for. It has humor in spades, it has clever writing from start to finish. It has a bunch of hugely talented actors at their natural best on screen. It has great music and some great shots of Mumbai. Such a shame you wont get to see it. Isnt it? The best Hindi movie of 2014 has come and is about to now go. It will slip past you before you can even blink. It's not anyone's fault this, it is after all a low budget movie. This is low key indie(nearly) cinema at it's finest and unlike the kinda of indie cinema that makes news ie: Serious artsy shit that can get us depressed, this one deals exclusively in humor. In a sense it is the opposite of artsy cinema. This movie tries it's damnedest to cheer you up despite telling you that life does not always have happy endings.
Not a happy ending.
So it is no surprise that you will be hard pressed to find a show time near you. Available exclusively in the metros and on limited show times. If you happen to live in one of the smaller cities in the country just forget about it right now. Which is kinda sad because I think a small town audience would really enjoy this movie. It is also kinda sad that the movie has garnered such low attention from mainstream media, one would think that the highly talented folks in the media would manage to keep an eye out for such a gem. If you are out there reading this review, I urge you find a show time, catch it in the theatres. There hasn’t been a movie this good out in a long while(Khosla ka Ghosla), and considering how under the radar it is...I think we will have a long wait before the next one comes along.
10/10
More about the movie: https://www.facebook.com/sulemanikeeda.official
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