Bravo, Mr. Bachchan! You have once again given a mind-blowing performance.
AB Senior’s 60 year old Vijay( I wonder if Ramu was tongue-in-cheek here?) is entirely believable as a man who falls in love with an 18 year old free-spirited wild child. His agony is palpable. His journey from a middle-aged man, secure in his success as a photographer as well as his relationships as husband and father, to a lovelorn brokenhearted wreck, is very well portrayed. He carries the movie entirely on his shoulders. There is a scene where he cannot stop laughing, and he forces you to laugh with him.
The 18 year old Jiah, portrayed by Jiah Khan, is a brash, troubled teenager. The actress, to give her credit, seems to have put in her best. She is one to watch out for. The character she plays comes from a broken home and is looking for a father-figure she can trust and look up to. This results in a romantic infatuation with a man old enough to be her granddad. The director has tried to paint her character as a woman-child, mature because her difficult life, but a girl in many ways that count. I don’t think he has succeeded very well. Jiah comes accross as a kid. A slightly bizarre, badly behaved one. She behaved more like a 15 year old.
And that is my major problem with this movie. I find it unbelievable that a person like Vijay would fall so in love someone like Jiah. In lust, perhaps, but that is not what this movie is about. In reality, Vijay would support Jiah and be firm where required. He would feel affection and sympathy maybe. But tortured love? I don’t think so.
My other problem with the movie is again to do with Jiah. Ostensibly, Vijay and Jiah’s relationship has nothing to do with lust. But Jiah is shown frolicking in the garden wet-n-wild, clad all in white. She wears very short shorts, long legs on display. Forever a lollipop, glossy lips in full pout. One could argue that she is experimenting with her sexual boundaries, like many young women, but it doesn’t wash. I had the feeling this was added for the prurient interests of the front-benchers.
A positive aspect of the movie is the supporting cast. Revathy, Nasser and Shraddha give great performances. The cinematography is superb, and the location is fabulous. The background score is a bit loud, intrusive in places.
Ultimately, the film is rendered watchable by Amitabh Bachchan’s virtuoso performance. The subject is interesting, but Jiah’s character, for me, was the flat note. I came away from the film, feeling, "If only".