Amitabh Bachchan isn’t called the best actor in the country for
nothing. Coz even as you move out of the theatre at the end of the
show, the only memory you carry of the film is his towering personality
which overshadows just about eveything else in the film. The melting
eyes, his baritone voice, the priceless expressions which he carries
throughout according to the situations are just so remarkable. Whether
its his laughter at the dining table or the look on his face when he
receives the proposal, Amitabh is a total knockout, yet again. And
thats a major plus for the film, apart from Jiah’s confident debut.
Where the film falters is in its narration, coz the subject which
Ramu chose had a lot of scope of being delved into, a lot of scope for
showing how love blossomed, how situations force Amitabh’s character to
fall head over heels in love with the young lady. What we are left
wondering instead is whether it was pure love on Amitabh’s part, a
passing attraction or pure lust. He admits of not thinking of life
beyond Jiah, but we are not convinced. The justifications which both of
them provide are just a simple, "Living life on your own terms". Not
good enough! Many of the questions were left unanswered. Why did he even get attracted to her
in first place? Okay, her standing in front of him showing off her legs
may give rise to desires within him, but how did he fall for her I
wonder. And
why the hell did he have to confess to his wife and other family
members about his relationship and being very supportive of it, despite
knowing that all this had no future for any of the people involved?
Ramu’s obsession with capturing every facial expression, a
depressing, gloomy atmosphere and varied camera angles just simply
doesn’t work this time. Coz no matter how much he tries to experiment
with his direction (which is just about okay here), he cant succeed
unless the screenplay is interesting enough to engross the viewer
completely; and in a subject like this, it is bad to be precise. And
yes, he needs to get out of his illusion that a lady involved in a love
story can’t be attractive unless she sheds clothes, flaunts her legs,
and roams around in minis. I always knew you were sexist Mr Varma. You proved it with this film.
Story just doesn’t move except for the scene just before the
intermission, and all along the first half it confuses you. Sequences
just dont hold you, the use of background music is excessive and scenes
between Amitabh and Jiah are lacklustre, despite Ramu’s efforts showing
onscreen. A couple of sequences are handled well in the second half,
those which show Amitabh’s daughter’s frustrations on knowing about her
father’s affair, the other being Amitabh’s confession to his wife. Yet
the film ends up being a dull and drab affair. Not even Aftab’s entry into the second half contributes to the film in any way.
Ramu needs to go back to polish his basics whenever he
plans to explore subjects other than his favourite ones: Underworld
& ghosts and to some extent lives surrounding the film industry. Because
he has failed this time, in trying to make a sensitive tale on a 60
year-18 year old relationship. Production values are fine, but other
departments needed to be seriously reviewed.
Watch the film if you have nothing better to do. Or for the better watch it for Amitabh’s flawless performance. It alone is worth the price of the ticket.