Movie Review: Udaan

Rohan Singh(Rajat Barmecha) is studying in a boarding school in Simla. In the middle of the night, he along with his three friends escape from the eyes of the hostel warden to visit a nearby cinema hall featuring an adult movie. They meet the warden at the cinema hall. As a result, all four of the boys are expelled from school for the altercation created at the cinema hall. Following the expulsion, Rohan returns to his home in Jamshedpur. Rohan’s dad, Bhairav Singh(Ronit Roy) is a widower and a strict disciplinarian. In the past eight years, Bhairav have not visited his son at the boarding school. Rohan is reluctant to go back home.Once Rohan reaches home, he is surprised to find a young kid named Arjun in the house. Rohan questions his dad about Arjun. Bhairav had remarried after Rohan left and Arjun is Rohan’s half brother resulting from that marriage.

Later at night, all three of them visit Bhairav’s brother Jimmy(Ram Kapoor). Jimmy and his wife are childless and they dote on both Rohan and Arjun. During the dinner, Rohan declares his aspiration to become a writer. Jimmy encourages while Bhairav disapproves. An argument ensues during which Bhairav gets angry and physical. Jimmy helplessly tries to calm both parties. After returning from Jimmy’s party, Bhairav lays down the rules for Rohan. Rohan will address Bhairav as “Sir”. Rohan will work in Bhairav’s factory and also study in a nearby engineering college. Can the broken bridges be mended? The rest of the movie deals with this.

Vikramaditya Motwane debuts as director with this drama. The script is a joint effort by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane while the movie is produced in association with Anurag Kashyap, UTV and Sanjay Singh. The movie tells a story of repressed childhood poignantly, successfully touching an emotional chord in the viewer. The movie is successful because of multiple factors. The content has been told many times in other movies. But the narration in a realistic style makes the difference. Mahendra J Shetty paints a pretty picture of otherwise mundane locations. When Bhairav waits in the car for Rohan, Mahendra puts the camera to give a claustrophobic feeling accentuating the restlessness and also provoking the viewer to form an opinion about the characters. The editing helps the viewer get through briskly during the songs. The combination of editing and photography stands out throughout the movie and is exceptional in the final sequence where Rohan is running to break free. The music by Amit Trivedi introduces a different rhythm not widely seen in normal Hindi movies. The background score is perfect. Vikramaditya, the director, does not get preachy. He trusts the viewer to be intelligent and deduce the message. The various parts are played by competent actors. What stands out in the movie is how the various actors react to other performers on screen. There are two major instances. Check out the expression of the actor Manjot Singh when he listens to Rohan’s poem. He does not understand it. He admits that poem was beyond him. But throughout the recital, he was nodding his head in encouragement without a tinge of embarrassment. So much is said about friendship in one scene without a lot of conversation. Jimmy is a victim to the tension between dad and son. The pain and confusion are expressed in silence.

Rajat Barmecha has a dream debut as Rohan Singh. The movie is about his coming off age. So, he has everything going for him. His success as a performer lies in making the viewer forget that he is a debutant. The surprises of the movie are Ronit Roy as Bhairav and Ram Kapoor as Jimmy. They are brothers; but with diametrically opposite personalities. Ronit Roy’s Bhairav is selfish egotist disciplinarian with a foul temper. He thinks he is right. After all, he is modeling himself on his father. During confrontational scenes, Ronit is calm before the rage erupts. Ronit portrays the underlying tension effectively. Ram’s Jimmy is not difficult to play. But Ram transforms Jimmy into a more likeable character with his spontaneous performance. Ram is excellent during the scenes where he teasingly encourages Rohan for his artistic inclinations. He does the same when he sees the father-son duo jogging in the morning. The viewer’s heart goes out to him when he pleads with Rohan against putting him a spot. Ram also impresses in the scenes before the climax.

It is a must see! Grab your poison and have a nostalgic evening.

Language: Hindi

Genre: Drama

Rating: *****

Tags: Movies,Rajat Barmecha,Ronit Roy,Ram Kapoor,Vikramaditya Motwane,Anurag Kashyap,UTV,Drama