The Story Frame:
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Masaan is the story of four lovers and their
challenges they face in materializing their love in the so called conservative
society. The modern days's gadgets and technology plays a vital role in
expressing their love but it fails to help them sail through the challenges posed
by the very society who created these technologies and new conveniences to bond
with each other. Masaan has already
earned its accolades in Cannes by winning awards and is on the journey to earn
more on its own land India. It has already wooed Bollywood and its veterans by
its sheer beautiful portrayal. It has a fabulous and talented star cast and
new comers who has given power packed performances. It has raised the bar of
cinema one notch higher.
Cast: Richa Chadda (Devi), Vicky Kaushal (Deepak), Sanjay Mishra
(Vidyadhar Pathak), Nikhil Sahni, Shweta Tripathi (Shalu), Pankaj Tripathi,
Bhagwan Tiwari, Bhupesh Singh, Satyakam Anand
Genre: Romance & Drama
Direction: Neeraj Ghaywan
Produced by: Vikas Bahl, Melita Toscan du
Plantier, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga, Vikramaditya Motwane, Manish Mundra,
Marie-Jeanne Pascal, Shaan Vyas
Production Company: Drishyam Films, Macassar
Productions, Phantom Films, Sikhya Entertainment
Written by: Neeraj Ghaywan & Varun Grover
Cinematographer: Avinash Arun Dhaware
Production Designer: Ranjit Singh
Costume Designer: Shruti Kapoor
Music: Indian Ocean
Lyrics: Varun Grover
Film Editing by: Nitin Baid
Theatre Release: 24th July, 2015 (Screened at
Cannes 19th May 2015)
Language: Hindi
Duration: 109 minutes
Reviewer's Thumb Mark
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The film begins with Devi watching a porn clip on her computer and later
being caught in a hotel raid red hand with her boyfriend in her quest to quench
her curiosity. The raid's after effects haunts Devi and her father, Vidhyadhar
Pathak, as a nightmare because of a local police officer who tries to extort
money from them to not to drag them into legal complications.
Richa Chadda as Devi has given a compelling performance in a
deglamourized role. She brings in a kind of originality in the depiction of the
character by her body language and dialogue, which shows her tremendous caliber
as an actress. Richa Chadda's Masaan shall definitely be remembered and
referred as one of her milestones in her acting career. Devi is unapologetic,
rebellious, freedom loving, calm and shows immense resilience and courage to
sail through the storm in her life to make her mark in this conservative and
moralistic society. Devi symbolizes all girls across the country who struggles
for freedom and for their silent but bold fight against the so called watchdogs
of the society and religion.
Sanjay Misra, as Vidhyadhar Pathak touches your heart by playing the role of a
helpless father who succumbs to the exploitation of a shrewd police officer.
His vulnerability and susceptibility as a protective and loving father is so
well portrayed that the audience is full of awe for this remarkable actor. A
man who once was a Sanskrit professor lives with his daughter and makes a living
in his old age as a pundit selling materials for religious rituals and engaging
himself as a translator of books for some local publishers. His bonding with
his protege 'Jonta' (Nikhil Sahni) a small boy on the ghats who helps him to
bring customers to his shop is fabulous. Vidhyadhar and Jonta has some
beautiful laughable moments as well as scenes
where you watch them with moist eyes. I would restrain myself to reveal those
moments for you to watch on screen.
Sanjay Misra is on a high and draws a large number of fan following. I
remember meeting him at Delhi in the 6th Jagran Film Festival during the
screening of Masaan, where while answering to a query on what is the secret of
his power packed performances?, he said that he is 'alive' (Main Zinda Hun) and
that makes him perform. After seeing Masaan, I feel it is so true what he said,
he can bring life to any character he portrays to the extent that the character
stays with you even after the movie ends. Vidhyadhar Pathak is one such
character. Sanjay Misra is on the path of being revered and adored as one of
the finest actors the world cinema is experiencing.
Vicky Kaushal as Deepak in the second story wins your heart by his charm.
He is the new find of Bollywood who is going to make many hearts beat for him.
His debut promises that he is an actor who is here to stay for long. Deepak's
innocence and at the same time his identity as a lower caste Dom boy make you
smile, laugh and cry with him. There are certain moments of innocence depicted
so effortlessly by Vicky like : when he tells his lady love, Shaalu, " Abh
tho hum friend hi na" and when he says " Abh yeh Nida Fasli kaun
hi?" It is beautiful to see Deepak
drawing courage and support from his bunch of friends who are partners in all
his love adventures and creativity he does to express his love to Shaalu but it
is also quite evident that they too are caught up with the reality of their
society and fear it; they tell him that Shaalu is an upper caste girl,
therefore, "Jyaada Senti venti nahi hona" (Beware, do not be too
sentimental). Deepak's effort to break free from the shackles of his traditional
family profession of burning dead bodies on the ghats of Benaras and become an
engineer is inspiring and at the same time his getting haunted by the reality
of being a lower caste which is a barrier to his love is heartrending to watch.
Shaalu Gupta's role is donned by the lovely and beautiful Swetha
Tripathi. Her love for poetries of Dushyant Kumar, Ghalib, Nida Fazli, Bashir
Badr, Akbar Allahabadi and her pristine love for Deepak makes you fall in love
with her. Swetha brings in a kind of freshness to the lovebirds portrayed in
Bollywood these days. There are some awesome scenes where you simply admire her
for her acting like when she tells Deepak' "Tum Bahuth Buddoo Ho" and
when she looks up to see the red balloon float above the market fair. When you
want more of these two lovers you go through a jolt which leaves you
speechless. Swetha Tripathi as Shaalu stays with you even when you leave the theater with her beautiful lines
on screen - " Tu Kisi Rail Si Guzarti Hi, Main Kisi Pool Sa Thartaratha
Hun..."
What happens to Masaan's two love stories that are run parallely in the end, is something you need to find in a nearby theatre. Neeraj Ghaywan deserves all
the accolades he is receiving for his fantastic movie. Masaan has already added
a few feather on its cap at 68th Cannes International Film Festival 2015 -
International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI) and Prix de I'Avenir
'Most Promising Newcomer' Award for Neeraj Ghaywan in the Un Certain Regard
section.
Varun Grover's lyrics clubbed with Indian Ocean's music soothes and
touches your heart. It works as the soul of the movie. Avinash Arun Dhaware's
cinematography is fabulous and eye catching. It is commendable, impressive and
gives us a new feel of the ghats.
In the end, for me Masaan's Cannes' edition was more appealing because
there were certain scenes that added more value to the whole plot which is
missing in the Indian edition, well Neeraj may have his own reasons and
compulsions to edit them. But still it is definitely a must watch.
How I wish that Masaan could have also explored with the possibility of materializing one of the love story so that it
could have directly challenged the so called conservative society.
Watch Masaan and I am sure you will carry a balloon way back to your home
and shall set it free before you enter it to watch your love to see it.
Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3.5/5
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