Quick Take: Not the right moment
Director: Rahul Dholaki....
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Anupam Kher and Kunal KapoorRelease
So when the tagline for the film reads ‘untold story of Kashmir’ you go expecting a path-breaking impactful movie, one that you will take home with you way after you’ve left the preview hall. And when the director of the film is someone who gave us Parzania, you want to like the film. Desperately. But after almost an hour of what seems like a docudrama with intriguing camerawork and a forceful background score you start squirming in your seat. This is a film about Kashmir. And yes the history is needed as is the unraveling of how the disturbing and murky system works. But you want the story to charge towards you full throttle at some point. The politics of Kashmir is complicated and not easy to understand. It’s a multi-veined creature with many heads. Tackling even one of those heads can’t be a mean task but if a film fails to hold its audience there is a problem somewhere.Lamhaa has a story that could have been told with less fuss and more coherence. It tells you about how just being on the same side is not enough, it’s how you fight the cause. It deals with the power of mass manipulation and the science of politics. “Kashmir ko ek company banakar rakha hai,” says one guy. Interesting line on which ultimately the film is built.So there’s just so much happening on screen and so little focus that you lose interest in a while. The characters seem propped up valiantly against the beautiful ethereal but disturbing canvas but you don’t really connect to any of them. Not Aziza (Bipasha Basu) who saw her father murdered in front of her, not Aatif (Kunal Kapoor) a reformed militant turned politician or Gul (Sanjay Dutt) a secret agent doubling up as what we are never really sure.Of the performances Bipasha packs a solid punch trying her best with the role and largely succeeding. Kunal Kapoor save for some tepid dialogue delivery has abundant screen presence and manages to hold his own. Sanjay Dutt’s presence is interesting but his role is too sketchy for you to relate beyond a point. Cinematography by Jamie Fowlds is gritty but self indulgent in places. Why should the camera shake unnecessarily when all two people are doing is talking? Music by Mithun is overwhelmingly haunting.Rahul Dholakia sure is trying to say something with Lamhaa but the language of expression is too muddled. It’s a film with its heart in the right place but sometimes to tell your story that simply isn’t good enough.
So when the tagline for the film reads ‘untold story of Kashmir’ you go expecting a path-breaking impactful movie, one that you will take home with you way after you’ve left the preview hall. And when the director of the film is someone who gave us Parzania, you want to like the film. Desperately. But after almost an hour of what seems like a docudrama with intriguing camerawork and a forceful background score you start squirming in your seat. This is a film about Kashmir. And yes the history is needed as is the unraveling of how the disturbing and murky system works. But you want the story to charge towards you full throttle at some point. The politics of Kashmir is complicated and not easy to understand. It’s a multi-veined creature with many heads. Tackling even one of those heads can’t be a mean task but if a film fails to hold its audience there is a problem somewhere.Lamhaa has a story that could have been told with less fuss and more coherence. It tells you about how just being on the same side is not enough, it’s how you fight the cause. It deals with the power of mass manipulation and the science of politics. “Kashmir ko ek company banakar rakha hai,” says one guy. Interesting line on which ultimately the film is built.So there’s just so much happening on screen and so little focus that you lose interest in a while. The characters seem propped up valiantly against the beautiful ethereal but disturbing canvas but you don’t really connect to any of them. Not Aziza (Bipasha Basu) who saw her father murdered in front of her, not Aatif (Kunal Kapoor) a reformed militant turned politician or Gul (Sanjay Dutt) a secret agent doubling up as what we are never really sure.Of the performances Bipasha packs a solid punch trying her best with the role and largely succeeding. Kunal Kapoor save for some tepid dialogue delivery has abundant screen presence and manages to hold his own. Sanjay Dutt’s presence is interesting but his role is too sketchy for you to relate beyond a point. Cinematography by Jamie Fowlds is gritty but self indulgent in places. Why should the camera shake unnecessarily when all two people are doing is talking? Music by Mithun is overwhelmingly haunting.Rahul Dholakia sure is trying to say something with Lamhaa but the language of expression is too muddled. It’s a film with its heart in the right place but sometimes to tell your story that simply isn’t good enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment