Udaan
Four school mates scale the walls of the Boys Hostel to watch a seedy B Grade film Kanti Shah Ke Angoor. To their horror they discover that the middle aged man getting cozy with a woman in the row behind them is the Hostel warden. This chance encounter turns a harmless teenage adventure into the beginning of a life changing experience. Forced to come back to Jamshedpur to live with his authoritarian father who Rohan - the protagonist (Rajat Barmecha) has not met for eight years. Udaan is the story that is beautifully layered. There is the relationship among four friends that is brief but endearing. Rohan is coming back home to a father (brilliant performance by Ronit Roy) who scoffs at his poems and does not hesitate to wallop him mercilessly when drunk. Rohan is forced to sign up to study Engineering and work in his father's small run down foundry. It is grim existence for a dreamer. Rohan still manages to sit on the banks of Subarnarekha river and write some really sensitive poetry. The other layer in the story is the brilliantly handled relationship between the teenager and his 6 year old step brother (played by Aayan Boradia).Udaan is an all boy's world and coming of age in a small town. It is the first directorial venture for Vikramaditya Motwane who is no stranger to the complex art of film making. He did the screenplay for the cult film DevD and also for Udaan. Not too many people can claim to have their first film screened at Cannes 2010 fest! Rajat Barmecha who is 21 pulls off being a 16 year old. He was made to experience isolation by being in a room without a television and cell phone to get him to get into the skin of the character Rohan. The method acting approach clearly shows up in the brilliant performance by the actors. Udaan scores by creating characters who are real and believable. It would have been very easy for the director to create a precocious and annoying Bollywood version of a "cute" six year old step brother. That is where the director scores.https://youtu.be/GDCJZUbjfsMWhat did I not like about the film? The first half is perfect. The script is tight and the acting is flawless. The despotic father who does abuses his children. The indulgent uncle and aunt who are a safe haven for the unsure poet. The four gawky teenage kids who are curious to enter the forbidden world of adults. All make for a great story. The second half slackens a bit at the end. Trim off about 5-10 minutes of the second half and you would have a real tight rope of a film. Also the sequence of the old man at the hospital who encourages Rohit's talent for storytelling was just out of tune and like a cheap imitation of the hospital scenes of Munnabhai. But everything else about the movie was superb - especially the poetry that somehow always gives you an insight into the mood of the character and ever so apt. I loved those. There is glimpse of the poetry in this trailer. But the movie has many more. Especially the one Rohan recites to his father in tentative halting words. That was lovely. The town of Jamshedpur, the Subarnarekha river, the essence of a small town are all captured with as much elan as the anguish of youth. Loved the movie and Amit Trivedi's music. Like DevD, this will create many more clones and bolder film makers. More power to the thinking film makers. This poem by Amitabh Bhattacharya captures the essence of the movie.Chhoti-chhoti chhitrayi yaadeinBichhi hui hain lamhon ki lawn parNange pair unpar chalte-chalteItni door chale aayeKi ab bhool gaye hain kiJoote kahan utaare the.Aedi komal thi, jab aaye the.Thodi si naazuk hai abhi bhi.Aur nazuk hi rahegiIn khatti-meethi yaadon ki shararatJab tak inhe gudgudati rahe.Sach, bhool gaye hainKi joote kahan utaare the.Par lagta hai,Ab unki zaroorat nahin.https://youtu.be/MOoFAFcc8Z8------------------------You may like to read my take on DevD, a must-watch film that show cases Vikram Motwane's skill as a screenwriter.