BIG SCREEN
Movie: Udaan
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“Kya kare kya na kare yeh kaisi mushkil hai” — would have been a rather easy task for the lyricist, when he really didn't know what to pen for a song. But in real life, when we encounter real ‘dilemma', it becomes a daunting task to solve...
Dilemma
The film's central character Rohan, played by Rajat Barmecha, faces a dilemma throughout until he finds a way out. One of the distinguishing features of the film is the ‘adaption' skills which Rohan exhibits even when his authoritarian father, played by Ronit Roy, ill treats him.
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As an expelled convent student (for breaking the rules), Rohan has no other choice but to obey his father and follow his words, even if Rohan has an ambition to become a writer.
He pretends to satisfy his dad who wants to see him grow as an engineer, by working with him in the ‘ industrial hub' of Jamshedpur.
So Rohan's day starts with a pretty long ‘jog' and the first half ends at the factory. The second half starts at the college, but only for his dad, as Rohan spends most of his time alongside the river, smoking and writing poems and short stories. This is not all; he goes out at mid night with his friends for a drink, when his dad is asleep after his daily dose of alcohol. To mock at this sorry state of affairs, we have a six-year-old brother whom Rohan has never seen.
In the midst of such ‘gloom', we have a chachu played by Ram kapoor who is the only relief for Rohan as he constantly says, “Stand on your own legs and then become whatever you want”. Most of the movie has similar shots of day break, twilight, dusk and muted expressions (face becomes screen) but what keeps the viewer engaged is the gradual change in mood of the main characters. At times when we see Rohan doing everything what Ronit says, we feel Farhan of “3-idiots” could have tried being an engineer as well as a wild life photographer.
Breaking-free
To test the patience of Rohan, another mockery of a relationship enters the screen with Ronit deciding to tie the knot, with another woman after his mother's death. I guess, this is the turning point which pulls out all the ‘latent strength' of Rohan as he manages to run past his dad during the ‘daily race' sequence. Now, that is what they call Udaan — air borne. This time Rohan plays smarter and takes along with him his step brother, who is just about to be packed to a boarding school.
The hospital scene where Rohan engages the inmates with his interesting stories reminds us of “Munnai Bhai”. Some funny scenes with Rohan and his friends both at school and college flow with the viewer. Cinematography and music tone the scenes, which otherwise resemble those of art films.
Bottomline: “Udaan” can be praised for its ‘realistic' portrayal of an adolescent who can't afford to be a rebel, even as ‘Sid does wake up'.
K.J. VENKATESWARAN, working professional