Milestone

A movie that throws light in to the plight of the working class in a capitalist economy.

I watched Milestone : Meel Pathar on Netflix in orig. Hindi/Punjabi w/Eng. Subtitles.

Meel Pathar starts with a dark ambiance and sustains this for the most part. After the first fifteen minutes I didn't really want to watch the rest of the film. I continued because the main character Ghalib (well portrayed by Suvinder Vicky) looked exactly like a distant relative :-)))) now thats a reason to watch a film if any ....

Turned out to be quite a good film though in the Gloomy genre.

Ghalib is what many would consider a stereotypical roughneck seasoned truck driver. His colleague and good friend is Dilbagh, possibly older to Ghalib. A loader's strike in on and the truck drivers end up giving a hand with the loading and unloading of goods, causing Ghalib severe back strain. The truck owner's son wants to infuse new blood into the business. Ghalib asks for a loader to accompany him on his trips but the owner gives him a young lad Pash (Lakshvir Saran) to train as a driver. In the meantime, Dilbagh is unceremoniously replaced by a younger driver and Ghalib also fears he may lose his job to the new boy.

A background sub plot is that Ghalib's Sikkimese wife Etali has committed suicide and this is another reason for his gloomy countenance. Her father and sister approach Ghalib's village panchayat demanding compensation for the loss of their daughter. Ghalib says he never illtreated his wife, and did everything to make her happy including selling his village home and buying a flat in the city. The panchayat still decides that Ghalib should give them some compensation but the sister in law strangely refuses his offer of Rs2 lac cash. He is given a months time to think of what else he can offer.

Ghalib and the young Pash bond of sorts. Ghalib offers Pash money to resign as he fears he will be fired if Pash becomes a regular driver. Pash refuses the money but says he will quit if Ghalib marries his older sister. A shocked Ghalib slaps him and walks away. Ghalib is invited for a cup of tea by his Kashmiri neighbour (well essayed by Pavitra Mattoo) when he goes to return a toy dropped in his balcony by the lady's child. Over tea, the lady talks about Etali. During the conversation Ghalib admits that his wife's suspicions about his infidelities was true. Ghalib obtains a hard to get and expensive liquor licence permit and offers it to his inlaws who accept this as compensation much to the panchayat's surprise.

Another sub plot is Pash's elder sister calling Ghalib as she is worried that she can not get through to her brother for a few days. Ghalib's truck driven by Pash has broken down, Ghalib traces him and calls the sister back to inform her. In the process Ghalib and the sister have a longish, amiable conversation hinting that Ghalib may perhaps consider a new life with a new wife and a brighter future to look forward to.

The sets and locations are realistic, the acting is strong by all and the plot is good though appears boring at times and could have been speeded up for easier watching. I fast forwarded my way through a few frames.

Meel Pathar is not a film for everyone, but it is good nonetheless.

Ivan Ayr is a craftsman, a gifted storyteller who proved his supremacy in his feature debut "Soni" a slow burn character study. I was excited to see what the director does next and read a lot of positive reviews for his latest film in festival circuits. I finally watched Milestone, it's on Netflix and I'm still in awe thinking how this movie was pulled off. It is a work that does not speak much, but still packs a punch. The film paints a bleak portrait of alienation through the story of a bereaved truck driver, who confronts himself in the wake of his wife's death. He is on the verge of losing his job, his truck (2nd home), his identity and everything. All this to the benefit of a young new trainee and the story just follows whatever is in real life, the generation gap and its characters. From scene to scene, Milestone proves that in cinema, anything can happen with less words and the impact is loud. The duration of the long shots stretches and stretches, imposing a grim atmosphere alternating between stark close-ups and long shots as the characters appear tiny amidst the desolated village. It manages to pull us into the world of the Truck driver. The extended camera trips past rusty empty landscapes, collapsed roads, apartment and small objects in the truck create a hopeless atmosphere. At the same time, Ivan also demonstrates a tendency towards tension scenes with minimalism based on political and social degeneration that resonates with the system. The most memorable moment is in the climax - that final scene with rain will remain indelible in my memory, I bet it will leave you gobsmacked. To say much of this film is to ruin it, a pure cinema experience that strikes a surprising balance; It simply shouldn't be missed. I would also recommend Las acacias (2011) by Pablo Giorgelli.

That said, I'm glad that the future of Indian cinema is in good hands with talents like Ivan Ayr, Prantik Basu, Ekta Mittal, Ronny Sen, Sajin Babu, Bhaskar Hazarika, Pushpendra Singh, Ashim Ahluwalia, Aadish Keluskar, Vijay Jayapal, Sidharth Srinivasan, Aditya Vikram Sengupta, Lubdhak Chatterjee, Vedant Mitter, Shlok Sharma, Chaitanya Tamhane, Lijo Jose Pellissery, Shambhavi Kaul, Rima Das, Leena Manimekalai, P. S. Vinothraj, Arun Matheswaran, Arun Prabu Purushothaman, Amartya Bhattacharyya, Kabir Mehta, Arati Kadav, Krishnendu Kalesh, Sruthil Mathew, Brothers Babusenan, Prathap Joseph, Pandian Sooravali, Amal Noushad, Rahman Brothers, Nila Madhab Panda, Sanju Surendran, Payal Kapadia, Geethu Mohandas, Sandhya Suri, Amit Dutta, Amit Masurkar, Rohit Mittal, Arun Karthick, Gurvinder Singh, Mangesh Joshi, Achal Mishra, Ridham Janve, Krishnendu Kalesh, Devashish Makhija, Anand Gandhi, Udita Bhargava, Indranil Roychowdhury, Nipun Dharmadhikari, Abhijeet Warang, Balaji Vembu Chelli, Thiagarajan Kumararaja, Umesh Amshi and others.

Kept me glued from the beginning till the end . Lakshvir Singh Saran at this best !!

This is a masterpiece, we need more movies of this sort. If you are that mainstream Bollywood lover, please do favour by not calling this a documentary. Your tiny brain needs Salman Khan to tantalise it.