Beyond the Clouds

When it comes to international cinema, we have all, at some point in our lives, heard about Majid Majidi.

I discovered this on YTS when I made the decision to watch one of his films.

I then realized that I had seen a commercial for this movie on &Prive, although I had no idea it was Majid Majidi's movie.

I immediately freaked out when I noticed Ishan Khattar and Goutam Ghose on the cast.

And made the decision to watch this movie as my first Majid Majidi movie.

There were some positive and negative aspects to Beyond the Clouds. (In my personal Opinion)

The good ones being..... >>> The movie was expertly filmed. I thought the establishment shot was fantastic.

>>> Also, the color had a light, neutral tone, which made it appear more natural.

>>> The film had very little background music, which Mr. AR Rehman very discreetly added when it was absolutely necessary.

The bad ones being..... >>> The story was not very motivating to watch. It seemed like a lot of effort was being put into having the audience care about the characters, but it lacked vision.

>>> The casting relied very heavily on the appearance of the characters. Which was not at all justified by the acting. Despite the actor Malavika Mohanan's good expression, the delivery of her dialogues was unsteady. That appeared to be quite rehearsed and robotic. Even Amir's friend's acting skills were lacking.

Ishan Khattar delivered everything he had, in my opinion, but even he occasionally lost his composure.

>>> The film's story felt lost somewhere in driving the plot. And became unpredictable in a bad way.

In a nutshell, Beyond the Clouds should not be the movie to enter Majid Majidi's cinematic adventure.

The only reason I wanted to watch this movie was the director, "Majid Majidi". He is one of my favorite director.

As expected, I was more than satisfied after watching the movie. He knows how much emotion is needed. Never too much never too less. He puts the emotion at the right place and at the right time. King of tragic endings. Kind of helplessness he brings, shows how deeply he has analyzed the situation before showing it on screen. Be it any movie Children of heaven, The Song of Sparrows or Baran, he never failed to touch our hearts(mine atleast).

Acting wise, everyone of them was able to convince. For me the person who wasn't acting at all was "Asha". She was raw and natural. Her expressions when she was scared of Amir, when she was uncomfortable and shy when he was clicking her photo and many more. Even though Akshi had very few dialogues in the movie, he has done a brilliant job with his facial expressions.

This is not among Majid's best works but it is still very watchable and heads and shoulders above most Bollywood films. It is a moving story of two families whose lives get entwined after a desperate girl injures an obsessed man whilst defending herself. Majid is a genius at weaving moments of hope and joy amidst a bleak backdrop. The acting is top notch and Ishaan emotes well - a solid start for a debutant. The movie fared poorly at the box office as is often the case for little gems with no 'face value'. Ishaan is a newcomer and Majid is not known outside the festival circuit in India. Thank goodness for Netflix though - it provides a platform for such movies to reach a much wider audience.

Direction:

Famous Iranian filmmaker and prestigious award winner Majid Majidi want to recreate the magic of his movie children of Heaven with Indian backdrop. He showcase his cinematic excellence on Canvas and walls. The best thing about his direction is brilliantly capture human emotions especially sibling bonding.

Performance:

This movie is really great debut for Ishaan Khatter. His acting was really awesome through out the movie. Malavika Mohanan looks good in the role of elder sister. G.V. Sharda also impressive with only Tamil dialogues. There was very little scope for Tannishtha Chatterjee as supporting role due to short length of role.

Script:

Story line has great resemblance with Hollywood film Slumdog millionaire however this movie failed to reach that label. Great inclusion of Sibling bonding, friendship, betrayal and common human emotions in script. Climax left many questions unanswered and that's why this is different cinema.

Music:

A.R.Rahman has collaborated with Majid Majidi second time after Muhammad: The Messenger of God. Song "Ala Re Ala" was good one.

Box-office:

As this is low budget movie, so box-office collection will not be a bog concern. Starting day collection was lower than expected collection however it will gain the momentum in the coming days.

Last Words:

Please avoid this movie if you hate artistic approach in cinema.

Genre : Drama Duration : 120 Minutes

Ishaan Khatter : Much known as the younger brother of Shahid Kapoor, is fantastic as a debutant. He completely nails the character of Aamir. He deeply performs all the emotions that a talented actor could bring out. Malavika Mohanan : She plays Tara, who is Aamir's sister. Her screen presence is equally strong. She complemented Ishaan well.

Story : The plot is centered around a brother and sister relationship, however it also teaches us that whatever happens in life, we should always be humble and kind towards others. The story & direction by Majid Majidi is beautiful but felt slightly lengthy in the last half hour. It is indeed an eye opener for audiences wanting to see the real Mumbai.

Music : The tracks & Background sound by AR Rahman are of a different league. No Favorites.

Overall, Beyond The Clouds is one of those realistic flicks, which every cinema lover should definitely watch.