Road, Movie

Before going into the finer details, let's study some important facts associated with 'Road, Movie":

1. A widely appreciated project from Dev Benegal, the director of "English August" & "Split Wide Open".

2. Featuring, Abhay Deol in the lead, who is now known for his off-beat choice of subjects and understanding of the medium.

3. Presence of the veteran Satish Kaushik in a hopeful comic role which sounds pretty exciting.

4. Refreshing promotional material with visuals of an old truck and inviting visuals of Rajasthan.

5. And "Sar Jo Tera Chakraye" track from "Pyaasa" playing in the background.

What an ensemble of exciting stuff associated with a single project, and what a disastrous final product in the offering.

To be straight, I love artistic movies, especially the ones which have the power to enlighten and are widely acclaimed in the festival circuits. But with "Road, Movie", I was highly disappointed as it had nothing as compared to its striking promotional campaign and the earlier two movies from the director mentioned above.

Now the detailed review:

Once again, as seen in many recent projects, the movie starts off brilliantly with an artistic feel and ambiance. But right after the old truck comes into the story, the film steps onto an escalator, slowly moving downwards. Abhay Deol, who is not interested in his father's oil business, goes on to take an undisclosed assignment to drive an old truck to another unknown destination and keeps wandering in the deserts and plain regions with no living being in the sight. The viewer is never told why he took up this job, what was the purpose of his voyage, what goods he had to deliver and what was the actual destination he was heading for. Also it was quite weird to show that Abhay didn't even know that there was a projector and whole equipment of showing a movie in the truck he was driving. Moreover he very unintelligently takes up the job of driving an old truck through the lonely roads all alone without taking any helper along with him. That was indeed very daring thought put in by the writers.

Besides all this confusion, the project misses all those thrilling factors associated with a long road journey and its joy. The viewers who love travelling long distances through roads are sure going to be disappointed with the treatment given by the director to the theme. For instance, one strongly misses the highway chills, the roadside dhabas, the occasional stoppages, the view of wide barren lands along with great music running at the back, children waving from the roadsides and risky one nights stays in the cheap hotels while watching this weak movie on "Road theme". There is nothing stated above in the entire movie.

In fact the director is more interested in his outdoor cinema being arranged from the projector in the truck and its craze among the villagers in his vaguely written movie. Along with that, he also adds the plot of a mystified romance between Abhay and a nomad girl, the tragic end of a good hearted mechanic and a silly sequence about a desert don running a water-mafia. But sadly none of these sub-plots works in the movie.

On the contrary each new development on the screen makes the viewer even more confused makes him wondering about what the director actually wants to convey? Especially the sequence about the grand fair in the lonely desert, coming out of nowhere. This particular part is the most confusing one in the entire movie and is also left unexplained by the director just like that. May be he wanted the festival people to make their own creative conclusion about the same. Likewise the director never shows us any sound equipment being installed by anyone before screening the film in the outdoors. May be that was too a festival liberty taken by the director with style.

The other major question which came to my mind while watching "Road, Movie" was that why all the western filmmakers are still interested in showing the poverty, villages and rural areas of India in their movies more than anything else. Unfortunately the worldwide success of "Slumdog Millionaire" has contributed a lot in this direction.

At the same time, all these talented directors, simply forget the essence & culture of our country while shooting their intimate sexual scenes which seems to be quite funny. Like in "Road, Movie" too, at one end the director shows a nomad girl, who has never watched cinema in her life. Yet in a later sequence he shows the same village girl smooching Abhay Deol in a pure western style and passion. Frankly speaking that was quite funny and amateur kind of direction from the experienced director.

Technically the film stands out with its stunning visuals and great cinematography. But it moves at a very lazy pace which forces the viewer to look at his watch repeatedly. The screenplay falls flat and has nothing exceptional in store for the thinking viewer. Musically the film misses any special tracks to enjoy on a long drive (as per its title) and "Pyaasa's - Tel Maalish" song is also not used in any respectable context by the director. Talking about the performances, Abhay Deol fits to the role as a T, but the film would not prove to be another ace up his sleeve. His honest effort gets betrayed by a badly written script. Satish Kaushik is completely lovable. Mohammed Faizal Usmani shines with his witty dialogues and Tannishtha Chatterjee does her job well.

In a nutshell, "Road, Movie" is not at all exciting as suggested by its title and eye catching promotional campaign. Its neither a thought provoking artistic venture nor an interesting novel project made on a different theme. Its just a tiring, fruitless journey heading towards no-where.

The movie is awesome! A very brave attempt by the director!

The worst thing that could happen to a director is getting extremely shallow reviews. And which, unfortunately, happened with Dev Benegal. Although critics/reviewers appreciated the movie,but I believe, almost all of them could not decipher the metaphors, woven to form the story, which actually was the backbone of the discourse.Every character, every event in the story is well crafted. So, in this article, I just plan to throw a few hints on the metaphors used in the movie. For the sake of exhaustiveness of this article, I would like to mention that direction, cinematography etc. etc. are superb.

Superficially it seems that the story shows journey of a young boy, 'Vishnu' (Abhay Deol), from his home town to Samudrabad on road. But actually this was a philosophical portrait of 'The journey of life', and subtle metaphors were used as colors.Every thing is very cleverly shown. 1.Huge stress has been given on 'water'. Does 'water' signify water or something else? 2.What do those weird characters (group of water searching ladies, water lord etc.), portrayed by the director, signify actually? 3.Things, like the character of mechanic who always gives the right suggestion or the strange fair that suddenly appeared out of the blue an vanished in Shoonya, mean something ? Or probably are the side effects of Director's Block . 4.What does the 'Atma (means 'soul' in Hindi) Oil', that magically (and comically) solves every problem, signify? 5.At the very first thought, "Road, Movie", why this name?

.....and the list of all those riddles, which should spontaneously pop up in the mind of keen and intelligent viewer, go on . Solving and linking these riddles brings to you a great philosophical discourse.Special mention: The way in which the magic of the mesmerizing virtual world of film been picturized is simply admirable.

So Please go and watch out this awesome movie with the attention and respect that this movie deserves. (Originally posted at http://skepticeye.wordpress.com )

Finally, "Road, Movie"- critically acclaimed director Dev Benegal's much awaited 3rd directorial venture comes to Indian screens after 'wandering' over from a number of film festivals.

First look at the movie and you will know that the director isn't catering to a large strata of audience. The movie has a chugging along sort of pace, quite like the Truck that is the carrier of our protagonists. A feel of wanderlust will strike you if you have that sort of streak.

The movie is basically about a journey of self-discovery (Vishnu's). The wanderlust struck oil businessman's son discovers in this journey the meaning of relationships. His companions in this journey are a mechanic (kaushik), a tea-seller boy (Faizal) and a nomad (tannishtha). Along the way there are skirmishes with the police and water mafia.

The performances are sterling. Abhay deol plays to the hilt the selfish, city-lad. Mohammed faizal impresses as the tea-stall boy an Tannishtha Chatterjee is natural in her role of a wandering nomad. But the man who steals the show as the mechanic is veteran actor Satish Kaushik. Absolutely wonderful performance by him.

Besides the cinematography is absolutely scintillating. Never has the rajasthan landscape been so beautifully picturised on screen. Michael Brook's background score is beautiful to say the least.

A movie with international sensibilities but an Indian heart. Calling this Bollywood will be a shame. This movie belongs to world cinema. Quite easily this one belongs to the collector's shelf. Mr. Dev Benegal-- Take a bow, Sire!

Go on this journey or rather 'Wander' into it.

To be honest, this movie is one of my favorite Indian movies in a long time. I have stopped watching contemporary bollywood garbage which it dishes out every other week.

I consider BLACK as India's best movie in last 30 years. 3 Idiots & Rang De Basanti are good, but this movie is in class of its own.

It almost feels MAGICAL that you are transported into Dev Benegal's world. Its mesmerizing movie. An astonishing work of cinematography.

Do anything but don't miss out on this HIDDEN GEM.

Also, this movie never had huge marketing behind it, i can understand why that was the case. Simply people in India don't like such artistic movies and most are illiterate but still it doesn't bring this movie down. I am glad such a movie was made and it is an awesome experience. You will feel entrenched in the Director's vision of India & Rajasthan.

'Road, Movie' is an extraordinary movie and one of the most beautiful films I've seen in recent years. This is the story of Vishnu (Abhay Deol), a young apathetic and carefree guy who hits the road in his old neighbour's very antique kind of a truck, a 1942 Chevy with a traveling cinema in its back carrying Victoria film projectors. For him, this truck is in a sense a way to escape his family's burden - selling Atma hair oil for his dad — and take a week of freedom while driving from Rajasthan to the sea. On his way, Vishnu picks up several passengers who go on this journey with him: a smart orphaned boy, an old wise mechanic, and a beautiful widowed gypsy. Even this barren place has its rulers, however, and they appear in the form of a sadistic policeman and cruel, water-hoarding gangsters.

This movie is visually stunning, poetic, artistic and completely real. Dev Benegal's direction is fantastic. In order to understand the true meaning of this symbolic piece, one would have to figure out what every object in the movie signifies - the oil, the water, the well, the people he meets and goes on this journey with, the group of water searching women he always encounters on his way. This is the journey of life, and everyone is free to interpret it the way they want. But it does not really matter if you just want to enjoy the film. The movie is just engaging, mysterious and interesting without forcing you to find a hidden significance in the story. The situations, the dialogue, the characters, the locations are so authentic and fascinating that the movie flows extremely well. I was captivated not only because it is visually stunning; it is also perfectly paced and has an inexplicably understated sense of life.

Road, Movie captures the serene and peaceful beauty of the broad and desolate desert landscapes. It is done is a way that is so precise that there seems to be no way possible to take your eyes off the screen. This is aided by two aspects which are of the strongest in the film: the exquisite cinematography and the superb background score. These two aspects, done with sheer excellence by Michel Amathieu and Michael Brook, respectively, are perfectly brought together on-screen to create a breathtakingly mesmerising visual treat. The music complements the images and vice versa. I loved the sequences in which the group started screening different classic films, used to relax the villains. From Deewaar (1975) to Jaal (1986) to Andaz (1971). And ironically, Vishnu's father's damned hair oil somehow always comes to his rescue.

As already mentioned, the film is extremely realistic, and the acting is roundly natural. All characters no matter how lengthy or brief they are look totally genuine. Abhay Deol leads this film, and this brilliant actor yet again proves why he is possibly the finest actor of his age bracket. He is a brave actor as he is not afraid to be unlikable or look selfish and he does it exceedingly well. Mohammed Faisal plays the nameless boy who is in search of a better life with ease and conviction. Tannishtha Chatterjee is mind-blowing as the mysterious and widowed gypsy woman. The scene in which she starts singing a beautiful folklore song is wonderful. However, the one who steals the show is undoubtedly Satish Kaushik - he is simply outstanding from start to end. He makes his character so authentic, likable and memorable. This is one of his finest performances and according to me the finest in the movie.

In one of the film's most wonderful dialogues, Satish Kaushik's character says something that really epitomises the power of this picture: "Ah, the magic of cinema - lets you forget life, pain, worry... Takes you far away into a world of dreams." 'Road, Movie' really is a lyrical tribute to the magic of movies - a breathtaking, beautiful and fascinating gem. This is a spectacular picture.