Waiting

this is a wonderful movie which deserves a watch for the outstanding performances of Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki. The movie shows how to 2 ppl dealing with similar kind of tragedy develop a bond of friendship, despite having huge age difference... The scenes between Naseer and Kalki are the highlight of the film and its executed quite well by Debutant Director Anu Menon....There are also light moments, F word is used lot of times. The film moves slowly in 2nd half & becomes a bit repetitive but it doesn't dampen our interest... Naseer is at the top of his game. He is the master of acting IMO. He is a complete natural and you feel for him in this film. So does Kalki. She has given her career best performance. Rajat Kapoor is as usual sublime and impresses with his screen presence. Overall WAITING is worth a watch bcoz of its honest attempt to tell a beautiful story & it has wonderful acting from the 2 leads.

Shiv Nataraj's wife from 40-year long marriage is in coma in ICU since last 8 months. Tara Deshpande's husband from a marriage that is barely few weeks old is brought to the same ICU after a road accident. Waiting is the story of how these two people cope with their grief. Your grief is your own, advises the wise Shiv (Naseeruddin Shah) to the impetuous Tara (Kalki Koechlin). The two cannot be more different from each other. While the older man (Naseeruddin Shah) appears to be stoic, he loses his cool when the doctor suggests that his wife be taken off the life support system. The younger woman (Kalki Koechlin) on the other hand is completely clueless and complains that not one of her numerous friends from facebook and twitter have come to the hospital to be by her side. Director Anu Menon doesn't have adequate material to stretch the film to even 98 minutes; so we have to endure flashbacks that add no value to the film. Many interactions meant to highlight the generation gap between Shiv and Tara tend to be frivolous and rob the film of its intensity. And there are songs! The duo also cast aspersions on the medical profession, which are robustly defended by the quirky but intelligent Dr Nirupam Malhotra (Rajat Kapoor). Other characters are reduced to caricatures in order to raise some laughs. Waiting could have been so much more poignant, had it stuck to its core theme of grief management to the exclusion of other distractions.

Anu Menon's 'Waiting' is A Nicely Done Drama-Comedy, that also comes packed with proficient performances. Its a heartfelt tale, told with simplicity.

'Waiting' Synopsis: Shiv (Naseeruddin Shah) and Tara (Kalki) form an unlikely friendship at an hospital, where their partners are battling for life.

'Waiting' has a strong emotional undercurrent, which makes the narrative heartfelt throughout. Watching the two protagonists express grief & moments of hope, is indeed absorbing. The only aspect that didn't work for me in this 93-minute film, was its culmination. Though not bad, I wasn't particularly impressed by it. A Better End would've only helped 'Waiting' more.

Anu Menon, James Ruzicka & Atika Chohan's Screenplay is heartwarming & engaging. Only glitch, as mentioned before, lies in its finale. Dialgoue deserve a special mention. They are very real. Anu Menon's Diretion is simplistic, but effective. She has handled the film well. Cinematography & Editing are fine. Music by Mikey McCleary is lovely.

Performance-Wise: Naseeruddin Shah underplays his part & remains restrained throughout. Kalki is the star of the show. She's simply terrific, enacting a rather difficult, with flourish. Rajat Kapoor is brilliant in a brief role. Arjun Mathur & Suhasini Maniratnam lend good support.

On the whole, 'Waiting' is a well-made film. Do Watch!

What worked: I have always enjoyed seeing Rajat Kapoor on the screen, and as always he was great supporting cast. This movie for me is Naseerdin fine performances personally. He carried it with grace. Kalki was fine as well. The screenplay is well written and wel directed by Anu. I found the stages of grief part nice and well put What did not work: Not to complain, but any other alternate endings could have been welcomed as well. The characters sometimes felt a bit superficial such as doctor's smirk or leading female character joking around or easily being carried out at the moment, considering the mood and climate of the movie. I would say the movie could have been better considering the good environment that it created. Final verdict: recommended

Two people, waiting...... This is an apt one-line description of a film about life, lasting love and impending loss which explores a zone Bollywood doesn't bother with. Which is itself so refreshing that you want to champion the attempt, as well some of the outcome, even if it doesn't hit all the marks, all the way. Anu Menon's Diretion is simplistic, but effective. She has handled the film well. Cinematography & Editing are fine. Music by Mikey McCleary is lovely.

Performance-Wise: Naseeruddin Shah underplays his part & remains restrained throughout. Kalki is the star of the show. She's simply terrific, enacting a rather difficult, with flourish. Rajat Kapoor is brilliant in a brief role. Arjun Mathur & Suhasini Maniratnam lend good support.

On the whole, 'Waiting' is a well-made film. Do Watch!