L'Ombrelle bleue

Who could have thought that an umbrella would turn out to be one of the most compelling characters seen on the cinema screen in 2007? But then, when the filmmaker in question is a master craftsman called Vishal Bhardwaj, pretty much anything is possible. The music director turned filmmaker is a force to reckon with- one of the finest directors seen in a long time- churning out masterpieces with alarming versatility and consistency. This man simply does not cease to amaze, and The Blue Umbrella is yet another stunning film from him- and personally, my favorite Vishal Bhardwaj film so far.

Words do not suffice to describe the amazing beauty, simplicity and purity of this movie, based on the popular novella of the same name by Ruskin Bond. But Vishal Bhardwaj expectedly goes much, much beyond the source material and takes the story to an altogether different level. The umbrella comes to life in this charming fable, symbolizing so much- from love and beauty to desire and materialistic evil.

The Blue Umbrella is a charming story, but it is also a powerful film exploring multiple themes of greed, innocence, ostracism and loss. Stunningly shot by Sachin K Krishn in the locales of Himachal Pradesh, the film is also breathtaking lovely, and the umbrella in all its splendor, set in contrast against the mountain scenery- green in summer and stark white is winter- is a sight to behold.

The writing and dialogues are trademark Bhardwaj- witty, sharp and humorous, with even a cheeky reference to Quentin Tarantino playfully thrown in- Bhardwaj, of course, is a huge fan of the Pulp Fiction director. And the songs in the film hark back to the days of Lakdi Ki Kaathi- as Vishal shows yet again how brilliant he is with children's songs, with Gulzar's joyful lyrics perfectly complimenting his tunes.

But what's really incredible about the film is the sheer spirit of humanity that pervades and shines through the entire film. It is indeed ironical that the film that has been named the 'best children's film' at the recently announced National awards is actually not a kiddie flick at all. But The Blue Umbrella can make you feel like being a child all over again- rather like Nand Kishore in the film, who despite all his vices, still retains the child in him.

Vishal Bhardwaj has an amazing knack for extracting great work from child actors, and débutante actress Shreya is yet another awesome find after Makdee's Shweta Prasad. The role of Biniya does not demand histrionics, but Shreya shows remarkable resilience and maturity, playing Biniya confidently and holding her own even before the veteran actor alongside her in the film.

The actor I talk of is of course, Pankaj Kapur- a horribly underrated actor, and a favorite with Bhardwaj- who has been giving powerhouse performances one after the other of late- whether it be in Maqbool or the more recent Dharm. Pankaj Kapur plays Nand Kishore with such obvious delight, watching him in this film is pleasure beyond words. One of the most riveting and memorable characters he has played, this undoubtedly is the finest performance I have seen in the movies this year.

In fact, Pankaj Kapur is so good in this film, he almost brought tears to my eyes. Watch it- because performances like these don't come once too often. And because films like these do not happen every other Friday....unless you want to wait for Vishal Bhardwaj's next film. I, for one, actually can't wait.

I would just like to comment on the plot synopsis written by Michelle Sohn. I disagree with the comment 'The film blends the extremely colorful and gaudy images with Bollywood-style song and dance!' Where does Michelle Sohn find 'GAUDINESS' in the movie? As an avid watcher of Hindi movies, I really do not approve of such words in a fine example of cinema! I had the misfortune of watching stupid and senseless movies like transformers, Premonition, The wedding singer etc. and i believe they are much more 'gaudy' than this movie. I request IMDb to please employ people who know how to write a good plot synopsis without restoring to jingoism. A final word to Michelle Sohn- I think Indian movies far outshine American movies so please don't write reviews if you are not really interested in our movies!!!!!!!!

Bharadwaj comes up with another interesting piece of cinema that's somewhat different from his other works. 'Omkara' was the last Bharadwaj film I'd seen and 'The Blue Umbrella' clearly excels that. Compared to 'Maqbool' and 'Omkara', 'The Blue Umrella' is a much more abstract and symbolic piece and yes, one of the main characters is played by an umbrella.

Based on Ruskin Bond's novella, it is a very simple storytelling but uses a lot of symbolic elements and makes minimum but brilliant use of technical props. The cinematography welcomes us to the beautiful location and to the character's lives and minds. Each frame of the simplistic setting of North Himalaya is a treat to watch The use of colours is very effective and adds to the abstract nature e.g. what does the blue umbrella symbolize? What do the characters Kishore and Biniya represent? Well, that's for you to figure out. In my opinion the film symbolizes beauty, greed, love, pride, desire and forgiveness. The songs are charming with lovely lyrics that will very much appeal to children. The dialogues are witty and clever.

About acting, the young Shreya is mature and very subtle as Biniya. I was amazed by Kapur's performance. I had last seen him in films like 'Maqbool', 'Dharm' etc, but here he was mind blowing. I can understand why he's referred to as one of the best actors as he seemed to quite naturally pull off Nand Kishore.

This is one of the purest films to emerge from India in recent times. Though it's categorized as a children's film, it's not. It has a powerful message, is a visual treat and film-making at its simplest but most efficient.

a film which can be seen with the family.a film which is made from the heart by director.the direction,cinematography,screenplay n acting are simply superb.Indian cinema should promote such films which are truly world class.a clean,simple story telling is the beauty of the film.the brilliant photography of the film enhances the story.music of the film is fresh n soothing to the ears.the child artist is wonderful.the legendary actor,has once again out beaten himself. it is an adaption of one of ruskin bond's short stories.the director has been able to do full justice to this story.fabulously casted,enacted,directed n shot. a film everyone will enjoy!go with your family and see it.

Blue Umbrella is beautiful. The umbrella, the concept of the story, the background of the movie, the people, the symbolic values – they're all beautifully presented. Pankaj Kapoor says in the movie that one shouldn't measure the profit loss behind watching a sunrise. In the same way, there's really no evaluation of this movie because of its intangible beauty. It also showcases the culture of mountain people, how they deal with crime and punishment. It gets quite intense and still doesn't let go of its simplicity. Its joy to watch the kids dance along the streets and also the adults in a marriage ceremony. Pankaj Kapoor and the director have both done a great job!