'Udaan' (Hindi, Drama, 2010)
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Cast: Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor, Aayan Boradia
One needn’t go overboard and say things like ‘two thumbs up’, ‘movie of the year’, ‘eminently watchable’ or ‘victory for cinema’ about 'Udaan'.
Even so, there is a bit to be said about this Vikramaditya Motwane-directed movie other than the usual review-industry phrases. 'Udaan' is the story of a freedom struggle most go through as adolescents. Maybe not with such drama queenly aplomb, but still. And to its credit, it does not hurtle toward a bad-ass-parent-turns-sobbing-softy ending, because so few stories end that way in the real world.
For a movie that begins in Shimla, you are not taken on a Himachal Pradesh Tourism-sponsored helicopter view of Himalayan proportions. There is little left but to watch a bunch of 17-year-olds sneak out of the hostel of their residential school to watch a raunchy film in the local theatre. The usual goof-ups and run-ins there set up the premise of the film. The kids are expelled and have to head back home to face music. No symphonies, though, for our protagonist Rohan Singh, who has not met his father in eight years.
What should he expect when he gets off the train in Jamshedpur? Surely, the irony of moving from the romantic Himalayas to the steely, realistic
Jamshedpur would not be missed. The claustrophobic feeling of the small town is dwarfed by the ‘home’ atmosphere, where Rohan has a small surprise waiting for him in what used to be his room.
The new life unfolds for Rohan, whose poetry gives him some solace from his keep-running-all-day routine. When he refuses to fully comply with this, a conflict is born, leading to late-night escapades, face-offs with dad and bleak anger towards life — all of which will manifest, inevitably, in action of one sort or another.
It is not often that we get to watch films that use ambient sound well. It is not often we watch films that use silence to good effect. 'Udaan' is a brazen attempt on the aural front. It has but skeletal background score, but that does nothing to hold back music director Amit Trivedi. The man is a sensation in the making.
It’s well know that most work in cinema happens when the camera isn’t around. It happens before and after the film has been shot. Shooting is but a part of the entire process. And the director isn’t the only one responsible for how a film turns out. Indian cinema is usually in the habit of ignoring and denying the above-mentioned truths. Motwane deserves credit for acknowledging these realities and working with them.
A person named Jogi deserves praise for work done on the movie. Jogi’s work, heading the film’s casting, carries the film on its shoulders. To say that television actors Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor shone in the film would be an understatement.
Rajat Barmecha pulls it off as Rohan on his first outing on the silver screen. It will take him a few movies more for us to see if his glorious underplay in 'Udaan' is all he can do.
Other technicians, like cinematographer Mahendra J Shetty and editor Dipika Kalra, do great justice to the space afforded to them by the director and the producers. The movie feels raw and does nothing formulaic to break the flow in storytelling. The camera remains flexible and the editing spacious throughout the film, and to good effect.
Walking out of the movie hall after watching the film, a friend pointed out that 'Udaan' was inspired by some western film. Naming the films that Indian cinema has taken ‘inspiration’ from has become the norm in film reviews. It is a style statement for film critics wanting to show off their wide knowledge of movies. While that maybe the only way to talk about most of our films, one should also know when to look the other way when he/she is shown something fresh. New influences and cultural paradigms are the only ones that can change anything.
Most important of all, 'Udaan' demonstrates that cinema can be work without big stars, big budgets, big marketing or big locales.
Little is big in life and reflecting that is what is so difficult.If the proof is in the eating, then bite the pudding.