Sunday, September 25, 2011

Movie Review: Mausam

Shahid is a happy-go-lucky Punjabi lad in a small village Mallukot, waiting for his acceptance into the Indian Air Force. Sonam is a displaced Kashmiri girl, naughty and shy, who lands up in Mallukot with her bua. And there starts a decade long saga of war, communal tensions and riots, each conspiring to keep the shy lovers away from each other. Across cities, countries and continents, and years, love survives, but will it be too much to cope with in the end?

The first half is beautiful, the cinematography and camera work brings the Punjabi countryside and village life beautifully into the theatres.. the dialogues, the jokes, the ganne-ke-khet, the dusty bylanes of Mallukot, the rain-drenched terraces... simply mesmerizing. Shahid looks great, and Sonal, as always is prettiness defined.

In the second half, though, Pankaj Kapoor completely loses it. The lovers' misses start becoming contrived, the reasons illogical. The change of scenery becomes too fast, too quick. And the last 30 mins goes way into the B grade movies of yesteryears... Shahid rescuing a crying kid beside her dead mother from the top of a stuck ferris wheel with his one paralyzed hand, while riots rage below... a completely irrlevant and ridiculous rescue of a white horse...

Cut 45 min, cut the ending, and Mausam would have been a beautiful movie! What do I suggest? Go watch it till half time - and then you are free to leave.

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