If Dev Benegal had to fill this space what would he say?
Road, Movie
U/A; DRAMA
Dir: Dev Benegal
Cast: Abhay Deol, Satish Kaushik, Tannishta Chatterjee
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What's it about: If Dev Benegal had to fill this space what would he say? Would he say it's the story of the water mafia in rural India or call it a coming of age tale of a man who wants to escape the world where people sell pungent hair oil and crack silly jokes at the dinner table? I doubt Benegal would say any of the above; he would instead go on a tangent about something else. Cause the whole film is one big tangent!u00a0 Perhaps his joie de vivre comes from being abstract about everything. To put it mildly, Road, Movie is a never ending self-indulgent fest that uses quirky characters -- a man (Abhay Deol) escaping his family in a truck that plays movies, a village girl (Tannishtha Chatterjee), a mechanic (Satish Kaushik), a helper boy (Mohammed Faizal Usmani) and a local goon (Yashpal Sharma) who smuggles water. The interaction between these people happens across the hauntingly beautiful backdrops of Jaisalmer and Kutch.
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What's hot: Michel Amathieu's camerawork is direct and despite the babble it captures, there's a poised grace and subtlety to it. Of the cast Satish Kaushik is the most simple and real character you can watch. His performance is easy on the eyes and lacks the artificiality that surrounds others. Chatterjee has a raw appeal that works for her desert woman appearance. The scene where she bursts
into an impromptu song is remarkable.u00a0
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What's not: Like Split Wide Open, most of the Road, Movie plays not on screen but in Benegal's head. If his intentions were to take us on a journey with him, then he failed even before the expedition can begin. Dialogues come slow and steady between heavy passages of stark silence, long pauses or the camera running loose on the dry landscape. The need to address the water issue and weave a ridiculous climax around it is contrived. However, the biggest culprits are the hollow characters. You just don't feel anything for them whether they are wrapped in throngs of passion, want to break free from their mundane routine, or even meet their end before expected, it just doesn't matter. The blame clearly lies on the weak screenplay and direction that is so self absorbed that you wonder if the actors even realised the context in which they have to say the lines. Showing collages of old movies to create a Cinema Paradiso feel doesn't work here. Instead, it just
eats up time in an already sluggish storyline.u00a0
What to do: Wanna see a touching film, go watch Thanks Maa. In mood for a comedy, head to a theatre showing Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?
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