The Pune branch of the Rajgopaul family celebrated Holi by going to this picture and having a food-court-in-a-mall meal too. I had a Subway sandwich, something I had not had for a few years, and the juniors had KFC stuff. A great and very pleasant outing indeed.
And the senior most Rajgopaul, who should know better, fell hopelessly in love with the leading lady Bhumi Pednekar, a most refreshing and un-starlike personality if there ever was one.
If you closely observe the two photographs, you will find two remarkable things. One on the top shows a typical Haridwar street scene in the background which has not been tampered with, and the lower one again shows a typical home scene with an umbrella hanging in the background. Throw in cassette tapes, Bajaj Chetak scooters, a red Ambassador car, Tempo van and a cycle rickshaw and it was nostalgia time too.
A remarkable story about ordinary people with ordinary middle class problems and how those problems get resolved in the most unexpected way. A very believable and touching experience I haven’t experienced in a long long time in an Indian film. Bollywood has been surprising me again and again recently.
The hero does not bare his torso to show off his abs nor does the heroine show off her size zero body in a sinuous dance. The latter in fact is a nice rolly polly plump girl who could well be our neighbour’s daughter and when she does dance, it is like seeing a real life khatha peetha Indian girl dancing.
Seeing Haridwar brought so many memories flooding back for me from my stay in Delhi in the early eighties of the last century. Because I was posted there, a lot of people came to be houseguests with us and would go to Agra, Jaipur and Haridwar and if the relatives were important and close enough I would accompany them too.
Ayushman Khurana acts as a great foil to Bhumi Pednekar and the two bring about such fantastic chemistry and realism to their relationship that it is like seeing a real life story unfolding before our eyes in our homes. A remarkable directorial and acting performance that gets from me a full [rating=6] rating.
I strongly recommend all my Indian friends to see this refreshingly different and very touching story about ordinary Indians in ordinary roles.
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