Thursday 24 April 2014
Do you know,
what is it, that Orson Welles, Satyajit Ray, Jim Sheridan, Kevin Costner,
Quentin Tarantino, Brad Bird and Ben Affleck have in common? It is the fact that they all had a great debut as directors. Now I won’t talk
about how they went ahead later in their careers in this post, but certainly
they were all equally great first time directors, they were simply fantastic.
One of the recent addition to this list is Vikramaditya Motwane who made his first film Udaan in
2010.
Udaan is a coming of age story of Rohan, played by Rajat Barmecha, also a
debutant. Rohan is 16, an aspiring writer at heart, expelled from boarding school
and returns to his father’s place in the city of Jamshedpur.
His father, who
he hasn't met in the last 8 years, is not your regular dad, he is strict, he is
authoritarian and he prefers being called “sir” over dad. During these 8 years, when Rohan was in hostel,
he fathered another son, to his 2nd marriage. Rohan’s half brother Arjun [Aayan Boradia] is
merely 6 years old but is living a similar life as Rohan; dictated by their
father, calling him Sir and in the process the two step brothers bond well without much of a
conversation.
Rohan’s father,
Bhairav Singh, played by Ronit Roy is an essentially heartless man. Ronit Roy’s
portrayal as the father is pure evil. Initially, you will like to believe he is
a little unconventionally strict father but as the movie progresses, you will
be shocked at his ruthlessness at different points of time.
Surprisingly Rohan’s
uncle [his dad's brother] supports him, he understands Rohan and wants him to pursue
whatever his heart says. But that never helped him set things right in his
life. Ronit Roy as Bhairav Singh has perhaps done the greatest performance of his
life playing the monstrous father. Rajat Barmecha as Rohan was equally great
doing every bit of his role to perfection, his fractured teenage made him
stronger every new day.
Udaan is
produced by the great Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who often shows traits
of Tarantino and Scorsese in his own works and is known for directing films like
Gulaal, Gangs of Wasseypur, Black Friday and DevD. Vikramaditya Motwane didn’t
let down Anurag in his first film and later he made another good film Lootera
in 2013 produced by Anurag Kashyap.
Udaan means
flight or better say fly high. And certainly Udaan is a high flyer in the
Indian film industry.
Udaan came in
2010 and if you haven’t watched it by now, you must watch it.
Highly
recommended.
Movie Geek’s
Rating: ★★★★
Cast: Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Aayan Boradia, Ram Kapoor
Directed by: Vikramaditya Motwane
-------------------------
Author: Amritt Rukhaiyaar
[This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge in April 2014. Let's celebrate blogging.]
As you said, Udaan is coming of age cinema that deal with the complex relationships between father and sons. The film has a message: Always go for your dreams, doesn't matters if parents agree or not. What matters is happiness:)
ReplyDeleteVery well said, Vishal :)
DeleteI had not heard of this movie but it certainly tweaked my interest for a couple reasons. I enjoy family drama stories and it sounds like a character study as well.
ReplyDeleteCarol @ Battered Hope
yes yes it is all about character study, the way Rohan's childhood is ruined is sad but interesting
DeleteGive it an extra star man from my side. Brilliant stuff!
ReplyDeleteRicha
Yes indeed a brilliant stuff
DeleteI have watched this movie and it simply moved me. Ronit Roy was brilliant and the atrocities that he committed especially with the younger son, Oh My...
ReplyDeleteIt is truly a coming of age story and as you rightly said, a must see.
We were also keen to watch this movie as it was shot in BCS, Shimla, where our son studies :)
that's interesting...!!
Deleteglad that you love the movie, Shilpa :)
I loved this movie a lot! The emotions in the story, lives of characters, their acting and above all male protagonist's poems- everything was excellent! My thumbs up to this one!
ReplyDeletevery well said Shesha :)
DeleteLovely choice for U in fact no movie can be better. Good stuff you got going here!!
ReplyDelete%stars from me too.
thanks Inderpreet :)
DeleteThis is my first time on your blog and I'm in love with your work. Keep it up. Now, about Udaan, no matter how much i say, it would look less. It's one of the few films that made me have some faith in Bollywood. Lovely review. I have bookmarked my blog so that I can visit often.
ReplyDeleteI write at www.movieroundup.in Do visit at your convenience.
thanks for the lovely words Haricharan... I visit your blog every now and then :)
DeleteUdaan is one of my fav movie. I love the screenplay and originallity of the plot and location. And not to forget the music by Amit Triwedi. Good post Amrit
ReplyDelete