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Saturday, September 7, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD TU HAI MERA SUNDAY
EDITOR'S PICK
'Tu Hai Mera Sunday': Gem of a film (Review By Subhash K. Jha ;
Rating: ****1/2 )
Once in a while in my long career as a movie fanatic, I come across a sparkling
gem that reminds me there's still so much to see, so many places to go, for
Indian cinema. First-time feature filmmaker Milind Dhaimade takes us into places
where we all have visited at one time or another.
And I don't mean only Mumbai, which like many memorable films stands a silent
hero in this film about unsung heroism.
Dhaimade, God bless his creative juices that flow in the narrative like a stream
gurgling through a craggy mountain -- takes us to places in the heart where we
go quite often in seclusion but don't really wish anyone else to know. The oddly
titled "Tu Hai Mera Sunday" is about working class yearnings, crushed dreams and
smothered aspirations floating to the surface to confront the characters even as
they conform to the stagnating status quo, loath to swim against the tides.
Some of the major characters, and there are so many of them all so vivid and
relatable even in the briefest of roles, have serious meltdowns in unexpected
moments. And if the others don't break down, we know they are holding it all in.
The cloudburst can happen any time.
It's the sunshine that director Dhaimade and his astounding cinematographer
Harendra Singh focus on, but never at the cost of the darkness that lies
beneath. The overbridge on which we first meet the five protagonists could be
the ill-fated venue of tragedy that happened on Elphinstone Road in Mumbai
recently. There are no traces of crisis where our heroes first appear. But then
this is Mumbai. Everything changes in a jiffy.
It is this mix of mirth and melancholy that makes "Tu Hai Mera Sunday" one of
the most precious slice-of-life films in recent times. The narrative shifts
moods and tempo without disturbing the characters' journey and thought processes
as they go from smothered anguish and despair to a celebration of life and
related joys.
The core theme is the five protagonists' search for space to play their Sunday
football game, an event that centralizes their scattered lives. Even as they
grapple with personal issues, all delineated with remarkable fluidity and grace,
the sportive spirit binds the five friends through personal pain and shared
anguish.
Among this gem's many virtues, the one quality that gives it an absolute
stand-out stamp are the performances. I don't think I've seen a more
accomplished complete and engaging ensemble cast in any film. Taken from theatre
and television, these are actors who haven't acquired the cocky arrogance of
stardom. They breathe life into their characters even as the characters
suffocate in the cramped polluted environment of Mumbai.
Each of the five protagonists is played memorably. It would be unfair to single
any one performance, they are all so vividly in-character that it doesn't feel
like a camera construction at all. Shyam Salgaonkar edits the multitudinous
characters and their rapidly mutating lives with a reined-in vigour. We realize
these are people on the move. But the narrative won't humour or heckle their
with 'hecticity'.
Adding substance to the performances is the care taken to write the characters
into situations that contours their eccentricity in a city that disregards
individuality and celebrates anonymity. We feel their unbearable darkness of
being with a clarity that can only be defined by the darkness that surrounds
these lives.
There is Arjun Anand, whose relationship with Kavya grows when he starts
babysitting her dementia-ridden father (Shiv Subramaniam). Barun Sobti and
Shahana Goswami (who often reminds me of Kajol) play Arjun and Kavya with such
warmth and candour it feels like they are a couple I know first-hand. Sure,
their shared affinity is memorable. But the footloose womanizing Rashid's (the
very convincing Avinash Tiwary) growing closeness to the abandoned wife (Rasika,
whose smile lights up every frame) and mother is equally compelling.
Both the romances plough persuasively into our hearts. As does the sulky
musician Dominic's (Vishal Malhotra) troubled relationship with his brother
until his sunshiny sister-in-law-to-be (Manvi Gagroo) intervenes. And how can I
forget the decent Parsi whitecollar boy Mehernosh (Nakul Bhalla) who can't bear
to watch his office colleague Peppy (Pallavi Batra) being abused by their boss.
Finally, there is Jayesh (Jay Upadhyay) the Gujarati businessman stifled by his
commodious family's noisy religiosity. When Jayesh has a sudden meltdown, we are
unprepared for it. It's like that mouse in Rashid's room which shows up to
remind him of the disturbances that lie underneath the hard-earned calm and
routine tenor of Mumbai. You can ignore the rats only as long as they don't eat
into your urbane composure.
This is a film whose characters I carried with me long after the film was over.
Every actor, including the unknown Rama Joshi who plays Vishal Malhotra's
harried mother, and Meher Acharia-Dar who plays Arjun's sprightly temperamental
sister, is an unsung hero in this gem of a film that must be seen.
But if you ask me the one real hero that stands tallest in this film of looming
achievements is the writing. The sharply but unobtrusively-drawn characters and
the intriguingly spot-on situations and words that they exchange will have you
wondering where you've met all these people before and eavesdropped onA
conversations that happened while you were travelling.
While you figure that out, please excuse me. I must see the film again.
A slice of life comedy of 5 middle class men as they deal with their personal lives while trying to find a place to play football in the city of Mumbai.
