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EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ***
This is a small, tender idea, executed with a certain amount of elan and loads
and loads of heart. Writer-director Amit Rai`s debut film is a Gandhian parable
done up in shades that are at once, pristine, noble, gentle and funny.
The imaginative plot about the Mahatma`s ashes belatedly being taken out of
Allahabad to be scattered in the Ganga gets its strength from the moral frailty
of the times that we live in.
Miraculously while constructing a heart-warming morality tale, the debutant
writer-director manages to keep the tone purely and strictly non-judgemental.
Among the many virtues in this frail but strong tale of two communities that
need hard and immediate lessons in co-existence, is the detailed eye for
locations. The streets and roof-tops of humble middle class homes in Allahabad
are shot by cinematographer Dharam Gulati with a keen eye for the teeming crowds
peeping out of ramshackle windows which have seen better days.
The eye used to create the authentic ambience is forever lucid and non-judgemental.
Sandesh Shandilya`s re-worked interpretation of Gandhian bhajans add
considerably to a sense of serene sincerity in a work that gently but firmly
prods our conscience.
The process of spiritual awakening that the sleepy communally-divided town
undergoes when a humble honest motor mechanic Hashmatullah decides to repair the
car that would take Gandhiji`s ashes to the sea, is shown to be gradual and
persuasive.
In its effort to project a world beyond strife that is obtainable to a more
reasonable humankind than visible in today`s divided times, the narrative at
times slips into the realm of naive idealism.
No harm in that. "Road To Sangam" shows us that the road to salvation
for a wounded and dying civilisation is to cut through the tangled web of
politics and religion to try to a find a common ground between the Hindu and
Muslim viewpoint without compromising or hurting either.
Paresh Rawal as the simple and obstinate motor mechanic Hashmatullah finds that
dithering but comforting ground in his performance.
Hashmatullah is a gentle soul driven by a clarity of purpose that brooks no
interference from religious bigots. His cluster of Muslim compatriots opposing
his idealistic efforts to do justice to Mahatma Gandhi`s memories often come
across as benign caricatures.
Rai portrays the world of religious bigotry as eminently reformable. In this
sense, the film`s core could be considered impractical. But the film`s quest to
convert the currency of communalism into a molten gold of harmony and peace, is
never questionable.
"Road To Sangam" is a gentle trip into the heart of a society that has
resorted to a collective suspicion and hostility as a form of protestation and
self-protection. Without really saying so aloud, this film suggests Gandhism
still has the solution and medicine to the spirit of ceaseless strife that grips
our society.
The dusty half-formed modern integrally-traditional ambience of Allahabad and
Paresh`s deceptively smooth portrayal of the man who must do his duty even if it
endangers his life, carry "Road To Sangam" to the region of an
important statement on the relevance of Gandhi in today`s age of rage.
There`s a lesson to be learnt from this film. Luckily, we aren`t required to dig
too deep into the narrative to procure the message.
Gentle and heart-warming "Road To Sangam" is that rare passionate
paean to patriotism that doesn`t resort to flag-waving even once.
A simple story of a God fearing, devout Muslim mechanic named
Hashmat Ullah (Paresh Rawal) who has been entrusted the job of repairing an old
V8 ford engine, not knowing the historic significance that it once carried the
ashes of Mahatma Gandhi which were immersed in the holy river `Sangam`.
He is caught in a complex situation after a powerful bomb explosion rocks his
town leading to the arrest of innocent Muslim youths of his locality. A strike
to work is called by the prominent Leaders (Om Puri) (Pavan Mallhotra) of his
community to protest against the unjust treatment meted out to those arrested
youths by the police.
Will he support the protest and abandon the repair of the engine or go against
the wishes of his community.
Thus begins his journey. A journey of Gandhian values and principles. A journey
of patriotism. A journey called ``ROAD TO SANGAM (CONFLUENCE)``.