Imitiaz Ali gets caught in an inextricable
emotional inertia and the resultant narration for an hour and more of the 151
minutes film is rudderless and dependant largely on the on screen chemistry of
the lead pair Ranbhir and Deepika. Wait a minute. Do not give up on the movie.
Having laid his premise, when he gets to dealing with it he is a different zone
all together. He perhaps gives the audience a product they are neither prepared
and ready for nor trained to accept. Here is a topsy-turvy world after all.
Here the viewer decides the grammar of the film, not the maker. Imtiaz however
makes bold and decides to follow his passion. This may well cost him some mega
bucks and also repute at the box office but assuredly it would place him in the
top rack of our film makers. He magnetizes his beliefs into a passion that
needs empathy. At a time when even our dreams are dictated by lineage and
conditioned by the ashes of our sponsors, Imitiaz nudges you to dare and follow
your dream even at the cost of being a looser in the conventional sense of the
expression.
Two hassle free souls meet up in picturesque Corsica and define their ephemeral
acquaintance and go to experience adventure. However they part and move their
ways. The time dice gets them to meet in Kolkata and the revulsions begin to
unfold. Ved (Ranbhir) is the product of stern parenthood and from a family that
believes that a good engineering degree with or without a MBA is a passport to
social arrival. However as a child he hid his dreams and paid to get them in
parts from a road side mendicant who sold ideas and dreams to the little boy.
Ved stores them all in the deep labyrinths of his psyche and fights them to
climb up the social ladder. Tara (Deepika) too is in a similar world working
for some Tea manufacturer and adept at the ways of the world and yet not
completely in peace with it. When she sees Ved with extra ordinary talent
sacrificing his spirit to the mundane demands of his times she screams halt.
She kindles the conflict and bares out to him his schizophrenic existence. Yes
all this is happening in a Hindi mainstream film!! Like in Rockstar, the
protagonist in the search of his dreams real and artificial gets sucked into
the vortex and acquires deep scars in the process. Then in a fitting finale to
this pent up narration is a rare experience in his life as in our cinema. All
this and more is what Tamasha is about. I am sure for the discerning and for
them alone this movie will extend a facet that you take back with you. To each
his own and that is the bouquet of alternatives that Imtiaz offers. Kudos not
just for style, but for the vision and the gall. This is a huge moment for
Imtiaz. Never mind the verdict at the BO.
This is also the finest hour for Ranbhir. He gives this film what Shahid gave
Haider last year. The scenes where he addresses the groups at the dhaba, the
final scene when he relates the story to his family, the soliloquy he indulges
in, the coming to terms of his persona slowly graduating from success to
failure is a range that is benumbing and worth an applause – a standing
ovation. The Kapoor lad is also in his element in the lighter moments and add
to it his nibble footed dancing and you know that it is time he and his gang
(like Shahid, Hrithik, etc) took over from the Khans. Tamasha is not just the
famous folklore. It is an amazing cinematic experience if only you have the
patience to let go the time Imtiaz Ali takes to warm up. Watch it patiently,
indulgently and carefully. It is not for all. Treat yourself to a good film.
+ Subject and Ranbhir
– Too time consuming and convoluted.
Rating: 4 stars
L. Ravichander.