Shahid in work enduring Mausam

Mausam is a film with some very endearing moments.  At a time when relationships are crumbling by the minute it is refreshing to see the protagonists survive a decade of love and loss and finally make it with the humbling thought: aapne kuch koya hai, humne kuch koya hai …….; at a time when audit is strictly fiscal, it is refreshing to see two prepared to do up an emotional audit;. Interestingly the script is not in search f scapegoats and the lovers do not even grumble about their lost chances. To the fb world, to a generation of instant everything, the long wait may seem too Mills and Boon, but to Director Pankaj Kapur (debut) it is more sensitivity than passion. Leisured to a fault, the film moves from Muthkoot in Punjab (wonderfully earthly, rustic and warm) to Scotland, then to Switzerland, Kargil , Ahmedabad and still remains rooted in love and this interesting script fails because it over states.

          I have always believed a film need not always tell a story.  It can linger with a thought. It can just portray a character or tell an incident. From that premise, if you can examine the various incidents, as not part of a long narration but as pieces that connect, the film is rich in sensitivity and texture. Binod Pradhan (cinematographer) cajoles.  He gets you to watch details, be it the train leaving a railway station, a Kashmiri lass move to a Edinburgh ballet student, the lush green fields of Punjab that hide often the broken walls of a house, the camaraderie that is Punjab, the stone roads of Scotland…. Every where and every thing suddenly seems so watchable through the lens of Pradhan.

Another important selling point of the film is Shahid – he may loose out to the Khans at the ‘fixed awards functions” but here is a natural actor.  Wonderful timing in comedy, restraint in emotion , he is equally adept at  using his legs at the dance floor or the muscle in a fight. He is not just the guy you can take home to show Mama but also take to college and show case him.  Perhaps unhe talent virasaat mein mili. Luck has not really been on his side.  Even his kaminey did not win him awards.  He is going through a phase when he has to mouth statements like: Awards do not matter. It is people accepting me that is important.

          Hopefully some day the industry will out grow the Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan and realise Shahid. Or it would be another case of talent lost to stardust. Hopefully Sonam would learn to stop giggling and do some acting.  She has killer looks and a great dress sense- totally different from the Priyankas  and Kareenas and Kats. An alternative paradigm. She must learn to act – if not for her self for the good of our cinema.  She is too wonderful looking to let go. I get a distinct feeling that her mom saw too many Waheeda Rehman films when she was expecting the stork to arrive. Chiselled features, delicate gait, she is what men would thirst for.  She messes it up with her giggles and dead pan expression. Will some one take up the job of teaching her to act.

Meanwhile for those who have patience and an eye for the nice things and are willing to spend a few hours at the theatre in the midst of Pritams music, Mausam is not a bad idea. Not at all.

L. Ravichander