Masaan - Poetry of 'bambooed' pyres.

A good friend of mine had once defined a made up word 'sonder' for me. 

sonder

n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness.

Masaan reminded me of this quaint word. Two stories, both of love, bereavement and acceptance run parallely, in the literal sense of the word. The open end is like the infinity where parallel lines intersect. Or not, for infinity is as abstract as life.

Personally, my optimism found Masaan to be a prequel of an endearing love story.

You could watch Masaan for the brilliant cinematography - dancing nights illuminated by burning funeral pyres on a Benaras Ghat. Or you could watch it for the sweet, short-lived love story of Deepak and Shalu. Or better still, the flawless performance of Sanjay Misra as a confused provider - torn between Sanskrit and Youtube.

At times the movie is dark as life and at times, bright as a pyre . Varun Grover has crafted a story which makes one oscillate between hope and despair. And hope. You would not expect such movies as directorial debuts. Neeraj Ghaywan promises; would love to see his next venture. The debutants, Kaushal & Shweta fill the movie with balloons of innocence. There is something about small towns and their portrayal in better bollywood movies. They simmer the context just right.

Watch Masaan, for the pyre wouldn't last for long. With the muscles of Baahubali and our very own killer bhaijaan sandwiching this sweet yet hard hitting movie, I wouldn't be surprised if this movie becomes a box-office dud but a Youtube hit.

Now that'd be ironical because Misra never wanted the video to go on Youtube.

-

Alok 

July 26th 2015

P.S. Extra credits, Mr. Grover, for evoking Dushyant Kumar. The song 'rail' is just marvellous. Patthar tabeeyat se uchaala hai!