I have mentioned it before that I have a positive bias towards every Shahid Kapoor film because of the honest effort he makes to make his films work. And what is it that Mausam did not offer? Shahid's new look, promising storyline, fresh pairing of Shahid-Sonam and Pankaj Kapur's directorial debut. Based on these factors, the hype and anticipation for Mausam were genuine.
To start with, the basic premise of the movie is phenomenal. A poignant so-near-yet-so-far kind of love story in the setting of historical events that defined lives of Muslims and Sikhs living in India and their effects of the protagonists. A gutsy and original concept. However, films are not made on concepts, they need stories and screenplays and unless they are Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar no-brainers, they need connections between events and sequences. That's where the shortcomings of Mausam start becoming obvious. It's a kind of film about which you want to say positive things, however, there is a BUT attached to every good thing about the movie.
The first thing you notice in the first hour is the appreciable detail to wardrobe and excellent art direction. The very real locations of Punjab add a touch of authenticity to the scenes. But Mausam is a long film and has a painfully slow pace. Sequences are long even though shot artistically. Sardar Ji scenes are funny but mostly the humor is too decent (read a bit childish). Shahid's Punjabi isn't all that great but his friends are genuine. It's the transition from first season to the second where the problems begin and creative liberty overpowers logic. From then onwards, the film continuously goes up and down on likability factor, less up and more down.
Start of the second half is pacier than the first but it slows down again. And then comes the climax. When the climax begins, it starts to appear as if Pankaj Kapur will redeem himself for everything mistake he had made in the film, but, as usual, he goes so over-the-top in depicting heroism that he makes things a bit comical. It was sad to see the audience making fun of the film and laughing on serious scenes because the hard work put behind the film has gone wasted.
I believe that film-making is pretty much like flying where more than the flight, landing and take-off are important. Pankaj Kapur, the filmmaker, knows how to fly but messes up in take-off and landing. Pankaj Kapur has a long way to go as a story-teller. Shorter as a director but longer as a writer. There comes a time when the logic of using internet or mobile phones as contact devices loses out to dependence on coincidences. The audience loses count of seasons and years and so does the director when he mixes-up dates and also makes errors like Shahid mentioning his mother was killed in Sikh Riots of 84 when he was 1 year old whereas in 91, he was 20. Oh and by the way, the Britishers used for Shahid's sister's wedding were as British as our friends in Bangladesh.
Performances wise, it's out and out a Shahid Kapoor film. This is his best performance of his career surpassing even my personal favorites Kaminey and Jab We Met. Great energy as a young happy-go-lucky Punjabi boy, fantastic authenticity in demeanor as an Air Force officer and maturity of an ageing man. He also carried well the part where his misfortune results in physical disability. Pre-climax scene, Switzerland train scene and train scene with Rajjo are classics. Excellent performance, which probably will go unnoticed.
First decent performance by Sonam in her career but she still was not the best choice for this role. It was a pretty demanding character which needed a much established actor rather than a pretty face. The most interesting character of the film was Rajjo, played very well by the Telugu actress Aditi Sharma. She carried off the helpless negativity in her role very well. Supriya Pathak was also very good. Anupam Kher was totally wasted. Looks more like an editing cut of the character. Shahid's brother-in-law is the weakest link in the entire cast.
Overall, Mausam is a film that misses more targets than it hits which is very unfortunate because with its artistry, it had the potential of becoming a piece of classic cinema. If you are a die-hard Shahid Kapoor fan, you should still try it. If not, wait for Ra.One.
To start with, the basic premise of the movie is phenomenal. A poignant so-near-yet-so-far kind of love story in the setting of historical events that defined lives of Muslims and Sikhs living in India and their effects of the protagonists. A gutsy and original concept. However, films are not made on concepts, they need stories and screenplays and unless they are Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar no-brainers, they need connections between events and sequences. That's where the shortcomings of Mausam start becoming obvious. It's a kind of film about which you want to say positive things, however, there is a BUT attached to every good thing about the movie.
The first thing you notice in the first hour is the appreciable detail to wardrobe and excellent art direction. The very real locations of Punjab add a touch of authenticity to the scenes. But Mausam is a long film and has a painfully slow pace. Sequences are long even though shot artistically. Sardar Ji scenes are funny but mostly the humor is too decent (read a bit childish). Shahid's Punjabi isn't all that great but his friends are genuine. It's the transition from first season to the second where the problems begin and creative liberty overpowers logic. From then onwards, the film continuously goes up and down on likability factor, less up and more down.
Start of the second half is pacier than the first but it slows down again. And then comes the climax. When the climax begins, it starts to appear as if Pankaj Kapur will redeem himself for everything mistake he had made in the film, but, as usual, he goes so over-the-top in depicting heroism that he makes things a bit comical. It was sad to see the audience making fun of the film and laughing on serious scenes because the hard work put behind the film has gone wasted.
I believe that film-making is pretty much like flying where more than the flight, landing and take-off are important. Pankaj Kapur, the filmmaker, knows how to fly but messes up in take-off and landing. Pankaj Kapur has a long way to go as a story-teller. Shorter as a director but longer as a writer. There comes a time when the logic of using internet or mobile phones as contact devices loses out to dependence on coincidences. The audience loses count of seasons and years and so does the director when he mixes-up dates and also makes errors like Shahid mentioning his mother was killed in Sikh Riots of 84 when he was 1 year old whereas in 91, he was 20. Oh and by the way, the Britishers used for Shahid's sister's wedding were as British as our friends in Bangladesh.
Performances wise, it's out and out a Shahid Kapoor film. This is his best performance of his career surpassing even my personal favorites Kaminey and Jab We Met. Great energy as a young happy-go-lucky Punjabi boy, fantastic authenticity in demeanor as an Air Force officer and maturity of an ageing man. He also carried well the part where his misfortune results in physical disability. Pre-climax scene, Switzerland train scene and train scene with Rajjo are classics. Excellent performance, which probably will go unnoticed.
First decent performance by Sonam in her career but she still was not the best choice for this role. It was a pretty demanding character which needed a much established actor rather than a pretty face. The most interesting character of the film was Rajjo, played very well by the Telugu actress Aditi Sharma. She carried off the helpless negativity in her role very well. Supriya Pathak was also very good. Anupam Kher was totally wasted. Looks more like an editing cut of the character. Shahid's brother-in-law is the weakest link in the entire cast.
Overall, Mausam is a film that misses more targets than it hits which is very unfortunate because with its artistry, it had the potential of becoming a piece of classic cinema. If you are a die-hard Shahid Kapoor fan, you should still try it. If not, wait for Ra.One.