A fine black comedy.

Grade: B+

Barah Aana

Indian Release Date: 20/03/09
CBFC Classification:  U/A
Running Length: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Raaz, Arjun Mathur, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Violante Placido, Jayati Bhatia, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Benjamin Gelani
Director: Raja Menon
Screenplay: Raj Kumar Gupta & Raja Menon
Cinematography: Priya Seth
Music: Shri

 

“But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet, tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.” – William Butler Yeats

Early on in Barah Aana, Naseeruddin Shah’s character is pronounced dead by government records, now this may seem funny in a dark way at the time but by the end of the movie this very incident provides a perfect allegory to the plight of the people of a lower economic strata this movie tries to open our eyes to.

Many of us choose not to acknowledge people like drivers, watchmen, waiters, housemaids as anything more than our servants. It’s almost like they were born into a different strata which is there exclusively to serve another economically better-off community & have to live their lives doing our menial jobs while we end up treating them with utter disdain at times & forget that they are our fellow human beings first & everything else later. They too have families, they too have dreams & aspirations, they too want to live and not just exist. If all these people who were taken as granted by most as their “servants” were to turn on their less-than-grateful employers due to frustration, then what would be the repercussions? This is something Barah Aana tries to portray on a micro scale along with a few other interesting ideas and insights.

The tale is set within Mumbai & interweaves the stories of three friends who share little in common other than etching out a hand to mouth existence & being migrants from north India. Shukla (Naseeruddin Shah) works as a driver for the Mehtas (Jayati Bhatia & Benjamin Gelani). He’s constantly abused and spoken down to by Mrs. Mehta but doesn’t utter a word in protest & silently goes about his job. Yadav (Vijay Raaz) works as a watchmen for a housing society where many a times he’s made to run errands & asked to work double shifts. Aman (Arjun Mathur) works as a waiter at a restaurant where he pines for the affections of Kate (Violante Placido), a foreigner, who’s a regular at the eatery & a drug peddler too. All lead a mundane & dreary existence which provides them little to look forward to day after day. Unknown to them, their lives are soon to take an unexpected turn. When Yadav’s seven year old son falls ill due to typhoid back in the village, he runs from door to door in the housing society asking for monetary help; however no one in his time of need comes forward to help which leaves him utterly broken. Soon enough, fate deals a hand and due to a rash act of violence by Yadav, all three get pulled into an act of crime which surprisingly pays off well for them. They take to small scale kidnappings which provide them enough money to be able to lead a better life & a means an ego boost, but how long will this easy money & reckless way of life last?

Raj Kumar Gupta who had directed the excellent Aamir last year takes on writing duties here & does a very competent job of setting up the situations of the characters. Though all of them could have done with a little more back story (especially Aman), they are fleshed out enough for their current situations for us to connect with them. The plot, though slow in certain parts especially during the first half, is kept in check thanks to a short running length. It maintains it’s melancholy nature right until the end with enough humor sprinkled throughout.  

The movie is in parts a social commentary & in parts a black comedy. It has a many small details like the godless temple in Naseeruddin Shah’s house or Vijay Raaz moving up in the world from Bidis & matchsticks to cigarettes & a lighter which make it a delight to watch & marvel at some of the subtlety on display. Though in one scene Aman & Kate are shown at Fort in south Mumbai going to a coffee shop, while when they leave, Kate hails a rickshaw! A rickshaw in south Mumbai is akin to snow in Goa.

The cinematography by Priya Seth is top notch. She manages to infuse such contrasting, grim & bright colors that the movie has a very distinct look. Even the camera movement in certain scenes is evocative of the smooth trajectory of a pendulum.

The movie does have a few problems too, namely with it’s pacing in parts & a climax that doesn’t quite gel with the rest of the story even though it provides a certain closure. Also a little more back story to Aman’s character would have helped make the plot better & probably made Arjun Mathur more believable in the role.       

The acting throughout is stupendous & the movie would have probably lost some of it’s edge if it hadn’t had such accomplished performances by all the leads involved. In many scenes the smallest of the expressions of the actors too express much more than what they speak or what they don’t.  

Naseeruddin Shah barely has five scenes of him talking in the film but conveys a barrage of emotions quietly through just his expressions alone & when he does let go eventually, it’s like watching a volcano explode with all it’s fiery angst on display. Vijay Raaz is having a comeback of sorts with this & Delhi-6, he is the true heart & soul of the movie, be it when he’s blabbering away while being drunk or when sitting all curled up looking utterly defeated by life. He gets some of the best lines in the film & his mannerisms are spot on & would probably be the one the audience would sympathize with the most. Arjun Mathur who was pretty impressive in a small role in Luck by Chance does a competent enough job but somehow doesn’t quite fit the role of the small-town simpleton. He seemed a little too polished in his looks, mannerisms & clothing. Tannishtha Chatterjee has a small role as a shop owner in the slums who has a thing for Aman. Even with limited development & little screen time she manages to infuse the character with enough spark to make quite an impression. Having seen her before in Brick Lane (2007) along with Satish Kaushik, I can say she’s quite a good actress. Violante Placido is good enough as Kate but Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal as an old lady selling cutlets, nearly steals the show in every scene that she appears in.

Barah Aana doesn’t wallow in meaningless sentimentality but rather tries to become a voice for the invisible part of society & is likely to provoke a thought or two about their condition and our attitude towards them. It does have its share of flaws with plot development at times but is held together with some fine performances & a bittersweet tone which is sure to leave a smile on your face by the time the credits roll.

Final Verdict: A fine black comedy with brilliant performances. Watch it & you won’t be disappointed.

Grade: B+
 

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