Film Mausam Review

Mausam Review

Film: 'Mausam'; Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Anupam Kher and Aditi Sharma; Writer-Director: Pankaj Kapoor;

MAUSAM had generated wonderful excitement prior to its release for varied reasons. One of the key reasons being, it is directed by one of the most respected and accomplished actors of India -- Pankaj Kapur.

'Mausam' is a movie that has some severe errors, but finally holds together as a work of renaissance art, more notable, in parts wonderful, for what it attempts rather than what it finally achieves.

Pankaj Kapoor takes the Muslim-Hindu love story between a Kashmiri refugee girl and a Punjabi boy through an arching sweep of history. Every historical trauma that has defined and dishonored India and Indians in the last 30 years props up as a vital image to underline the love story.

MAUSAM is being advocated as one of the greatest, epic love stories on celluloid. A story talks of unconditional love against all difficulties. First-time director Pankaj Kapur narrates a saga of star-crossed lovers facing various storms in their lives and of course, seasons.

The story begins in the early 1990s and concludes a decade later, encompassing historical events that affected our lives -- displacement of Kashmiri Pandits, Babri Masjid episode, Mumbai blasts, 9/11, Kargil war and Gujarat riots. Though the on-screen characters make a veiled attack on the atrocities inflicted on the common man, MAUSAM remains a love story at heart. One has come to expect mesmeric romance and lilting tunes, backed by sensitive portrayals, from a true-blue romantic movie.

Regrettably, MAUSAM suffers for the very reason that one may have assumed would be its main strength - writing. The screenplay, to put it directly, is unable to engage viewers properly and what makes it worse is the fact that it seems like a never-ending saga.

The movie just goes on and on and on, moving from one city/country to another, till the viewer gets jetlagged and tired by watching this story unfurl on screen.

           

With a running time of close to 3 hours, MAUSAM has a few sequences that do stand out, but the feeble script blows the efforts away.  MAUSAM starts with mere adolescent attraction between a Punjabi boy Harry (Shahid Kapoor) and a Kashmiri girl Aayat (Sonam Kapoor) in a small village of Punjab. It develops into young love between them in season two. Their love realizes its own depth in the hours of separation through season three. In the fourth and final season, their love culminates into togetherness. But not before sacrificing a lot personally and learning the truth behind universal love. MAUSAM has an old-world charm, no two opinions about it. The magic of the good old days is delicious and it's a great feeling to go back in time. Right from the setting to the costumes to the overall ambience, the movie succeeds in pulling you back in time.

Pankaj Kapur is a brilliant actor and has tried well, but after a point, MAUSAM becomes a tedious experience that sets in boredom and tests the patience of the viewer. The production values are excellent and producers Sheetal Vinod Talwar and Sunil Lulla deserve credit for giving the movie a huge look.

The soundtrack of MAUSAM is a pleasure for listeners. The songs that stand out are 'Sajh Dhaj Ke' and 'Rabba Main Toh Mar Gaya Oye'. Binod Pradhan's cinematography is extraordinary. 

Shahid surrenders to his director-father with his all resources and talents to this role. The big thing is that Shahid surpasses all his earlier performances, including the one in KAMINEY, with this movie. MAUSAM will prove to be a turning point for confident Sonam Kapoor’s career in bollywood. Supriya Pathak Kapur is matchless. Anupam Kher is OK. Manoj Pahwa is magnificent, as always. The actors essaying the role of Sonam's father and sister are natural. Vaibhav Talwar gets no scope. Aditi Sharma excels in a brief role.

On the whole, MAUSAM is a good film for seeing Sonam and Shahid performances!