The Cinemawala

Relationships are often complicated. Man and woman, parent and child, husband and wife: they all go through certain phases of life, that spell discontent. But why do complications arise? It’s often seen that problems, as they may seem, are created due to disagreements. We all tend to disagree with our loved ones. At times, it’s out of sheer overprotectiveness. Soon the disagreement turns into a feud, thanks to the ego we nurture in ourselves and eventually the relationship starts fading out. But isn’t being fickle just another aspect of life? By the time this realisation hits town, the loved one is either gone or the relationship reaches a point of no return. And we end up pondering, was it too late to say sorry? Was it too late to make amends? Director Akarsh Khurana’s ‘Karwaan’ gives you a glimpse of your own life and urges you to mend that broken piece of your heart. It’s fresh, funny and at the same time, tugs the corner of your heart. Ladies and Gentlemen, hop on this journey of a lifetime.

Avinash who works at an IT firm, receives the news of his father’s demise in an accident and has to collect his body via the local courier company. At the time of cremation, the body is discovered to be of a woman’s. Realising that it’s a case of mistaken identities, Avinash sets on a journey to get his father’s body and in turn deliver the woman’s body to her family. In this journey, an eccentric driver and a rebellious girl join in. And thus forms the Karwaan, which through a madcap ride, helps each of its member understand a little more about their own lives.

Dulquer Salmaan, the southern superstar makes his Bollywood debut as the lonely and brooding Avinash. A confident and promising debutant, DQ, as he is popularly known as, is bound to make hearts palpitate with his effortless charm. As Avinash, a man with secrets of his own, his angst about not being able to pursue his choices in life, his difficult relationship with his father, he portrays a myriad of emotions. Mithila Palkar plays Tanya, the rebel who in a way, becomes the mirror for Avinash and lets him see the other side of his argument. She’s got so much spunk in her that her energy becomes infectious. But peeps, the dhamakedaar package of this group is Irrfan. He displays a side of his persona, which’s was yet to be explored. As the eccentric Shauqat, he brings the house down with his quips about life and his thoughts in general. A clear departure from his similar outing in another journey film, ‘Piku’, he blows you away with his performance.

The dialogues are hilarious as well as thought provoking at the same time and credit goes to Hussein Dalaal for the same. One of the meta jokes that make you go ROFL, is the scene where DQ, a Malayalam superstar, finding it hard to make conversation with someone who doesn’t understand Hindi and who keeps saying ‘Nambiar’. It’s funny, considering the writer of the film is Bejoy Nambiar! The exquisite shots of the scenic locales of Coimbatore and the hilly terrains of Kochi will swoon you off your feet, which speaks volumes about the cinematography by Avinash Arun. The music, which’s by an assorted group of musicians namely Prateek Kuhad, Anurag Saikia, Slow Cheeta, Shwetang Shankar and Imaad Shah is soulful and goes well with the mood of a journey film.

Finally a word about director Akarsh Khurana. He chooses a tricky subject for his project. Tricky because films about relationships often fail to grab attention, thanks to the preachy content. He uses a good script by Bejoy Nambiar and elevates it to become a great one. All credit goes to him for being able to produce such a nice film with perfect dosages of humour and sentiments.

Have a great time watching ‘Karwaan’.

After all, Kya pata aapko haq jatane ki jagah rishte nibhana aa jaye..

The Cinemawala Rating : 3.5/5