This movie is worth all the hype and acclaim it has got nationally and internationally.Loved it from start to finish.The first thing that made me like the movie so much was the honesty with which Neeraj Ghaywan and Varun Grover tells the story and presents the characters.One feels like watching daily life unfold onscreen in Banaras. They break all stereotypes relating to chota sheher and chote sheher ke log and that's another thing I loved about the film. Though Banaras is a character in itself but I felt that the Ganges played a very important part in the film. The two different stories in the film run parallel to each other and flows like the river with different twists and turns and again both the stories meet seamlessly at the end like a Sangam. I actually felt the symbolic presence of Ganga in the film in relation to the two stories. Also the balance between the stories of Richa and Vicky/Shweta gives the audience a breather as the film goes cuts between a happy story and a sad story. Neeraj touches upon various issues with a lot of subtlety including caste,sex,infatuation,corruption,love etc and the combination of all these makes Masaan such a beautiful film.
The twist in the young couple's story though is predictable but the way the makers have established their relationship and romance,you really feel for them. Loved the inclusion of the poetry and Ghazab ka hai dil song in their story.Makes it very sweet and real. Performance wise, the cast is perfect! Vicky Kaushal is a solid actor, like I think one of the best debutantes in the recent times.He makes you feel a lot for Deepak,especially during the whole Facebook sequence,it looks so real.Same with Richa Chaddha..fantastic as Devi.Sanjay Mishra as usual is amazing and gives a solid support to Richa's character. Shwetha is good but I really wanted to see a bit more of Pankaj Tripathi in the film. He was too good as Sadhya ji.👏 The songs, locations and cinematography is fabulous.
If you are patient and don't mind naturally lit indoor scenes which are a bit dark then please give this movie a try. It definietely isn't like a festival film but it's also not a commercial film. It lies somewhere in between but whatever Neeraj has done is fantastic. Looks like the film has been presented straight from his heart.
4/5
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