Paa Movie Reviews. Taran Adarsh 4 stars. Post all.

Page

Next Last

-Mmmmm-

@-Mmmmm-

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

By Taran Adarsh, December 3, 2009 - 17:34 IST

Can you ever imagine watching an Amitabh Bachchan film and not watching Amitabh Bachchan in it? Seems impossible, isn't it? The towering persona and the rich baritone just cannot be overlooked. But R. Balki transforms the legendary actor into Auro, replaces the rich baritone with the voice of an adolescent [who's neither grown up, nor a kid] and taps the hitherto untapped talent of the icon.

Trust me, 10 minutes into the film and you forget you're watching Amitabh Bachchan. For, Auro takes over the moment he is introduced to the viewer.

Write your own movie review of Paa

PAA is a simple film told in the most simplistic manner and that's one of the prime reasons why this film works big time. The emotions would've fallen flat had the writing been sub-standard or the execution of the material been humdrum or the actors been inferior. But, thankfully, PAA scores in all three departments, although it must be said that the entire slum redevelopment episode is a complete put-off.

Yet, all said and done, PAA is an outstanding film. A film for every paa, every maa... for everyone with a heart. Take a bow, Auro!

Auro [Amitabh Bachchan] is an intelligent, witty 13-year-old boy with an extremely rare genetic defect that causes accelerated ageing. He suffers from progeria. Mentally, he is 13, very normal, but physically he looks five times older.

Inspite of his condition, Auro is a happy boy. He lives with his mother Vidya [Vidya Balan], a gynaecologist, but is completely clueless of his father's identity. Till he meets him, Amol [Abhishek Bachchan], who is a full of ideals politician.

Okay, let's not disrespect Balki by calling PAA a rip-off of THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON or JACK. It's not! PAA looks at the varied relationships so minutely. It may've been publicized as a father-son film, but the women - mother and granny - play equally pivotal parts.

The first hour of PAA grips you in patches. The introduction of Auro is brilliant, but the moment the story focuses on the politician and his arch rival's sub-plot, it goes off-track. Sure, there are some interesting sequences, but the impact isn't mesmeric.

But the post-interval portions take the film to dizzy heights and camouflages the defects. The father-son bonding and the penultimate 25 minutes raise the bar. The emotional quotient is tremendous. Get ready to overhear a lot of sniffs and see a lot of moist eyes once the lights are switched on.

Note the two sequences in the climax, when Auro reveals what his father's first mistake was and the pheras towards the end. Also recall the scene when the girl Auro detests for a certain reason shows up with a sketch of Auro. It moves you completely.

But let's not mistaken PAA to be a rona-dhona movie. It's a positive film with funny/light moments in plenty. The conversation between Auro and his best friend, on various occasions, are superb. Also, not once does PAA show Auro as 'different'. He's one among the kids and there's no discrimination whatsoever, which is remarkable.

Director R. Balki deserves a salute for thinking out of the box and also presenting Amitabh Bachchan like never before. The writing may be erratic, but his handling of the emotional moments is exemplary. Note this, he would be a force to reckon with after PAA. Ilaiyaraaja's music is soothing. P.C. Sreeram's cinematography is incredible.

It would be a blunder if one missed out the contribution of the makeup artists. Transforming the veteran actor into a kid must've been an arduous task and Christien Tinsley and Domini Till deserve to be complimented for making Auro look so real.

Now to the performances! No amount of praise, no amount of adjectives and personifications would do justice to Amitabh Bachchan's performance as Auro. Sure, the icon has enthralled us with superlative performances in his four-decade career, but PAA is something else. The icon keeps surprising you at regular intervals and PAA is one of those beautiful surprises, which will remain etched in your memory forever.

That doesn't mean that the remaining performances get dwarfed by Auro. Sure, PAA belongs to Auro, but not once does Abhishek Bachchan dither from his position or seems less inferior. This is the hallmark of a tremendous actor, which Abhishek is. Vidya is another surprise of PAA. She takes giant strides as an actor and proves yet again that given the right roles, she can match up to the best in the business.

Paresh Rawal is effective. Arundhati Naag is amazing. So is the kid, Pratik, enacting the role of Auro's best buddy. His telephonic conversation with Auro is superb. Jaya Bachchan's presence is lovely.

On the whole, PAA is an amazing experience. It makes you realize two things. One, the Hindi film industry is also capable of narrating fresh stories. Two, Amitabh Bachchan is truly the most accomplished actor this side of the Atlantic.

Talking from the business point of view, PAA has been made in a sensible and reasonable budget [approx. Rs. 17 crores, including P & A expenses], which should easily be recovered from multiplexes alone.

In the final tally, here's a film that should win awards [for Auro] and also box-office rewards, given its low costs. A film that should strike a chord with every paa, maa... just about everyone with a heart!

Quote

Frequent Posters

-Mmmmm-

@-Mmmmm-

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

Please post all reviews here. Thanks.

Quote

Looks like you are new here. Register for free, learn and contribute.

Sharma

@lovanika

Rocker

Posted: 15 years ago

I had full faith in Balki...

But I do not have faith in public.😆

So I have ot wait and see the BO report and reviews.

But All critic reviews are awesome....

Go Big B, Go Abhi and Go Vidya...great job.

Edited by lovanika - 15 years ago

Quote

-iktaara-

@-iktaara-

Dazzler

Posted: 15 years ago

Big G?? hahha!

Btw, I am waiting for paa to release soon.. Although, I ain't a fan of the family and the antics but still I have a faith that Mr B. will win best actor award and film will win lots of accolades!

Quote

Sharma

@lovanika

Rocker

Posted: 15 years ago

Originally posted by: Kyaktsar
Big G?? hahha!

Btw, I am waiting for paa to release soon.. Although, I ain't a fan of the family and the antics but still I have a faith that Mr B. will win best actor award and film will win lots of accolades!

Hota hai hota hai...

There were so many G's.....

Lets see whta the public feel about the movie. Is it goingot touch the heart the way TZP did.

Quote

-iktaara-

@-iktaara-

Dazzler

Posted: 15 years ago

I think family is gonna strike a chord with film...:)

Quote

-Mmmmm-

@-Mmmmm-

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

Total 'Paa'stime

Aniruddha Guha

Thursday, December 3, 2009 20:38 IST

Film: Paa (U)
Director: R Balki
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Paresh Rawal and others
Rating: ***

A still from Paa

R Balki has done it again - an unusual plot deftly treated, entertaining moments and some real good performances, all come together in his second directorial venture, Paa. In Cheeni Kum, Balki got Amitabh Bachchan to romance a younger woman. In Paa, he presents the actor in a role that's a complete opposite of the mature, control freak character he played in Cheeni Kum.

Auro (Bachchan) is a child born out of wedlock and suffers from Progeria - a rare genetic disorder due to which he ages at five times the normal rate. His parents, Alok (Abhishek Bachchan) and Vidya (Balan) met in London, as students, and fell in love. However, when Alok found out that Vidya was going to have his baby, he refused to take the responsibility of turning father at 22.

Vidya, hurt with his behaviour, came back to India and gave birth to Auro. She never informed Alok about Auro and he remained under the impression that she had aborted the child. Years later, Alok, who's a member of parliament now, meets Auro at a school function. The two develop a friendship without knowing that they are father and son.

The story in itself isn't entirely novel, frankly, unless you factor in the Progeria bit. But the best part about the film is that no big deal is made about the disorder. Paa does not introduce you to the 'difficulties' faced by kids with Progeria or ways to tackle it, or how society can be more sympathetic towards such kids. The disorder's rare and that's how Balki chooses to keep it.

The lifetime of a child with Progeria is limited to 13-14 years, and Auro's death is imminent. But the treatment isn't morose or trying-too-hard to tug at your heart strings. Instead, the film has some witty writing, genuinely funny sequences and Amitabh Bachchan to keep you entertained.

Paa is what you could call a 'moments' film. There are many sequences that stay with you much after you've seen the film, and moments that linger in your mind. The interaction between Auro and his friends in school are outstanding. The phone conversation Auro has with his best friend brings the house down. Balki's an expert with kids (remember Sexy in Cheeni Kum?) and extracts some really good performances out of the kiddie cast in Paa too.

The mother-son bonding is also cute. In fact, even though the film's been titled Paa because a good part of the second half is devoted to the relationship between Auro and Alok, it's the equation Vidya is shown to share with Auro that really appeals to you. She's aware that Auro won't live long, but is not shown to be crying or moping around, or because she's a single mother. The scene where she explains to another woman how Auro is actually more special than most other people is among the best in the film.

Balan gives a great account of herself. Not intimidated by the senior Bachchan, or the Bachchans rather, she delivers a performance that might just bring her back in the reckoning, post-Parineeta.

Abhishek delivers a restrained performance and keeps it simple. The parallel track about his political career, though, could easily have been shortened. Although the effort is to add a 'highlight' sequence, where Alok takes on the might of the media, the scenes come across as unconvincing and also make the film unduly long.

Paresh Rawal, as Alok's politician dad, is good. Arundhati Nag as Auro's grandmom -- he calls her Bums -- is a refreshing change from the usual 'mom', and the scenes between the nani-pota are very real.

Amitabh, of course, is the life of the film. The voice modulation's good (the deep baritone's gone), the body language apt and the performance measured. The makeup artists have done a great job of transforming the actor into a 12-year-old with Progeria. Balki truly presents the actor in a new light, just like he did in his debut film. Illaiyaraja's music and PC Sreeram's cinematography lend themselves well to Balki's vision.

Paa is testimony to the fact that a novel idea, if presented in an entertaining manner, makes for some great viewing. Balki seems to follow the mantra and is doing a helluva job of it.

Watch Paa for Balki's fresh treatment and storytelling skills and to see the senior Bachchan in a new light.

Quote

swan20

@swan20

Sparkler

+ 4

Posted: 15 years ago

so happy to read a positive review........just hope it reflects in box office numbers now.....

Quote

-Mmmmm-

@-Mmmmm-

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

Times of India Review

Paa

Nikhat Kazmi, TNN 3 December 2009, 10:06pm IST

Discuss

Bookmark/Share

Save

Text Size:

Auro, a 13-year-old genetically disordered child, suffering from progeria, contentedly lives with his mother and grandmother. Life gets somewhat

Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan in a still from the movie 'Paa'. Check more pics

complicated when a politician visits his school and Auro discovers the new age neta is actually his dad. Does the estranged family come together?

Film: Paa (Drama)
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan
Direction: R Balki
Duration: 2 hours 14 minutes

Critic's Rating:

Readers' rating :		You have already rated this movie.
Review this movie

Auro says a 'Boo' -- and a mighty big one -- to all us skeptics out here who had begun to doubt his ability to entertain after duds like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, God Tussi Great Ho, Aladin...For, it's not any and every 67-year-old actor who can enter the shoes of a pre-adolescent, without looking and sounding awkward and silly. Amitabh Bachchan not only captures the essence of the gawky, geeky, god-he's-different teenager with great skill, he creates a whole new benchmark for an actor to experiment, innovate ad reinvent himself when the career graph seems to plateau. The actor looks different (almost unrecognisable as E.T.'s country cousin), talks different (with a slight nasal twang), moves different (an awkward shuffle that breaks into the Auro dance) and emotes different (mostly through his be-spectacled eyes). End result? Paa is an experience that works, only because it is so different.

The film opens with a somewhat static and diffused first half that lights up intermittently, when Auro is around. Wonder why it takes so long to come to the point....Having been given an award in school by the young, upcoming, friendly neighbourhood neta (Abhishek Bachchan), Auro sends single mom, Vidya Balan into flashback mode. That's because the neta fathered her child and left her to tackle the unwanted pregnancy because he wanted to change the world. Vidya, the archetypal woman of substance, not only carried her pregnancy through, she lovingly nurtured her child after discovering he had a genetic disorder that was causing him to age prematurely. Between them, Vidya and her mother (impressive Arundhati Naag) built a loving and normal world around the young boy who loved King Kong, computers, mirchi and hated kichdi. Trouble begins when Auro unknowingly befriends his dad and requests him for a visit to Rashtrapati Bhawan. Time for some home truths to be told, confessions to be made, repentance to be done and wrongs to be righted. Before time runs out...

The film, which peters off into vague sub-plots about slum redevelopment and unwarranted media-bashing in the first half, suddenly picks up and scales new heights in the second half. It's here that Auro and his antics prevail as he tries to rebuild his family and establish his bond with his newfound daddy. Almost each and every relationship he shares is imbued with a warm glow: be it that with his 'bum' (grandmum), his mum, his best buddy, his favourite bugbear (that special girl in class). But it is his interactions with his dad which truly touch your heart. Refreshingly, the film steers clear of all sentimentality and handles the overflow of emotions with restraint and subtlety. All you feel are a few gentle tugs at your heart, as Auro insists on making you laugh most of the time with his witty one-liners on life, love and longing.

Watch out for a lilting music score by Ilaiyaraaja, some picturesque cinematography by PC Sreeram, a chuckle-and-laugh screenplay and some fine acting. While Abhishek brings to life the young, uncorrupt neta who speaks straight and acts upfront, Vidya Balan proves her mettle once again as the strong, desi, alpha woman, a la Parineeta. But Paa is primarily a platform for Auro to steal your heart away. He does. And no, he isn't a desi Benjamin Button.

A word about:

Performances: Everyone is riveting. Amitabh is outstanding. While Abhishek Bachchan seems to have patterned himself well on the Rahul Gandhi-Sachin Pilot Inc in terms of the look and the attitude of the natty, young neta of today, Vidya Balan lends a rare dignity to the image of the Bollywood mom. With her quiet grace and controlled emotions, she is Mother Courage incarnate. But it's Amitabh's Auro (read aura) that outlives all other performances. The only actor who seems wasted is Paresh Rawal as the old school dad of Abhishek.

Music: Music director Ilaiyaraaja and lyricist Swanand Kirkire weave a heady concoction with their three versions of the 'Udhi Udhi-Mudhi Mudhi' track. The song has been rendered to perfection both in its male and female versions by Shaan and Shilpa Rao. Amitabh's ode his dad, Paa is funky too.

Story: Adman-turned-filmmaker R Balki's story is simple as it traces the bond between Auro and his dad. But it's the sub-plots, focusing on dad's attempts to prove he's a visionary, that take away a lot from the film.

Dialogue: Balki's dialogue's are crisp and witty. Sample this. Why does Amitabh call his grandmum a bum? Because she has a big bum. Ha-ha! Or again, why shouldn't grandmum ask King Kong anything? Because he speaks in Chinese! Haw, again! Also, despite the emotional tags, the screenplay is not maudlin at all.

Cinematography: PC Sreeram imbues his frames with an incandescent light. Auro's home spills over with a warm redolence and his trip to Delhi (the ride across Rajpath) is magnificently shot.

Styling: Sabyasachi, Aki Narula, Falguni Thakore, Rahul Agastya: With four fashion designers, the film does seem to have got its styling right. Yes, Vidya Balan does look better in saris than in Western wear. Abhishek dons the khadi look nattily and adolescent Auro lives in fluorescent hoodies and bright checks. As for Amitabh's special make-up, Christien Tinsley and Domini Till seem to have managed quite well. The make-up seems to crack only in the end.

Inspiration: Okay, they might have been mildly inspired by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But Amitabh's Auro ain't no Brad Pitt's Benji!

Quote

Mandy

@mandy0310

Alumni

+ 8

Posted: 15 years ago

#10

Director: R Balki
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan
Rating: ****

To be or not to be Amitabh Bachchan? Years after having every bit of Bachchan being broadcast in biographies and beyond, it makes more sense to not be Amitabh Bachchan and still deliver bigtime. Director
R. Balki does exactly that. He takes away everything from brand Bachchan from his persona, baritone, height to mannerisms and presents him in an absolutely another aura as Auro.

Paa is certainly not inspired from Francis Ford Coppola's Jack (1996) where Robin Williams had a similar aging disorder like Auro. If you have to, you can find remote references in films back home like Dard Ka Rishta (1982), Kaash (1987) or more recently Heyy Babby (2007) where a child is instrumental in getting his estranged parents together.

Vidya Balan kinda restores her role from Heyy Babyy playing a single mother who brings up Auro all alone when his biological father Amol (Abhishek Bachchan) suggests abortion. The couple is alienated for years until Amol accidentally meets Auro at his school's annual function and awards him for his artistic excellence. Auro was born with a rare genetic disorder called Progeria wherein a child ages fives times faster than his actual age. So at 13, Auro physically looks and functions like a 65 year old but is mentally as stable as his real age.

From its very outset, Paa is not designed as an educational or informative film on Progeria unlike Taare Zameen Par that took a serious look at dyslexia. The disorder is just used as a backdrop to make way for a basic human drama. And Balki has an absolutely different definition for drama. His storytelling is supremely simple and subtle. Much of the plot is predictable but the director's lighthearted approach to a subject, which otherwise could have been melodramatically reduced to a tearjerker, makes it different.

Balki has a distinctively dry sense of humour which comes out through his witty one-liners and seemingly the director incorporates a lot of his personal views through the dialogues and screenplay. Through his crisp writing, he touches peripheral issues from politics, civic sense, media to motherhood without being preachy or paltry in any and making his narrative multidimensional.

Like in Cheeni Kum, Balki has a penchant for having child characters in his story and also imparting them with maturity, somewhat beyond belief. Like the intelligent underage Swini Khara from Cheeni Kum, Auro too seems to be clever beyond credence in working towards his parent's reunion. But then again one can't rule out that possibility in this speed-age and it's certainly more believable than an Anjali trying to hook up her father with his ex in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The climax is sure to bring a lump in your throat and even the stone-hearted will end up with moist eyes.

The prosthetic makeup by Christien Tinsley (The Passion of The Christ) and Dominie Till (King Kong) is absolutely authentic removing every trace of Amitabh Bachchan from Auro and imparting him an absolutely new identity. PC Sreeram's cinematography and Anil Naidu's editing are just perfect. Ilaiya Raja's musical score soothingly works on a subconscious level.

Without a doubt Amitabh Bachchan deserves all the awards and accolades for his portrayal of Auro. With a new voice, face and body language here is one character of Big B which will undoubtedly stand out in his filmography for being delightfully different and charmingly childish. Vidya Balan is brilliantly expressive and shares great maternal chemistry with Auro. Abhishek Bachchan puts in a poised performance as a politician and pal-turned-Paa to Auro. Pratik Katare as Auro's schoolmate Vishnu gets the funniest one-liners. Arundhati Nag as the grandmother puts in a confident act. Even Paresh Rawal is pleasant in his extended special appearance, much charming that his recent full-length, blown-out, loud comic acts.

At times you should not be yourself to show the world what you really are. Amitabh Bachchan does just that and shows the world he is the Paa of performing arts.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Media/Entertainment-/Entertainment/Paa-Movie-Review/articleshow/5297965.cms?curpg=2

Quote

1 2

Taran Adarsh

Paa Movie Reviews. Taran Adarsh 4 stars. Post all.

Total 'Paa'stime

Times of India Review

Paa

Related Topics

Explore Topics