Friday 6 June 2014

FILMISTAAN: Divided by borders! United by cinema!! [3/5]

Clad in sheer innocence & extreme enthusiasm, Sunny Arora [played by the fabulous Sharib Hashmi] is probably one fervent follower of Bollywood we all have met-seen-known at some point in our lives. Hardcore is hardly able enough to match up with his degree of intensity. No matter how hostile the situation is, he never ceases to crack the juiciest ‘filmy’ dialogues Bollywood has produced in all these years. ‘iss chalte-phirte Bombay Talkies ko ignore karna mushkil hi nahin, namumkin hai’. He’s the undividable soul to FILMISTAAN- 2012’s National Award Winning Film by Nitin Kakkar.

In the deserted Indo-Pak border range of Rajasthan, Sunny Arora- a wannabe actor working now as assistant director in a foreign documentary filmmaking crew mistakenly gets abducted by a terrorist group. Till the mistake is being corrected, he has to find a place in a small village in outskirts of Pakistan. The fellows around to accompany him are a fanatic with gun [Kumud Mishra, last seen in Revolver Rani], his sidekick [Gopal Dutt in a controlled but confident performance] and Aftab- a local distributor-cum-seller of pirated CDs of Bollywood movies [Inaamulhaq in a competent supporting role].

Once reached in gun-shadowed Pakistan, FILMISTAAN starts trying to make the balance between the relatable similarities, the pain of partition divided in both the parties in equal measure and the undivided love for Bollywood. In one sequence, when the camera-conscious Sunny decides to take charge of directing his own hostile video, unknowingly he turns the terrorists in a film crew with designated roles to each one. In other, Sunny locked up in a dark room starts performing dialogues of Salman’s superhit ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya’ well in sync with the movie getting played on home video outside. You might enjoy this on screen but in real; nothing can be more irritating than that. I can guarantee. FILMISTAAN does the same to you. When you enjoy it, you enjoy it to the fullest but when it gets dragged and pushy with pinch of heavy drama and a completely unimaginative climax; you sure take the back seat as a discouraged viewer in search of a better outcome.

FILMISTAAN if does cross the above-average barrier, it is all because of the two very colourful, very dynamic characters disguised as big cinema-lovers. Sharib Hashmi is a total revelation as Sunny. His energy and confidence as a fine performer never run out. Inaamulhaq provides full support with his starry-eyed movie-buff portrayal. The chemistry between the two is one of the highlights. Kumud Mishra is a veteran and though he’s there hardly speaking much, his expressive eyes do the most for him. Gopal Dutt impresses. 

In gist, as quoted by Sunny in the film, “film chahe chhoti ho, dil se banani chahiye”…and FILMISTAAN is a film made with heart, humor and drama all at its place. Flaws can be ignored if entertainment is there in a larger capacity. Watch it for a good film and good fun! [3/5]

No comments:

Post a Comment