Fly Away Solo - Masaan review

Year of release : 2015

Director : Niraj Ghaywan

Cinematographer : Avinash Arun

Cast : Vicky Kaushal, Richa Chadda, Sanjay Mishra, Shweta Tripathi, Pankaj Mishra

Genre : Drama/Romance

Neeraj Ghaywan's 2015 drama, Masaan is a parallel narration of two heartbreaking stories, in the 5000 year backdrop of Varanasi. Surrounded by numerous social taboos that flourish in India, the narrative goes through a number of heart wrenching plot points displaying the true nature of the Indian society, especially in small towns/cities.

The film starts with Devi (played by Richa Chadda) watching porn. This scene is followed by an intimate scene of Devi and her lover in a lodge in the heart of Varanasi. The portrayal of 'Pre-maital Sex', as a social taboo in India is quite loud and disturbing in this film. This is evident as tragedy hits Devi and her father as an aftermath of her sexual encounter. Police intimidation is quite real in India. This concept is the driving force of Devi's story throughout the film. Devi's father Vidydhar Pathak (played by Sanjay Mishra) is a small built and humble Pandit, who believes in honour more than anything. Pathak's preachings about honour being his biggest achievement in the society is shown multiple times in this film. As a polar opposite, Devi's character is powerful and independent. She feels guilty for what had happened, but never did she feel ashamed. The arcs of these two characters go the opposite ways too. While, Devi quits her old job as a Computer consultant and finds a job at the railways, her father goes on from an idealist Pandit with honour and respect in the society to gambling. The desperation of the family for money to get out the mess is quite painful and heartbreaking.

Now, on the other hand, Deepak (played by Vicky Kaushal) is a lower caste Hindu, who lives with his family on a ghat of Varanasi. His father, being the Dom king of Benares, creating pyres and cremating bodies is what his family has been doing for generations. Deepak falls in love with a girl of the upper caste, Shallu (played by Shweta Tripathi) and their childlike romance and innocence makes me root for their relationship to flourish and break out of the backwards and ancient mindset of their society.

Inter-caste marriages are looked down upon in India, especially if the girl is of the upper caste. The new found love of these characters is beautiful to watch.

Shallu's stories and poetry makes Deepak enchanted by her love.

"Tu rail si guzar ti hai, mai pool sa thar thara ta hoon."

The introduction of the Ruby ring on the finger of Shallu is quite a big revelation in the film.It goes on to be the most valuable object in the film.

Vicky Kaushal is the undoubted star of the film. The performance put out by the young actor is on point and exhilarating. His infectious smile makes me happy and fills my heart with joy. So, when he cries, it breaks me down too. He completely gets encapsulated in Deepak's character. Richa Chadda, Sanjay Mishra and Pankaj Tripathy have also given out beautiful performances, thus making the film more appealing.

This film is a tragedy in every way. Ghaywan's multiple emotional blows are astonishing and heart breaking. Both the stories run parallely, yet have no relevance to each other. The anticipation of them converging is addressed but it's quite underwhelming. The resolution of the "police intimidation" angle of the film is a bit disappointing but eh, corruption wins in real life too. The resolution of the characters is a bit fast and drastic, but after all that happened to them, I would personally give them that just to find some peace.

The cinematography of this film is on the point. The colours and compositions help make the narrative more powerful and infectious. The cinematographer has mostly used the rule of third's to frame the subjects, yet at a few points, we see beautiful centre framed symmetrical compositions. The music by The Indian Ocean transitions quite beautifully from drama to romance to tragedy.

Masaan is a great piece of cinema which should be used as a reminder for our society to be more progressive and accepting. Films like this are the true nature and beauty of Indian cinema and Masaan will always be close to my heart after the way it touched me emotionally and spiritually.

Rating : 4.1/5

---

-Siddharth Padhee

Everything-Film

19-06-2020