Via Darjeeling
Definitely, we are having a roll of a time with filmmakers ready to experiment and give us different varieties to savor. We are getting out very own Hitchcocks, Spielbergs and Kurosawas. Via Darjeeling is a film that leaves you an open ending to cud on. The question here is are we ready for endings! The debutant directors these days are coming up with fresh and smart themes for the audience to enjoy.
Rating: 2.75/5
They are leading a path lesser visited and that gives us even more reasons to smile. Directed by debutant Arindam Nandy, Via Darjeeling visits one such lesser visited path of collecting different perspectives and leaving it on to the audience to take toe most viable option without the filmmaker forcing it on them. The film has been produced by NFDC; it is a relatively less expensive film than Kunal Kohli’s Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic which released this week.
NFDC has been known for patronizing the likes of Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal and the types, and for producing films that have not only been synthetic eyewashes but mind-stirring drama with a point to put forth. This creates a lot of expectations for Arindam Nandy to take care. Though not absolutely original, Via Darjeeling borrows its plot form master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon. This academy award nominated film dealt with a murder presented with different perspectives and the viewer are left to take their pick.
The film probably never expected to make a race with the other releases this week. With some of the most talented actors of the film industry today, the director wanted to make a statement which he does. He has tried his best with the rather unconventional narratives and roping in the singular description to a common result. Truth from different perspectives can mislead and put a strong mist upon what really happened and it all depends on the opinion giver’s psychology to see the truth according to his particular taste.
The film is not very engrossing but it keeps you in good humor though out and even though there is no nail-biting conflict mystery shown here, the presenters keep you guessing about what really happened. It teases you brain and that is probably what Arindam Nandy wanted to prove. Technically speaking, there is no loose strands that peep out so that you give negative marks to the filmmaker but over all the open ending leaves you restless to know what happened and even though the purpose is solved by the filmmaker, it doesn’t provide you complete entertainment.
Via Darjeeling talks about the mystery behind a man’s disappearance told from different outlooks. The film mostly moves in and around Kolkatta and Darjeeling where a normal couple go honeymooning. The couple Ankur (Kay Kay Menon) & Rimli (Sonali Kulkarni) spend some days in Darjeeling and on the very day of their departure from there, Ankur goes missing without a clue.
An inspector Robin Bose (Vinay Pathak), who takes the charge of the case tries his best to find Ankur but fails to do so and the only clues that he gets out of Rimli are a fight Ankur had taken up with a taxi driver and a mysterious man (Parvin Dabas) who has been following her throughout her time in Darjeeling. Rimli had told about her doubts about the mysterious man to Ankur but he had dismissed her. The case is closed without any solution and Rimli left with her parents who spent no time to use their influences.
Then one rainy night the cop Robin attends a get together at his friend’s house. Ronodeep (Rajat Kapoor), who happens to be the editor of a happening news paper, and his wife Preety (Simone Singh) find their urban Kolkatta residence to be the stage for unveiling a mystery that Robin brings up. The other people who are present there are a budding filmmaker Kaushik (Proshanth Narayanan) and an actress Malaika (Sandhya Mridul). Robin brings up the topic via Darjeeling after gulping down a few pegs and everyone gets interested to present their opinion of what really happened to the couple. Their stories change with their psychology, profession and personalities.
While Ronodeep who is bound by his profession to add sensation to the plot, assumes that trimly had a hand in the whole episode and the mysterious man was her lover and the taxi driver kidnaps Ankur. He tries to make it look like a scandal which her influential parents dismissed. Preety, who loves to read thrillers and takes the side of Rimli. According to her Rimli might have been victimized by Ankur and she even goes ahead to say that the mysterious man was her lover and she got pregnant with his child and knowing this Ankur abandons her and goes absconding. The budding filmmaker Kaushik makes it look like a cheap thriller and takes the mysterious man to be a contract killer who was hired by Ankur to kill Rimli to get her out of the way and inherit her ancestral property. Malaika who doesn’t believe in men thinks it was Ankur who was to blame. The story goes on and doesn’t have a definite closure.
Both Kay Kay Menon and Sonali Kulkarni are awesome, they change according to teach narration and give convincing performances. Kay Kay however shadows the others. Rajat Kapoor and Vinay Pathak look utterly realistic and give credible performances. While Sandhya Mridul just performs well, Simone Singh looks like an ordinary Bong housewife with an intelligent mind. She looks absolutely adorable. Proshanth and Parvin Dabbas are good.
Director Arindam Nandy does a nice job to create a big time Adda tradition of friends and gets the best out of the actors but he plot is too slow to make a huge impact. The beauty of Darjeeling isn’t captured well so cinematography is just okay. Atul Sabharwal’s dialogues create the mood pretty well, to please the taste of an educated audience. Over all the film is a good watch.
Rating: 2.75/5
