This film, which is pure soulful cinema, is the story of an artist who looses his job after the circus he works for closes shop. It portrays his struggles to survive and his yearning to be back at his art.
Cast- Kumud Mishra, Divya Dutta, Akarsh Khurana, Rohit Rokhade, Farruk Seyer
Director- Nitin Kakkar
Writers- Nitin Kakkar, Sharib Hashmi
Plot
Ram Singh alias Charlie( Kumud Mishra), his wife Kajri( Divya Dutta) and their son Chintu( Rohit Rokhade) live a blissful life in a circus community.They revere their art and love their profession. When the circus shuts down, the community splits up, moving to the city to find work.Circus being a dying format of entertainment, there aren’t many options. Many of them have to resort to alternate jobs to survive.Ram Singh struggles to provide means for himself and his family ,he yearns to be Charlie again ,he aspires to start a circus and bring back his community together.
The film chronicles the man’s journey who was Ram Singh by name and Charlie by soul. Watch his heart tugging journey to know how he balances survival ,passion for his art,dignity and ethics.
Analysis
The film is all gold.The writing, screenplay, direction and performances are all heart.
The characters have been etched so well ,they come alive with the stellar performances.The realistic locations and the cinematography bring to fore the plight of strugglers and the horrors of surviving in a city. The makers do not fall to the lure of dramatic situations or amplifications to enhance the plight or sympathy factor.They keep everything as naturalistic as can be. None of it screams for sympathy , yet it holds your heart in an effortless way, keeps you moist eyed and at times teary. Most importantly , it makes you admire and respect their resilience, fight for survival and dignity.
The film reminded me of Citylights which had a similar premise.Only that this film is much more soulful, real and boasts of award worthy performances.
Performances
It is a lifetime performance by Kumud Mishra, so stellar that words fail me. An actor who always makes his presence felt irrespective of the length of role, he finally gets a role where he unleashes his marvellous potential.The range of emotions portrayed with minimal of dialogues has to be seen to be believed.
Divya Dutta, another actress par excellence ,has a smaller presence in the film but every expression of hers in each frame that she is in , is worth focus. Fabulous is the word.
Farrukh Seyer, in a small role, was noticeable with his smooth performance and diction.
Rohit Rokhade was such a natural as Chintu, not an iota of over dramatisation.
Akarsh Khurana impressed with a naturalistic portrayal as Nabeel.
A Special Word
The makers deserve accolades for believing in this story and being able to put together a film that brings alive the story, people, emotions and places and moves you to the core.
Recommendation
The film deserves a watch for ample number of reasons.It has an amazing cast and stellar performances that is a pleasure to experience.It is a film that not only means well but also portrays well what it means.
Score 9 on 10