Na Ghar Ke Na Ghaat Ke Review

Congress' s ' aam aadami' (note: it' s never the ' aam aurat' ) tries as hard to enter the nation' s economic agenda as he does to slip in to our popular films.

This movie, that way, is a notable exception. A gentleman, with a Devaki for a first name, introduces to the camera his village. The film starts as a mockumentary. The protagonist in the movie talks to viewers directly. And then the film gets into a regular narrative. But truly its an irritatingly confused devise.

The place shown in the movies called Palanhar, and for purposes of postal codes, even the hero isn' t sure if his home falls in Bihar, or Uttar Pradesh. The dialect, though inconsistent, could pass off for UP' s.

The meek gent of this hamlet shows his urban audiences a world that rural India is: "Ek gaon jo gaon rehne ke liye majboor hai: A village that is compelled to remain a village forever." The essential flavours isn' t widely off the mark - the cows; low-voltage, crackling bulbs; houses in various states of decay; idyllic old men. Everyone here makes for the chattering classes over chai. Conversations lasts mainly on weddings, and neighbours' private lives.

Most young in these hinterlands look for an escape. Few find much work locally. The hero (director and actor Agrawal - more competent as the latter) finds himself a clerk' s job in Mumbai' s Meteorological Department. He treats himself, like millions others, into a gutter-like city that has no time to care, or stare. He rooms in with a road-side Romeo played by Ravi Kissen; obnoxiously over-acting. The man is unable to adjust with the insanity of urban life. Street patois confound him as much: ' khaali peeli' .

Devaki' s family visits him from the village. ' Tapori' takes them to couples' cosy corners on Mumbai' s rocky seaside. The father played by Om Puri is appalled by public displays of affection. He calls it low "sabhyata" (civilisation). The dad' s just married his son off to a girl he' s not allowed to meet, let alone share sweet something with. This clash of cultures is for a film, a pertinent premise. The wife getting picked up by cops, mistaken for a ' bar dancer' - the entire picture thence - hardly counts for much of a plot.

Review by- Radhika Didwania

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