Given his track-record in the past eighteen months (Munjya, Stree 2, Teri Baton Ne Aisa Uljha Jiya, Sky Force, Chhaava), I frankly expected producer Dinesh Vijan’s new film to be way above average—in premise and execution. Bhool Chuk Maaf comes in the category of the first (an interestingly fresh core idea), but not in the second.
The idea of a message—that government jobs are not necessarily the be-all and end-all of life even for small-towners, and that merit must be the only qualification for any position in life—is immensely praiseworthy. But the way the story is narrated in the vital second half is not only quite confusing in parts but also seems too stretched despite a runtime of just 121 minutes.
Ranjan Tiwari (Rajkummar Rao) from Benares is a man without a job, enjoying life romancing Titli (Wamiqa Gabbi in her first big-screen appearance). His mother (Seema Pahwa) makes pickles and earns decently, while her husband (Raghubir Yadav) lives off those earnings and so does Ranjan.
When Titli and Ranjan are caught eloping by the cops, the former’s father gives him two months to get a government job as a precondition to their union. Ranjan pays money to a middleman, ironically named Bhagwan (Sanjay Mishra) for this, that too after pawning Titli’s mother’s gold necklace, and the latter arranges a job. Ranjan, having taken a mannat (a vow before the real Bhagwan—the Almighty!—to make this wish come true wherein he will offer something in return), is thrilled, but does not know how to please God for heeding his prayers!
Because of this, Ranjan tries whatever his friends suggest, but unnerving things begin to happen. His marriage is decided on the 30th of May, but every day Ranjan wakes up to find that it is still the 29th! And then he happens to meet the candidate, Hamid (Akash Makhija), who actually deserved the job, and is shattered that he did not get it. What happens next?
The climax, where the lovers’ wedding is almost cancelled, is well-executed, but we also get the uncongenial message that it is alright not to be earning when one weds! Now, how does a commoner support a family? And when Ranjan’s mother is shown as a working (from home!) woman, why on earth can a young woman like Titli not work? These flaws notwithstanding, the plot is novel.
The strength of this film lies in the fact that the atmospherics are realistic and a small town comes alive. We can get a whiff, if not a strong aroma, of Benares and the life there and the cinematographer, Sudeep Chatterjee, not only makes the shots of the streets and houses very ‘real’ but the long shots, especially the night outdoors, look very pleasing. The dialogues too are straight out of life.
Karan Sharma is the debuting writer-director of this film (with Haider Rizvi penning the additional screenplay and dialogues) and he scores better as a director than as scriptwriter in the sense of extracting good to fabulous performances from all his actors, in big roles and small.
Rajkummar Rao is much better here than in many of his recent releases as the mercurial yet cocky Ranjan: he is perfectly cast and is wonderfully in-sync. Wamiqa Gabbi impresses despite a shorter and in many ways, routine role. This is one film in which seasoned performers Zakir Hussain and Raghubir Yadav come off second best to the young talent, including Ishtiyak Khan and Dheerendra Gautam as Ranjan’s cohorts and confidants, Akash Mishra as the deadpan and broken Hamid, Pragati Mishra as Ranjan’s sister Keri and Jay Thakkar as her boyfriend, Himanshu Kohli as Titli’s brother-in-law Jiju, Poornima Sharma as his wife, Sweety, and in cameos, Amarjeet Singh as the decorator and Nalneesh Singh as the tailor make a mark.
In a sober role with an undercurrent of satire and humor, Sanjay Mishra is excellent as Bhagwan. Vineet Kumar as the temple priest, Seema Pahwa as Ranjan’s mother and Anubha Fatehpuria as Titli’s mother make a solid impression among the ‘elder’ cast.
The music by Tanishk Bagchi is not impressive, though Koi na sounds nice while on, and ditto Saawariya tera (which has five voices!!). Pritam’s Chor bazaari (from the 2007 Love Aaj Kal) is the only song that lingers, highlighting the axiom that a good song (lyrically and musically) is what matters in the end. Its re-creation is average, but still leagues above the rest.
The film could have been crisper and shorn of needless elements like the deserving candidate being from a minority community in Benares. This is because in the way the script unfolds, the candidate’s name could have been just about anything, and I do not know if this is a merely ‘secular’ intention in the way old Hindi films used to have!
Rating: ***
Maddock Films’ Bhool Chuk Maaf Produced by: Dinesh Vijan Directed by: Karan Sharma Written by: Karan Sharma & Haider Rizvi Music: Pritam & Tanishk Bagchi Starring: Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, Seema Pahwa, Zakir Hussain, Anubha Fatehpuria, Sanjay Mishra, Raghubir Yadav, Ishtiyak Khan, Dheerendra Gautam, Akash Mishra, Pragati Mishra, Jay Thakkar, Himanshu Kohli, Poornima Sharma, Amarjeet Singh, Nalneesh Singh, Dhanashree Verma & others
