Review: Masaan: Poetic, Original, True! ***½

1306th BLOG POST -->>

MASAAN: 3.5/5

        I took some time but finally watched a movie that won hearts in Cannes Film Festival- MASAAN. The word Masaan means the place where dead bodies are burnt or shamshaanghat. One would think why such a name for a movie is kept but after watching it, you will realize how apt the title is. It is set on the shores of River Ganga where thousands of bodies are burnt daily. Two stories run in parallel. The first one is based on Richa Chadda. She ends up having sex with her student of computer coaching class while police breaks into their hotel room. The policeman finds this a wonderful plot to extort some money from the girl's father to hide this scandal from the society. In the rest of the movie, it's shown how Richa fights this whole situation. In another story which keeps this movie cheerful and alive is the love angle between Vicky Kaushal, a boy belonging to the Dom family who burn people's dead bodies on the ghat and Shweta Tripathi, who belongs to a upper-caste family.

              Varun Grover's writing and Ghaywan's direction have made Masaan a movie which will always be remembered for its realistic take on every issue that they wanted to speak upon. How premarital sex is a big taboo in the society is depicted in the first 10 minutes itself. How a girl has this big responsibility of keeping the family's respect alive is another issue greatly discussed in this movie. Through the another story, how caste always comes in between people falling in love and wanting to convert it into a life-lasting relationship is shown. In a scene, how a boy vents out his frustration regarding the caste he belongs to is nicely pictured as that's what his family is always identified with. 

              With a poetic feel and beautiful dialogues this movie will make you smile in every 5 minutes. Even the kissing scene between the couple is so nicely pictured that you will remember your first kiss with your partner. That's how original even these scenes are made. They have tried telling us how death is just a part of life and not the end of everything. The anti-climax says it all. The songs of the films are also very beautiful. I am continuously humming "Tu kisi rail si guzarti hai main kisi pull sa thartharata hoon" since I have watched the movie. The only complain is with the ending which looks quite dramatic. It could have been handled with little more poise. Overall I give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!