Darjeeling Limited!

Cast: Victor Banerjee,Rupa Ganguly,Saswata Chatterjee,Aparajita Das,Atul Kulkarni

Rating: ***

Running at: Inox (Forum,City Centre,Swabhumi)

Let’s get this straight. Longing,especially for picture perfect bits reclaimed as memories from a grey-ish past,makes fools out of the smartest of men. But then again,you don’t fall in love — of the overwhelming,everlasting sort – everyday. So,when Anjan Dutt makes his character recite rhetoric-heavy poetry on Darjeeling,as his camera pans over its familiar skyline indulgently,you don’t have the heart to question him.

But then,as Chowrasta progresses,one cliché after another raise their ugly heads,making Dutt seem a little too lost in his own world. It’s important to realize one thing here. Bengalis are probably as territorial about Darjeeling as they are about rosogolla. The town and its stereotypes — the sleepy mall,the quaint confectionaries,the cold composure of the schools,and hide and seek of lights on the Kanchenjunga— are experiences,which over time could have been compiled into a ‘spot-a-Bengali-guide’,easily. Then,when a film flits around the familiarities,making verbal poetry about why they are special — it doesn’t grow on you,rather gets at you.

And that’s precisely where Dutt bungles in Chowrasta. Darjeeling for what we know,might be pretty,cosy and romantic,but we are yet to associate miracles with it. Dutt,in his nostalgia overdrive goes that unnecessary extra mile,and messes up what could have been an extraordinary tale of ordinary people.

Nandana Sen (Roopa Ganguly) is an aging Bollywood glam-doll who comes down to Darjeeling to admit her son to St Paul’s school. Her former husband Deep (Saswata Chatterjee) is a teacher in the same school. Sunny and Rita,are a young couple who have eloped and fled to Darjeeling. After a mad rush of romance they are faced with differences and reality. Kenny (Atul Kulkarni) is a criminal on the run. He needs a large amount of money to flee the country in a very short time. Victor Banerjee plays an eccentric old man pining for his dead wife. Predictably,their paths cross. But if you are expecting a delicate,nuanced tale of relationships,you are probably in for disappointment. The plot,which rambles along,is so infested with loopholes and implausibility that at times,the carefully fleshed out characters too seem sketchy —their actions and intentions hardly sensible. Sample this: a terrorist,death hanging on his head,and desperate to get out of the country,actually smiles,sings a tune or two and forgets all about the soup he is in after a chance encounter with a poet,and a heavy dose of his drunken literary antics. A fading actress,who is even confused about the paternity of her son,keeps telling her first beau that he is her only ‘true husband’. Add to it,there’s her boyfriend who claims to have been intimate with her ‘in the bed,the kitchen,the garden’ who is also out to convince the former beau about the ‘true husband’ philosophy. And all this,while the child has been kidnapped. Phew! Wonder why Gautam Buddha never considered Darjeeling for his enlightenment plans!

Jokes apart,Dutt’s love for Darjeeling might be above ordinary assumptions. It’s just that we are not convinced.