Yatra

Dashrath Joglekar is a man of letters who is deeply cynical about the world we live in: he stands at the top of an escalator in a mall where his old mother, wife and kids rummage excitedly amongst discounted piles, and come home laden with large plastic shopping bags. He is both indulgent and resigned towards a patently gen-now reporter who asks how he, Dashrath, feels now that the prestigious literary award he8217;s won has been taken over by a corporate sponsor.

During the yatra, Joglekar Nana goes on a dual journey: one which speeds him from Hyderabad to the Capital and his long-awaited trophy, and the other towards his fascinating fictional heroine Lajwanti Rekha, an old-style courtesan. What is real, what is mithya, and what is surreal? The story has some surprises, some quite bizarre, and the first half keeps you engaged. Post interval, Yatra goes to pieces.

Ghosh8217;s premise is very apt in our times when we are constantly having to draw the line: grappling with questions that range from how soon to change our cellphones, to should we focus our energies on making love, or capture those intimate moments on cell cameras, held inches away from entwined bodies. And so on. But the plot meanders on to too many tracks 8212; from the Naxalite-infested Telengana where Lajwanti8217;s story begins to present day Hyderabad where she ends up in a kotha 8212; and loses momentum. By the end, Yatra comes off as an interesting, thought-provoking idea from a seasoned filmmaker Paar, Patang, Dekha, Antarjali Yatra who didn8217;t quite know how to weave the strands in, and where to take it.

Enjoy, in between, the few good things. Deepti Naval, who plays Nana8217;s caring wife, has gracious presence. And Rekha8217;s turn as a stunning nachaniya. Some of her best acts have come as a kothewali Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Umrao Jaan: despite some over-the-topness, she is more her old self here than she has been in some of the hideous movies she has been doing of late Bach Ke Rehna Re Baba . She may be fifty plus, but she can deliver those thumkas better than most of today8217;s bimbettes: heck, she practically invented some. Also, a couple of the thumris she dances to are the most mellifluous we8217;ve heard in a long time.

Ghosh8217;s movie doesn8217;t do her role justice.