Movie Review: Mausam

Mausam doesn’t live up to its expectation. I feel cheated after watching the promos

By Jyotsna Kumar

A new trend has taken over Bollywood where novel filmmakers spend more time working on their film promos as opposed to their film. Therefore, what we witness on our idiot box is far more intriguing than the film itself. Mausam is the latest victim to this trend. The film promos promised an eternal journey of love between Aayat and Harry over a period of ten years. But the way the film proceeds, that earnestness is lost.

Aayat (Sonam Kapoor) is a displaced Kashmiri girl who finds herself in an alien terrain post Kashmir insurgency where she meets Harinder Singh (Shahid Kapoor) aka Harry. Their love blossoms and soon gets blemished by the sudden turn of political events: Ayodhya dispute, Mumbai Bomb blast, Kargil war, September 11 attack, and Gujarat riots. As world simmers to the fury and succumb to the violence, Aayat and Harry constant struggle to be with each other over passing years, through these turbulent landscapes continues.

The film starts like a beautiful morning. The rustic backdrop, loads of atmospherics, Sonam’s shy femininity and Shahid’s boyish buoyancy and the spontaneity of the entire ensemble cast as villagers was pleasant yet captivating. Sonam and Shahid’s stolen glances, unexpressed feelings, the implicit romance gives enough depth to the old fashioned style of romance. Must say the vintage romance was minutely observed and was beautifully captured by Binod Pradhan’s cinematography. Pritam’s music only added sweet flavour to the entire setting. But post that is when Pankaj Kapoor loses his grip. The film never recovered from the pursuit of languorous, slow, steady, moody, beautiful first half. Unfortunately, Scotland and Switzerland couldn’t compensate the misty beautiful greens, mustard fields of the rustic background. Also after a while, the endless encounters between Harry and Aayat became almost unbearable. Shahid’s daredevil act as an Indian Air Force pilot too loses its depth as he battles too many odds: trying to connect with his love, enemy bunkers, Tiger Hill and the devastating battle injury. As an audience you too would struggle through these odd events. But if you manage to sail through, do keep this word of caution in your mind during the climax: stay clam and if possible don’t hesitate to laugh, because the climax does everything to tickle your funny bone. It is so bizarre and silly that you can’t think of any other emotion.

Sonam looked enchantingly beautiful. However, her native innocence was far more appealing than her style diva persona. Shahid looked smashing in the uniform. He looked like the Bollywood version of Tom Cruise in Top Gun. However, not even once he looked tired while flying those jets or nervous while taking on his enemy or a near plane crash experience. Moving on, the most disappointing department of the film was its screenplay. There was no closure to the frame- it starts and ends haphazardly. Little nuances were envisaged so beautifully but due to the disappointing screenplay, all in vain. My conclusion- Mausam doesn’t live up to its expectation. I feel cheated after watching the promos.

Bollywood@BestMediaInfo.com