Sunday 14 October 2018

An Andhadhun...dh Entertainer

An Andhadhun…dh entertainer

After reading the reviews full of praise for the movie and excellent word of mouth recommendations, we decided to watch ‘Andhadhun’.

The film opens with a farmer chasing a rabbit all across his farm with a gun in hand but the rabbit manages to remain two steps ahead, all hale and hearty. Finally the rabbit reaches near a winding highway, the farmer takes aim… and what happens next is conveyed through audio, keeping the audience guessing.

Till the film’s end you wonder how that opening sequence connects with the rest of the film. Nay! The fast pace and the sheer edge of the seat moments in the film suck the audience into the gripping story of a blind pianist, a yesteryear Star and his scheming wife.

Mostly, the film follows a linear narrative; it doesn’t keep the audience in suspense, but still delivers an edge of the seat entertainer. The story unfolds…yes, unfolds is the right word, as the varied nuances of the storyline unfold one after the other in quick succession, making us wonder with bated breath; What will happen next?

The audience pines for the protagonist, a blind pianist, played extremely well by Ayushman Khurana, as his life goes through unexpected and scary twists and turns. Unknowingly he gets sucked into an unexpected crime and is fast losing out on options, as he struggles to outsmart the extremely cunning and scheming killer.

I wouldn’t like to give more of the story, as that would take away the fun of watching this stupendous movie.

Ayushman Khurana is fast turning out to be a Star of alternate cinema and this movie enhances his reputation. He has brought alive the role of a blind piano genius who gets caught in a web of deceit.

Radhika Apte has managed well in this movie, where she plays a supporting cast, at the most. She is an excellent performer but in this movie, the spotlight is never on her.

The supporting cast of Manav Vij and Ashwini Kalsekar, play the roles of a stud Inspector and his loving though eccentric wife, with aplomb.
But the movie is owned by the talented Tabu, and how! It will be a shocker if she doesn’t sweep the awards for this year, for this role of a lifetime. It appears that the role was written only for her. Whether as a loving young wife of the yesteryear Star, or as the woman consumed by lust, or the scheming woman trying to bury the skeletons in her cupboard, she commands the screen in such a way that it appears that the others are just a supporting cast. Fantastic acting at its best.

The music score by Amit Trivedi is like a breath of fresh air in today’s musical world of remixes and cacophony. And the piano rules supreme in all the beautiful compositions.

Finally the Director, Sriram Raghavan nails it, presenting the trials and tribulations of a blind pianist, with aplomb. This might possibly be his best and most successful work in an illustrious career.

So guys, don’t miss this movie! Go for it!

Yatindra Tawde

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