Udaan - review

Its good to see a well-made film at long last. Its good to see an entire Hindi film set in a place like Jamshedpur, and yet not hear the word 'small town' uttered even once. For that matter, its good to see a story set in Jamshedpur, shot completely in the Tata city, and not in some studio in Mumbai to justify high production value. And better still to know that a film can be pleasing to the eye without spending 50 crores on lavish sets.

Its good to see the likes of Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor playing roles that do justice to their talent. Nice that the stock character of an authoritarian father gets some shades of grey without vindicating his cruelty. Also nice that a naughty little six-year-old can be adorable without mouthing any cheesy lines. Better still, a film can do away with any cheesy dialogue or melodrama and still be engrossing till the end.

It is so refreshing to hear the story of a teenager that does not revolve around encounters with the opposite sex. Good to know that teenagers in our country have more serious issues to deal with, and many ways to rebel beyond humiliating college professors or other cringe-inducing methods. Refreshing, that somebody feels the travails of a young boy yearning to be a writer is a worthy subject for a good movie.

But most of all, it is so bloody refreshing to see a seventeen-year-old protagonist being played by a really young actor. The director certainly played a gamble by not casting someone more experienced in playing teenager roles. For that courage alone, Udaan deserves a dekko.