Daayen Ya Baayen Movie Review- for the dreamer in all of us

Note- this is not a regular review of the film but more about my feelings for the film.

The last one week had indeed been special due to MAMI 2010.After watching a wide variety of films across genres, both Indian & International I’m even more convinced that a filmmaker’s victory lies in connecting with the audience through his/her film, whatever be the kind of film. And if the filmmaker is able to also make an honest film without making many compromises, the victory only becomes even sweeter. Daayen Ya Baayen ( DYB from hereon ) which released yesterday is one such film according to me. In these days when most filmmaker’s and producers are wondering which overseas location to base their film in, any film set even in the Indian metro’s is welcome indeed.

And out of the blue when you hear of a film based in a tiny hamlet in the hills of Uttarakhand it certainly makes a cinephile like me to get all excited. What makes it even more interesting is the fact that the writer-editor-director of the film (Bela Negi) and the leading man (Deepak Dobriyal) also hail from Uttarakhand. This made me feel a lot more confident about the chances of the film being honest. Hence when I got an opportunity to watch the movie at a preview arranged by the director I went in with some hope of watching a good film, nothing more nothing less.

But as the film unfolded I found myself to be not just liking the film but also chuckling along at various moments. Right from the moment when the hero reaches his village and is welcomed at the bus-stop by his family, the movie is a fun ride. I’m not from Kumaon myself but having travelled extensively in the Country it’s not difficult for me to make out if the local milieu and nuances have been captured well in a film. In the case of DYB I can proudly say that Bela Negi & her team have been very faithful indeed to the grass roots of Uttarakhand. Definitely praiseworthy is the cinematography of Amlan Dutta as he makes us experience the hills of Kumaon whether it’s an outdoor shot or an indoor one.

In fact it’s not just the main characters essayed by Deepak Dobriyal, Manav Kaul, Bharti Bhatt and Badrul Islam who provide the spark. Even other characters like that of the school principal, the teacher who’s more interested in knitting rather than teaching, the old lady who has now become rich thanks to a Govt.aid for freedom fighters etc are well utilized in the film. The television is a very important symbol in the hamlet and the soap operas and the advertisements give the glimmer of hope to the people about a life that’s a lot more exciting and ambitious.

Bela Negi also reminds us through the film that some things never change about the human psyche whether it’s in a rural or urban atmosphere. This is best illustrated in the way there is a turnaround in the way the whole hamlet starts looking at Ramesh (Deepak Dobriyal ) once he wins a shiny red Chevrolet by winning a jingle contest on television. Someone who was being looked at with ridicule suddenly becomes the centre of attention all over again, something that Ramesh himself had not bargained for.

Ramesh’s character also reminds us that there is a dreamer in all of us. In his case for whatever reasons which is not really mentioned to us, Ramesh has decided to forget the life in the city and create a mark for himself in his native village. While Ramesh dreams of opening a ‘kalakendra’ in his village, it also symbolizes the deep seated desire/aspiration that all of us have- yes all of us indeed. This weekend will soon get over and another indie film’s theatrical journey will also come to an end. But before that at least whoever feels that they support the small indie film should go do their bit by watching the film. And for all those who think all such films are serious issue oriented films then you may re-think after watching this film.

That such a movie got made and eventually released is in itself an achievement. It’s a pity that the producer who thinks of himself as a pioneer of the indie film movement in Hindi Cinema is not doing anything to promote the film. While we cannot do anything about it, the fact remains that we can do our bit by supporting the movie in some way or the other.

For those who maybe interested given below are the show timings in Mumbai-

PVR Lower Parel 1:30, 8:25 pm; Juhu 1:15, 8:35 pm; Goregaon (E) 10:50 pm BIG CINEMAS IMax-Wadala 3:45 pm; Mulund 3:15 pm; R City Mall Ghatkopar 12:30 pm; Vashi 2:15 pm INOX Nariman Point 1:00 pmCINEMAX Versova 1:45 pm FAME Malad 1:00, 5:00 pm MOVIETIME Goregaon 12:00, 8:15 pm BROADWAY Bhandup 3:00 pm

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/daayen-ya-baayen-movie-review-for-the-dreamer-in-all-of-us/