Revisiting a definitive - 2

This week we delve into the Neeraj Ghaywan, gem, Masaan. The beauty of Masaan lies in its casting and there are no two words about it. The four main characters are perfect in their roles and none of them miss the cue. But, its Vicky Kaushal who in his debut avatar as the boy from the Dom community (the lowest of the Hindu caste who are resigned to burning dead bodies) shines head and shoulder above the rest. Perhaps, Sanjay Mishra with the subtleties in his acting repertoire comes close. 

The brilliance of Vicky's acting is often discussed in the scene where he says those tragic lines at the end; Ye dukh khatam kyu nahi hota! But to me, his brilliance actually starts with the opening scene where he is sitting with his friends at the cyber café and tries to decipher the medium of Social Media. His expressions of naivete, innocence, the smile of trying to feel up to the moment and the coy in his behaviour is an absolute class unto itself. He reminds me of Soumitra in Apur Sansar where Apu half asleep in bed opens the pack of cigarette to find a statutory warning from his wife tucked inside the packet; and his face now gazes and looks for her who is busy lighting up the earthen oven. The smile on Apu's face (Soumitra Chatterjee) is quite similar to Vicky's here. Later, in several such moments in the film Vicky brings such subtle gems to his acting prowess. I only hope the boy in later years flourishes into a fine actor and not get trapped into an image. 

The next in line is Sanjay Mishra who is simply playing on his home turf. Born and brought up in that part of the world; he understand the nuances and finer things about the place. Take for instance the moment where he is sitting with a group of Anthropology students and trying to discuss the origins of the ghats. The way he talks, his body language, the way he engages with his fellow colleagues, everything is spot on. Never misses a cue. Even when he sits down at home for dinner and the way he simply gets degusted looking at the food is all very Eastern UP and the local ways and means. 

The third gem is a brilliant cameo from Pankaj Tripathi. His moment of tranquility and the quietness he brings to the scene where he sits with Richa Chaddha on the platform and talks of his family. The storm that is brewing in Devi's (Richa's character) mind and the calmness of Pankaj's raconteur normalizes the scene so well. And that is the brilliance of Masaan. 

The two parallel narrations converge at the end. One narrations starts with the hurricane that sweeps the lead apart and in the other narration the hurricane sweeps apart the character at the end. However, in the entirety of it, when the two are on the boat and sail towards Sangam they all seem to moving into a new normal. And the lines of Chakbast with which we start the films sums the scene: Zindagi kya hai anasir mein zahur-e tarteeb, Maut kya hai ini ajza ka pareshan hona (What is life, but a manifestation of orderliness and method in elements; What is death, but chaos within these same elements)  

Alongside, Sweta Tripathi and Richa Chadda do well in their respective roles. After Oye Lucky Lucky Oye I liked Richa and her choice of films off late have left one thinking about her choice (except GoW). 

Masaan has some amazing music and songs purely inspired from the gems of Hindi literature and this is where Varun Grover and Indian Ocean must get full credits. For the classic song, Tu kisi rail si there has been criticism of copying etc.; but let us give it to Varun for the fact that if the lines did not come into mainstream one would never have heard of such a gem. 

Masaan stands tall for the vision of Neeraj and the way he handled the plot and the subject. It needs multiple viewing to get into the subtleties of the plot. Benares is considered a city where we meet at the end of life and perhaps the backdrop of the city played a perfect host to the plot. 

It's on Netflix. Go watch.