NISHABD

Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, jiah Khan, Revathi, Shraddha Arya, Aftab Shivdasani, Rukhsar.

Trust Ramgopal Varma to come up with another unconventional story. ‘Nishabd’, with its bold theme is truly a piece of quality cinema. The story of mutual love between two people with a huge age gap between them has never been tackled before. The film is a moving tale of a man torn between his emotions and rationality, between his heart and his mind. It talks openly and unabashedly about things and emotions that many would prefer to keep quiet about.

Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) is a 60-year-old happily married man. His life revolves around his wife Amrita (Revathy) and daughter Ritu (Shraddha Arya). Photography is his passion. One day, Ritu’s friend, Jiah comes to their house to spend her holidays. Although, Vijay treats her like his own daughter initially, his feelings for her change with the passing of time. Jiah too feels the same for him and confesses her love for him. When Ritu gets to know of the budding romance between her old father and her friend she throws a fit. She asks Jiah to leave the house at once but is stopped by her father. Later, unable to bear the misery he has caused, Vijay himself asks Jiah to leave the house and vows to spend the rest of his life with her sweet memories.

Ramgopal Varma’s direction is fair. However, he goes wrong with the pace of the film. It is so slow that it tests the audience patience. Besides, he also fails to engage the viewer on the emotional level. Emotions do not touch the heart.

Cinematography (Amit Roy) is appealing. The camera angles are superb. Editing is slick. Background music is class apart. Dialogue (Amrik Gill) is good. The two songs in the film are hummable. Both the songs ‘Rozana’ and ‘Take Lite’ define the character graphs of the two lead protagonists. Jiah Khan who has sung 'Take Lite' surprises all with her singing ability.

Amitabh Bachchan is natural to the core. Although his dialogues in the film are plain, it is the way he delivers them that makes an impact. His facial ex-pressions and his glances say much more than words. He brings out the inner conflict of his character in his body language, his eyes and his ex-pressions. Jiah Khan suits her role of an irreverent and careless girl. Revathy’s acting is first rate. Shraddha Arya is praiseworthy. She excels in the emotional scenes. Nasser is effective. Aftab Shivdasani is alright in a guest appearance.

On the whole, Nishabd, though a well-made film, will find the going very tough. The Indian audience will not be able to accept the concept of an old man falling for a teenager. Its fate at the box-office will be horrifyingly shocking.