Rating : ***
There are two types of Bollywood papas. One is sweet and portly (and often wealthy) and dotes on his children. The other is an overprotective obstacle to romance that is eventually surmounted. Vikramditya Motwane’s debut feature introduces a third type: a father who loathes his children.
Udaan is set in Jamshedpur, the steel city. The appropriateness of the setting (nicely captured by Mahendra Shetty’s camerawork) becomes increasingly apparent as Bhairav Singh’s character is revealed. The alloy seems to have formed a cast around the factory owner’s heart, preventing him from treating his sons Rohan (Rajat Barmecha) and Arjun (Aayan Boradia) with warmth and empathy. Bhairav abuses his children verbally and physically. He crushes the poetic ambitions of his elder son and the playfulness of the younger one. Udaan is the story of Rohan’s flight to freedom, but more compelling than his repeated efforts to form a bond with his father and brother is Bhairav’s destructiveness.
Motwane, who co-wrote Anurag Kashyap’s Dev.D, is better at setting up a problem than solving it. The story occasionally seems to go in circles, especially in the scenes showcasing yet another example of Bhairav’s malevolence. There’s an implausible and distracting track exploring Rohan’s friendship with Jamshedpur’s riff-raff. Motwane sets up Rohan’s dilemma admirably, but doesn’t seem quite sure how to resolve it, resulting in an ending that seems forced.
Yet, Udaan flies on many counts. The movie tackles its themes with sobriety and honesty. Through the unrelentingly corrosive Bhairav, Motwane mounts a strong critique of the warped ideas of masculinity and familial duty that are commonplace in India. The cast performs beautifully. Barmecha looks the part and inhabits his role. Equally impressive is Aayan Boradia as his little brother and Ram Kapoor in a small but pivotal role as Bhairav’s saner brothers. But the scene stealer is Ronit Roy, who effortlessly embodies both menace and the bitterness of a lifetime of disappointments. Nandini Ramnath
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