Film Review: EKK Albela
Date: 24 June 2016
Director: Shekhar Sartandel
Cast: Mangesh Desai, Vidya Balan
Rating: 3 stars
There
are innumerable ways of presenting a biopic. Writer director Shekhar Sartandel
chooses to tell it from the horse’s mouth, so we have actor Mangesh Desai
playing Master Bhagwan recounting his story of struggle in show business.
Starting
in British India time, Bhagwan and his friends are influenced by Mahatma Gandhi
but clearly directionless. His passion for cinema dares him to jump across the
studio wall to watch film shooting and unwittingly becomes a part of the cinema
world.
The
film traces Bhagwan’s journey from Silent cinema to Talkies, his bitter sweet
encounters and evolution from a small time actor to a stunt filmmaker who has
ambitions of producing a social drama with a superstar.
Writer
Amol Shetge aided by cinematographer Uday Devare and art director Baban
Adagale succeed in reviving a time
and culture gone by. What works about
the story are the real incidents and people because for a change, they
underline that this is not a work of fiction.
The
pace is languid but we are talking about the 30s and the 40s when trolleys
lingered and the audience had patience. The director has cleverly focused on
the making of a legend and steered clear of his decline and his tragic end.
Watch
Ekk Albela for documenting history,
for the melody and for the mesmerising Vidya Balan (super costumes and makeup).
You cannot look at anything else when Balan is on the screen. This is a visual
experience that breaks language barriers. The characters communicate in
language (Hindi/ Marathi/Gujrati) they are comfortable in and everybody
understands.
@bhawanasomaaya
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