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Hawaizaada

STARRING: Mithun Chakraborty, Ayushmann Khurrana, Pallavi Sharda DIRECTOR: VibhuVirender Puri jrl(j{'��

Doyou ever wonder what it would be liketofly?Then see Hawaizaada, a film that soars into the skies with its overweening ambitions, and miraculously manages to stay airborne as it chronicles the life a man who wantedtofly.

Debutant directorVibhu Puri's accomplished film, atribute tothe scientist who apparently mannedthe first aircraftthat civilization has ever flown, is a stunningfeastofvisual splendour, compounded with a script that'stightly writtento accentuate the audacityand eccentricityofpeople who can float inthe future.

Straightawayitcan be said with pridethat Puri's debut is a homage to the art ofSanjay Leela Bhansali.Every frame is reminiscent ofseveral Bhansali creations, notablyDevdas and Saawariya, the formerforthetheme ofunfulfilled love(with Khurana's capricious love interestPallavi Shardaforming afusion ofParoand Chandramukhi's two-layered character)and the latterforthe rich bold use offlamboyant colours to highlight the opera-styled emotions.

Hawaizaadaattempts analmostimpossible marriage ofavisual splendour with emotional surrender.The characters, be itthe whimsical aimless ShivkarTalpade orhis kookymentor Shastry, orthe British who scowl atany attemptbythe pairto create inventors' history these are people who don't believe in holding backemotions.

Theyearis 1895.The possibilities of recreatingthatera in presenttimes seemsfar-fetched and unlikely.Thanksto Puri'sartdirectors(SubrataChakraborty, Amit Ray), music composers (Vishal Bhardwaj with azestful lavnifilmed on the gorgeous Sharda) and most specially his incredibly gifted camera-person Savita Singh (who happensto be Puri's wife),the director has constructed a world as unthinkable on paper asthe theoryofflying a plane must have seemed toTalpade's contemporaries.

Thank Godforthe dreamers, backthen and now.

Co-writersVibhuPuriand Saurabh RShave useTalpade's dream offlying as a metaphorforanyonefromanyera who has dreamt ofbreakingfree.The pronounced but muted metaphoris extended intoTalpade's extendfamily of repressed character, again very Devdaslike in its structure.There isthe growling father (Jayant Kripalani),tight-lipped mother(NatashaSinha),smirking brother (Mehul Kajaria), dominating bhabhi (Priyanka Sethia), who all longto, well,fly.

Encirclingthis wide arc ofwannabe fliers who arepilotedintothe epic plotbyTalpade's navigational dreams, couldn't be an easytask.Vibhu Puri manages the seemingly impossible maneuvering skilfullyand playfullythrough lives in an era when oppression was a pre-condition.

Soaring on a dream,Hawaizaada transports us into an enchanting world of a dream-reality where anything can happen.

Fuelling the impossible dream isthe central performance by Ayushmann Khurrana. He breathes life into Shivkar Talpade,the audacious 19thcenturyscientist who daredtofly. Khurrana playsTalpadeas atrippy dreamer, a Devdas drunkon his dreams.

Mithun Chakrabortyas Talpade's mentor is eccentric and endearing.This is the actor's most effective performance in years. Asfor Pallavi Sharda,though admittedlythat well-toned gym-produced physique doesn't gel withthefilm's periodicity, she is a revelation doing an amalgamation ofParoand Chandramukhi from Devdas. Besharam isforgotten andforgiven. Going back intime is neveran easy