Is that a saying in India? “Hit over the head”?  It’s something my mother says a lot, “he needed to be hit over the head before he started to….”.  Like, it takes getting frostbite on your ears to learn that you should wear a hat when it’s cold out.  Or, getting an F before you learn to study before a test. Which is what happens to our hero here, he has to get a literal blow to the head before he starts learning.

Not that Fahad is a bad guy at the beginning!  Not at all.  He’s a nice guy with a nice little life.  Kind of too nice.  It makes it too easy for him to just sort of accept everything as it is, without trying to do or be any better.

It took me a while to figure out that is what is happening in this movie, because it feels mostly like a series of disconnected stories.  A fight, a career, a romance, and family issues, all mixed up.  But what they all have in common is that Fahad just isn’t really trying in any of those areas.  And once he starts trying in one, everything falls into place in the others.

It kind of reminded me of 1983, in a way.  The same not-very-heroic-hero, who has a nice little life but it never seems to really click into gear.  In 1983, it all started working once he was committed to his son.  Which is probably a better message than this film, where it all starts working once he is committed to revenge!

But, on the other hand, 1983 kind of felt like he might never have grown up and started really trying if he hadn’t had his son to inspire him.  Whereas this film felt more like SOMETHING was going to happen, at some point, Fahad couldn’t just keep drifting along like this.

Although the drifting was really fun to watch!  I was just complaining in my Baar Baar Dekho post about how parts of the movie felt like we were just reading water, waiting for the hero to discover something that was already obvious to the audience.  The same could be said about parts of this film.  But the difference is, the treading water was really enjoyable!

While Fahad may not have been growing and changing and learning for the whole first half of the film, those around him were.  His father was getting increasingly demented/eccentric as he aged, his old friend was recently hired at the shop next to his and was struggling to fit in.  Even his girlfriend was making choices for herself about her own life and changing without him.  In Baar Baar, it felt like the world was moving on while our hero stayed in one place, and the audience was stuck in that same boring place along with our hero.  But in this, we got to see the whole world around the hero, and watch everyone else move on around him for the whole first half.  So at least SOMEONE we identified with was moving forward!

And it was also just amusing spending time in this world, even if it wasn’t really going anywhere.  The small things, like the way a fatal fall from a jackfruit tree was edited for comedy, instead of tragedy.  The fake crying at a funeral.  The reveal that Fahad’s elderly father is dreaming of attending girly shows like he used to in his youth.  Fahad’s friend faking a heart attack to distract the crowd so Fahad could flirt with his girlfriend.  It was all just so witty, that appreciating it was enough to keep me enjoying the film until things started really happening.

Oh, and I have to mention the second half dance number!  Which turns out to be a flash mob dancing to a film medley to raise awareness for a blood drive (I think it was a blood drive, it was something like that).  It was so clever, because when it started it felt like the usual big dance number that just happens for no reason in a movie.  And then you realize it is actually imitating the real life dance numbers that are themselves imitating movie dance numbers!  So clever!

Okay, to talk about the other clever stuff, I have to start SPOILERing.  So, SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

 

 

 

We open with Fahad talking on the phone to his girlfriend, who is clearly studying/working somewhere else (possibly abroad, possibly in a big city).  He hangs up the phone to discover that his father has disappeared.  At first, I thought “oh, what a nice opening!  Showing how he’s not the usual hero, he stays home while his girlfriend goes abroad, and his father has adventures!”  But as the movie goes on, slowly, we see that this is actually a bad thing.  He is a young man, he should be stretching himself a little, not just staying home while others go off.

That’s the theme of the whole first half, only the film style is so charming and the characters are so vibrant, it takes a while to become apparent.  Fahad works hard, he is the village photographer, he takes passport photos and is at every wedding and funeral.  He has his friends, the older guy who owns the printing business next to his photography studio, and young guy just hired to help out (Soubin Shahir!  He played the gym teacher in Premam!).  And he has his girlfriend.  Who has been his girlfriend since they were children and she overheard his friend ask him if he liked her.

It’s a cute flashback, but from a later perspective, it’s also a telling flashback.  He never approached her or made any effort.  His little friend asked if he liked her, he said yes, and she overheard, and that was all it took for them to be together since then.

Not that it’s a bad relationship.  He is a very good boyfriend, he calls her and he sneaks over to see her when she comes home for a family funeral, and he even brings her her favorite fruit to snack on.  But he isn’t anything special.  He isn’t a “prize” for her.  And he isn’t making an effort to make himself better, or to find a girl who would think he is a prize.  Or to convince her that she should value him more.  He is putting effort into the relationship, but not into himself.

And it’s the same in every part of his life.  He runs the photo shop well, we see him going in and out as called on for events, he takes good care of his equipment, he is in the office all day.  He is better than Nivin in 1983 in this way, we saw that Nivin didn’t really take care of the business he inherited from his father, the shop slowly lost business and ended up moving from their storefront to a room in their house.  Fahad hasn’t lost any ground in his business.  But he also isn’t trying to move it forward.

That’s where he is everywhere in his life.  He isn’t trying to move his relationship towards marriage, he isn’t trying to get to know his father better and deal with his dementia, he is happy where he is and it would take a lot to make him to move on.  Which is where the “hit upside the head” part comes in!

Fahad has already started to lose his girl, I think it is clear that that is the real catalyst, which puts it all in motion.  She is played by Anusree, who I theoretically saw in Pullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum, but I have no memory of her.  She loves Fahad, sure.  And they are in a nice holding pattern, with long phone calls and secret meetings on her visits home.  But now there is an engagement on offer from a really nice guy, who has a job in Canada.  Should she “settle” for a “regular life” in the village with the same guy she has been with her whole life?  Or should she try for something more?

I like that it is entirely her decision.  Her family arranges for her to meet the guy, but they don’t put undo pressure on her to accept him.  They just want her to have options.  And after a long night crying, she agrees.  And Fahad doesn’t really put pressure on her either.  Which, in a way, is nice, that he respects her wishes.  But also, if he had really cared, maybe he should have stated his case a little.  Or maybe, despite his surface contentment, he already felt bad about his life and like he had nothing to offer?

Anyway, she leaves him.  And right at the same time, there is a random fight in front of his business. Or, not so random!  It’s kind of neat how it all ties together.  A guy on a bike bumps into a go on the road, spilling the fruit he is carrying.  The bike guy rushes off, and the fruit guy goes home and starts taking his frustration out on his wife.  His relatives call Fahad’s older friend at the print shop to let him know his sister’s husband is fighting with her.  The older friend runs out of minutes on his cell phone and runs across the road to add them.  And interrupts the bicycle guy who has no arrived at the same store and is finishing up a purchase.  The older friend tries to go first, the bicycle guy yells back, Soubin runs out and gets involved in defense of his boss, some friend of the bicycle guy shows up and starts fighting too, and Fahad runs out to join in.  And is immediately knocked out into the mud.  Actually, they bounce his head off the pole of the auto-rickshaw, and then take off in the same rickshaw.

It’s not fancy or artistic or dramatic, it’s just stupid and embarrassing.  But it is this level of degradation that Fahad needed to see his life clearly.  The wake up call that he is not the hero he thinks he is, that he has work to do on himself and his life.  Fahad swears not to wear his sandals again until he had regained his dignity, by defeating the guy who beat him up.

At first, this seems like a reasonable goal.  Maybe a bit of a distraction from his broken heart, but also reasonable.  Just find the guy’s address, go to his work or home, start another fight, put on your sandals.  Only, the guy just left for work overseas!  He won’t be home for months, possibly years.

This is the real turning point, I think, when Fahad could just give up like he has before, but instead he decides to continue, no sandals still.  And he keeps up his martial arts classes.  He isn’t giving up on his goal, and he is still working towards it, unlike everything else in his life until now.

And once that one goal is in place, the others follow.  His professional life starts up as well, when he fails to create a striking photo for a college student who wants to send one to a magazine for a contest, and she points out that “you don’t know anything about this, do you?”

I vaguely knew the plot in advance, so I knew this scene was coming.  And I thought it would be much more dramatic.  But she’s not angry at him, just kind of resigned and disappointed.  It is the same conversation he could have had many times before with other clients who weren’t quite happy with their photos.  But this time, he actually hears what she says and cares about it.  It inspires him to look through his father’s old portfolio, to listen to his father talk about what inspired him to take pictures, and to see his profession in a whole new light (ha!  I just realized that phrase itself is a photography metaphor!)

And because he actually hears her and changes, he starts thinking about her and watching for her when her bus passes through his area (or when she leads a flash dance near his martial arts studio), and finally comes up with the perfect way to capture her photo, by throwing down petals from the balcony as she walks underneath, making her look up in wonder, and capturing her face in unique movement.

It’s a great set-up, because he is challenged artistically, but also starts thinking about her a lot personally to fulfill the challenge.  Or is it that he was already intrigued personally, which is why he took on the professional challenge?  Either way, in order to create this photo, and do it well, he had to spend days watching her face from a distance, observing her behavior, and feeling closer and closer to her.

This is the challenge and the response to a challenge that he never quite got with his old girlfriend.  She just kind of fell in his lap when he was a little kid.  And nothing she did ever made him feel like he had to try harder.  Even when she was about to marry someone else, he just accepted his inferiority and let her go.

But with this girl, he actually tries something!  She makes him be a better person.  And it’s not just that she challenges him, it’s that she appreciates his efforts.  I’m not saying his old girlfriend wouldn’t appreciate him, but she was already a nurse (I think.  They mention “shifts”), already working somewhere far away and presumably superior to their home village, and had Canadian citizens interested in marrying her.  Even if Fahad tries his hardest, unless he turns himself into a completely different person who is willing to give up his little business and nice life and achieve an advanced degree and fancy job, he won’t be a “catch” for Anusree.

But this new girl, Aparna Balamurali, she could be impressed by his efforts!  She is a local girl, still living nearby, and still excited just by noticing him noticing her as she rides the bus.  It’s a much more equitable relationship.  Yes, she wants him to try a little, but only a little, that will still be enough to impress her.

Meanwhile, I in the audience am impressed by Aparna!  This is her first lead role, if I am reading her filmography correctly, and she does a great job with it.  She has a kind of snap and spark off the screen.  She isn’t your usual timid schoolgirl type.  You can see why Fahad is intrigued by her, but also why she may not be to everyone’s taste.  His old girlfriend was a catch with plenty of suitors.  Aparna is a bit more of a challenge.  She is pretty and vivacious, but also blunt and uncompromising.

And this is why the “twist” isn’t actually such a twist, for me!  The twist being, Aparna is the sister of the guy Fahad has sworn to defeat.  The audience knows this all along, we see her arrive through the back of the house at the same time Fahad is waiting for her brother in front.  But Fahad doesn’t know it.  It feels like a cheesy set-up for conflict, only there is no conflict.  She tells him eventually, he still fights her brother, and the next day he goes to see him in the hospital and tell him he is in love with Aparna.

The point isn’t “ooo, drama!  Conflict!  What will happen!”, the point is to see how these two people both challenge him in the same way.  She is a girl, so she can’t exactly beat him up.  But she hurts him with her words, and inspires him to be better, so he can win her over.  Just like her brother defeats him with his hands, and inspires Fahad to be better, so he can win the next fight.