Review: 'Madholal' is the story of the common Mumbaikar

Madholal Keep Walking (A)
Cast: Subrat Dutta, Neela Gokhale, Pranay Narayan, Swara Bhaskar, Varnita Aglawe
Director: Jai Tank
Rating: **1/2

Madholal Keep Walking has the honest intent to move you, and it does. It relies on the stubborn spirit of Mumbai and its ability to move on even after life-threatening tragedies.

This is yet another film exploring the life and struggles of Mumbai's urban lower middle class. The recently released Lafangey Parindey showed the grit and determination of a Mumbaikar to move on after a life-changing accident. Madholal Keep Walking works on the same idea minus the A-list star cast and eerily believable situations.

Our star here is Madholal Dubey (Dutta, first rate), a man of simple needs, with a close-to-perfect family and ever helpful neighbours. His routine includes waking up to an ever-smiling wife Kamla (Gokhale, simple yet plausible), standing in line to use the common toilet, and travelling in Mumbai’s locals with his eclectic group of buddies. They laugh, share gossip, and discuss issues with women dominating most of their talks. And they say men don’t gossip.

His life is monotonous, but the effervescent Madholal brightens each day, making it enjoyable within the means available to him. Everything seems to be fine, when, predictably, tragedy strikes. A blast in the train and life is thrown out of gear.

A justifiably traumatised Madholal can’t make an attempt to move on. Add to this scene a trustworthy neighbour Anwar (Narayan, stereotypical yet convincing) who is suspected of having plotted the blast, and an ever dependable colleague Girdhari (Harish Harihot) fighting his tears of pity for Madholal.

Living in a city where four hours after the blasts trains ran according to schedule and people moved on as if nothing had happened, Madholal finds himself a misfit. But with the help of family and friends, again very predictably, Madholal must keep walking.

Cinematically, the film may not be great, but the story earns it brownie points. After the July 11, 2006, serial train blasts in the city, Madholal’s may well have been the story of many and the film definitely has the potential to strike a chord among the masses. It’s the story of the many who leave their homes not knowing if they will return. The director (Tank) brings this emotional quotient to the fore very well.

But the lack of attention to detail cannot be ignored. Madholal’s daughters Sudha (Bhaskar) and Sumi (Aglawe) can’t seem to make up their minds on what they call their father. They go from Babu to Papa to Bapuji. You don’t know why Madholal’s paan-chewing friend Jayesh wants a window seat though he carries a bag to spit the beetle juice in. The change in mood of the film is unconcealed as the second half is shot in much darker and sombre tones. The transition from happy to sad is so evident that the audience cannot but catch it.

The whole first half is used only to establish the life of the characters involved, and explores unnecessary angles like Sudha’s soft corner for Anwar and train friend Satish’s love life on the platform. Minus these needless details, the film could have been crisper.

The film’s USP remains its cast, especially Dutta as Madholal, who has done a fantastic job. From the lively Madholal in the first half to the one-armed, traumatised Madholal of the second half, Dutta displays a great range of emotions. Gokhale, Bhaskar and Narayan perform commendably, too. One person you wish had more screen time is Harihot, whose character has a likeable stutter that cracks you up. Madholal also falls prey to shoddy editing, off-lip syncing, and repetitive dialogues.

Madholal shows us the Mumbai we have already seen but still holds the potential of touching hearts. Walk to the nearest theatre to catch up with him.