Film: Beyond The Clouds (Family-Drama)
Cast: Ishaan Khatter, Malavika Mohanan, GV Sharada, Tannishtha Chatterjee
Direction: Majid Majidi
Duration: 2 hours, 3 minutes
Language: Hindi (U/A)
Story:
Amir (Ishaan) and Tara (Malavika) are siblings from a Mumbai chawl whose lives hang on a thread because fate deals them with blows they can’t necessarily defend themselves against.
Review:
Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s cinema is spicy curry for the soul. It doesn’t soothe, but it gets you agitated. You want to reach out and touch the lives of his lead characters, offering them succour. Shot at realistic locations like the Mahim chawls, Sewri jetty and Bandra-Worli Sea Link, the movie introduces us to the lives of the downtrodden and the maximum city's dark underbelly; a place you know exists, but you are reluctant to enter.
Amir peddles drugs and is even willing to pimp for a drug lord, but he wants to get paid the right price. Tara, who has ended an abusive marriage, has a nest egg and her only goal in life is to safeguard her younger brother. Unfortunately for her, a married man, who keeps making overtures at her, lands her in a messy spot.
Amir’s life is torn asunder. His only mission now is to prove Tara’s innocence. The bond between the siblings is beautiful. And Majidi, the internationally-celebrated auteur, tells the story packed with the right punches. The storytelling’s highlight is the positive approach to what is, for the most part, perceived as a chapter in some doomed lives.
The performances of the lead cast are superlative. Ishaan Khatter is superstar material. He is agile and so animated, you know films are where he should be. Malavika also shows spunk and is unafraid to delve deep into her character. Veteran South actor GV Sharada, who has won the National Award three times over, is also adept at capturing the pathos of a mother who has been wronged. And, while the two child actors -- Amruta Santosh Thakur (Asha) and Shivam Pujari (Chhotu) -- are mesmerising, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Dhwani Rajesh (Tanisha) are efficient.
Celebrated cinematographer Anil Mehta allows his lens to capture the soul of Mumbai. The city is depicted as a vulnerable character for which your heart bleeds. For those of us, whom Mumbai is a friend, it almost seems as if the metropolis is pleading with us to be ‘freed’ from the shackles of grime and greed. However, AR Rahman’s score doesn’t weave the expected magic.
Verdict:
Beyond the Clouds should be watched to experience how a master storyteller like Majidi can redeem Hindi cinema from drudgery.
Critics Rating: 4/5
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 "Ishaan Khatter on the poster of 'Beyond The Clouds'")
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