Seeing is believing

The overwhelming response to the official trailer of Rajat Kapoor's latest film Ankhon Dekhi on YouTube has caught the actor-director by surprise. The one-and-a-half minute promo has already notched up 346,647 hits, and there are still some days to go before the film is released in 300 screens countrywide. That alone should serve as a reminder that small budget affairs do not need the brawn of a six-pack hero to punch above their weight.

Kapoor isn't the sort of man who would jazz up a trailer to trick audiences into coming to the theatres. He has earned his spurs the hard way — at times crowd-sourcing funds for his films made on shoestring budgets. Right from the days of Raghu Romeo in 2003, he has displayed a certain consistency and predilection, at the heart of which is the love for the everyman. Mithya and Mixed Doubles, his other two films, are reiterations of that love.

Ankhon Dekhi's many virtues include a wonderful script and competent performances by a cast of mostly theatre actors. It's a film that showcases Old Delhi's enduring appeal — its narrow lanes, crumbling mansions, roadside food stalls selling jalebis and pakoras, and, of course, the warmth of the people. This is a Delhi far removed from the popular, and not entirely unfounded, perception of a city notorious for being unsafe for women and vulgar displays of wealth and political power.

Towering above all is Sanjay Mishra's performance as the middle class, middle-aged man who one day decides to accept only what he has seen and experienced as the truth. Mishra, seen in films such as Jolly LLB and Phas Gaye Re Obama, not only looks the part, but appropriates it to the point that it becomes difficult for a viewer to remember that he is an actor facing the camera and following a script.

The film is built around funny situations, even involving a tiger in a zoo, and sometimes a little over-the-top. That's exactly what Kapoor intended to achieve — a happy union of the credible and the absurd. Its most interesting USP is the treatment of an idea, a philosophy perhaps, woven into the humdrum existence of a man called Babuji, played by Mishra. He is the centre of attraction of a small group of middle-class men who admire and grapple with his obsession: seeing is believing.

The opening shot sets the template with the camera drifting over the interiors of a ramshackle house, the skyline of a medieval city and the stirrings of life in a middle-class household. There is no attempt to gloss over the difficulties of a joint family where a rebellious teenage daughter is in love with a neighbourhood boy, money is in short supply, the kids aren't bright and studious, and the two sisters-in-law occasionally do not see eye-to-eye. Isn't that the case with most joint families? Yet there is love and longing for each other even when ego compels the younger brother (Kapoor) to move out of the house with his family.

Kapoor's performance is as it should be — brilliant. He has set the benchmark pretty high with roles in Dil Chahta Hai, Monsoon Wedding, and Bheja Fry. That's only to be expected from an FTII graduate who has spent years in theatre, directing and acting in plays for his group, Cinematograph, and for his friends. What's surprising is the actor's felicity with the Hindi language, in full display in Ankhon Dekhi. As a scriptwriter for this film, Kapoor draws from his childhood memories of a similar upbringing in Old Delhi. The language is simple, poetic and laced with humour. Considering his urban-to-the-boot disposition and impeccable English, this was a revelation.

One last word. We need to make an effort to watch Ankhon Dekhi, which releases on March 21, for two reasons. It leaves you with a wonderful feeling that's rarely found in the current crop of films. Secondly, a steady footfall in the theatres would make life tolerable for filmmakers and actors trying to deliver such little gems under tremendous constraints.