Shahid’s 'Mausam' opens with a bang but does nothing to go beyond the highest expectation that has been built upon.
This delicate love story is seemingly disconnected with fragments of the worst events of inter communal riots and zigzags into an ascetic grouping of other tragedies.
The treatment would have been different if the director hadn’t grafted the seasons of love with communal events like the Babri Masjid demolition, Kargil war, the 9/11 attacks, and the Godhra riots.
The director has weaved characters that are powerful, yet the film has loose ends since the screenplay could have been tighter. There is no question that Pankaj Kapoor's directorial debut has the mixture of appealing innocence and worldliness to it but it does nothing to strike a lasting impression.
Loves stories have always been a staple for young audiences and the director has handled the romantic angle in the first half in a promising way. He has shown the young pair Harry (Shahid Kapoor) and Kashmiri Muslim girl Aayat Khan (Sonam Kapoor) being struck by cupid in a small town in Punjab and they communicate by exchanging notes.
Their love blossoms when they meet at a typical Punjabi wedding, however their romance is short lived as destiny separates them soon.
The story per se would certainly not connect in the age of social media since the couple’s love affair goes skewed not just due to circumstances but also because they don’t know each other’s forwarding address.
Fortunately, these two meet after 7 years in Scotland but yet again they are separated.
Bright Spots
The first half of 'Mausam' has a realistic breadth of fresh air and the director has suffused enough scenes in the movie with cinematic potential. However, you only like those certain scenes, such as the one were Harry and his friends chew sugarcane in the mustard fields, drive around in an impala, and when the romance between Harry and Aayat begins.
Music director Pritam and cameraman Binod Pradhan have done well and deserve mention. The songs Tashan and Rabba are melodious and hum worthy. The cinematography carries rich flavor. Reasonably taut editing by A. Sreekar Prasad makes it entertaining.
Blooper
Thoughtfully shot ‘Mausam’ lacks substance and the writing and screenplay is a big downer and comes to be erroneous. The film’s length that is padded to be over long 3 hours that makes it exhausting. Portraying the character of lovers, Shahid and Sonam look good but undeniably lack chemistry.
Performance wise
The intense and engaging tale veers into a mix of uncontrollable socio-political specifics. Shahid Kapoor tosses off an accomplished performance as a pilot. The actor rises above the script’s inconsistencies.
While Sonam looks charming with feminine grace, she does not convince with her acting. Supriya Pathak and Manoj Pahwa come through well.
Storyline
The film opens up in the early 90’s with Harinder Singh aka Harry (Shahid Kapoor), and a Kashmiri Muslim girl, Aayat (Sonam Kapoor). Harry is waiting for a call from the Indian Air Force, while the Kashmiri Muslim girl has left her place due to terrorist attacks. She comes to stay with her aunt Supriya Pathak) at the Punjab countryside. Fate brings the two together and the couple fall head over heels in love with each other.
But before they completely get to know each other, the romance is impinged as Aayat leaves the countryside and moves to an unknown destination without informing. The years pass by, Harry has finally become an IAF pilot and is stationed in Scotland where he meets Aayat again.
The couple vouches to settle down and Aayat waits for Harry to come and ask for her hand in marriage during dinner. However, fate separates them again, since Harry has to leave for India as Kargil war begins. The lovers separate and Aayat comes in search of Harry to his village Mallukot and fails to meet Harry and gets to know that the letter she’d written never reached him.
Meanwhile, Harry gets to meet Aayat in Switzerland but assumes her cousin to be her husband. But the estranged lovers meet again, this time it is during the communal riots in Gujarat where we see a little older Shahid with a paralyzed left hand.
Bottom-line
The first half hour blends to be enjoyable while the second half of the film ebbs and flows to be erratic. Expected to provide an entertaining outing, Mausam is predictable and marred due to the length of the film. But the director reasonably impresses with the dialogues.
Mausam may not be your cup of tea, but the film is a worthy watch.
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