Photograph Movie Review: A Trip Down Memory Lane

Six years after the success of his much acclaimed film, Lunchbox, director Ritesh Batra is back with another unconventional love story from Mumbai. His latest release, Photograph turned out to be a festival favourite however, it isn’t as impressive as his last film.Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a photographer, who clicks pictures of tourists outside the Gateway of India and Milone (Sanya Malhotra) is an aspiring Chartered Accountant, who has topped the foundation level. A chance meeting between the two changes their lives forever as they forge a hesitant but pure bond.

Nawaz is brilliant as Rafi and is perfect in his role. He is so natural that you forget that he is acting as you watch him perform with aplomb. Sanya is amazing as Milone but I wish she had not underplayed so much. Her no-makeup look, regular clothes and social awkwardness are quite relatable. Milone and Rafi are polar opposites and yet, they fill the void in each other's lives.Veteran actor Farrukh Jaffar has played the role of Rafi's dadi and she lights up the screen every time she makes an appearance. Her outspoken character provides comic relief to this awkward love story.  The rest of the actors too are good but they don't have much to do in the film.

Photograph will take you down memory lane as there are several references of the past in it, right from Campa Cola to Mohammed Rafi's Tumne Mujhe Dekha. This film celebrates nostalgia and has an old world charm. Though it's set in the present times, it looks like it belongs to a different era.

Ritesh hasn't focused on why Milone is with someone like Rafi but the possibilities of their unconventional romance. He has not rushed the story but that's an issue because the film's pace is very slow and thus, your attention can easily get diverted. The bond between the two protagonist is beautiful, more so, because there is no physical intimacy. The duo interacts more with shy glances and smiles and that mesmerizes you.That said the film is ambiguous and is going nowhere. It just has two people meeting and enjoying each other's company. The film has an open ending and the makers have left it to the audiences imagination. The first half is interesting and Ritesh has done a brilliant job at showcasing the different social strata of Mumbai however, the second half is a bit loose. Ritesh has over indulged and has taken his own sweet time to tell his story and several scenes have bee repeated.

Cinematography is outstanding and shows the quaint side of Mumbai. The camera was a bit shaky at certain places and if it was deliberate, then it was certainly not required. The film doesn't have too many dialogues and I wish Ritesh had worked more on the story. There are no songs in the film, but the background score is bomb.

If you don't lose your patience easily, then you will definitely enjoy Photograph