A Thought-Provoking Drama

By MovieTalkies.com, 07 September 2007 3.5 / 5

Kaushik Roy's Apna Asmaan takes Khalil Gibran's adage 'your children are not your children' and examines what amounts to acceptance of a child's inadequacies and learning difficulties. A thought-provoking drama, it plays like a thriller but raises several existential questions about life and its meaning. How much is a child your reflection? What extremes would you go to in order to make your child a genius? What is more important, love and true bonding in life, or success and emotional disconnect in a materialistic world? Irrfan Khan and Shobhna play Ravi and Padmini, a middle class couple who have a young son named Buddhi (Dhruv Panjuani making an eventful and memorable debut), whose intelligence is rather low, but whose hand works magic with brush or crayon. When Ravi is not busy as a plastic salesman, he is indulging himself in a drink too many, reliving his guilt of having dropped young Buddhi while playing with him. Ravi believes that he is responsible for his child's mental disability, and loves his son all the more in his emotional upheaval. Waxing eloquent on the virtues of plastic, he goes through life in a plastic state, unable to emerge beyond his circumstance. But a scientist he chances upon while watching television promises salvation from his plight when he learns that there is an injection developed that can rid man of his mental disability. Anupam Kher plays Dr. Sathya, this messiah scientist whose methods are questionable but nevertheless results are guaranteed. Buddhi is then administered this medical concoction that transforms the young boy into a genius and the lives of the parents takes a new turn. Buddhi becomes Aryabhatta, the central player in this story, whose intellectual growth is coupled with an emotional degeneration. Questions are raised about our own acceptance and tolerance levels, and the pressure we put children to in order to achieve our own aims and desires through them. Without giving away more of the story and its turns, Apna Asmaan is a film that has a cerebral motive; in today's competitive world, it serves as an eye-opener to what we succumb to in order to match our neighbour or colleague. Are our pursuits driven by need or desire, want or greed? Roy's directorial debut takes on a subject that has a strong personal real-life influence, and deals with it deftly for a first-timer, with inspiration derived from his own son Orko. The performances are good, particularly Irrfan Khan who perfectly plays the father and the plastic salesman, torn with an inner turmoil that is calmed by drinking, even in the day while skipping work. His happiness is his child's happiness, not just at art but beyond in life and school's regular pursuits. Mehboob's lyrics with Sukvinder singing 'Kar aisa kuch yahaan ki jeet le duniya re' is apt audio accompaniment to a tale of what success amounts to in life. A metaphorical gem that makes you ponder about your own 'apna asmaan'. Find it at a cinema near you.

Music That Thrills the Ears!

By MovieTalkies.com, 31 August 2007 3.5 / 5

Kaushik Roy's Apna Asmaan belongs to that breed of sensible cinema which deals with life as we know it and live it. The music of the album, which has been composed by Lesle Lewis is most appropriate to the content of the film. It follows the moods and myriad nuances of emotions that the film and its protagonists go through. It's like a parallel journey that has been traversed by the lyric writer Mehboob and music composer Lewis. The album begins with 'Katra Katra' rendered by Sukhwinder Singh. The song has as its base the Bhatiyali folk song of Bengal and the Sukhwinder's voice captures the mood of the song perfectly. Sukhwinder reveals a masterly control over his vocals as he traverses the upper and lower octaves with considerable ease. The best part abput the song is the manner in which he manages to capture the essence of the folk form. The lyrics too are quite powerful and inspiring. "Kar aisa kuch yahan/yeh tera hai jahaan/ chal jeet le duniya re." The number appears again towards the end of the album and has the same magic as the first. This song has a very catchy tune and should go down very well with the listeners. The theme music of Apna Asmaan appears five times in the album, in an instrumental form and has been woven together like a traditional raagmala. It follows the cycle of the day, beginning with dawn, moving into morning, slipping into dusk and fading into the night to only reappear in the morning again. Despite the music being deeply interwoven with the plot of film, it has the ability to stand on its own and be judged on its own merit as well. The Dawn piece is slow, with the flute being predominant and the music seems to unfold just the beginning of the day. As the music changes into morning, the pace is a little more lively, with the flute again being used to very good effect. The twilight piece is muted. The night piece has a mysterious dark feel to it and yet is very soothing. The second dawn piece is again music which has a vibrancy to it. It is a very good experiment by the music composer. It imparts a sense of fullness, or completion. Coming back to the vocals, Chitra renders a very joyful 'Jhanana Jhanana'. The lyrics reflect the mood with utter simplicity and the singer has brought that joyful, vibrant mood alive with her singing. In contrast, 'Dil Ka Tarana' by Sunidhi Chauhan, is a slower number, but its lyrics are very touching. Sunidhi's rich voice is a prefect vehicle for the emotion packed song. The singers have all done a wonderful job in this album. There is a sense of fulfillment with this album as all the compositions are unique, melody based, and reveal a perfect fusion of the traditional with the contemporary. Shreya Ghosal carries the good work forward with 'Chand Re.' Again a very well written song and well composed too, it has Shreya conveying the pathos and yearning in the lyrics with her soft rendition. 'Shehzada' sung by Shaan is very different from the soft numbers that precede it. It is again very situational, and fits the story very well. The mood is one of celebration and Shaan brings out that quality with his robust singing. This is an album which deserves to do well. The music has been sensitively composed by Lesle Lewis, keeping in mind the demands and mood of the film. There is nothing forced about this album. It falls easy on the ear and there are numbers which have you asking for more. Mehboob has a done an equally commendable job with the lyrics by keeping it simple. As for the singers, one feels that it must have been a pleasure for them singing these compositions. If this music does not do well, then the loss is purely ours.

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