Dev Benegal made a brilliant debut with 'English August', followed it up with 'Split Wide Open', and then kind of disappeared into oblivion. But he seems to have surfaced with 'Road, Movie', a film which has done the rounds of all the festivals possible and been much applauded, all over. 'Road, Movie', thus arrives in India, with a lot of expectations, not the least being due to the presence of one Abhay Deol, the face of new Hindi cinema.

Of course, there are many who may find a problem with the movie, as nothing really happens as one is wont to expect from traditional Hindi cinema, but this is a movie, which is more about a journey, which Benegal has portrayed in a most beautiful manner. It is, metaphorically, a journey where Vishnu, the protagonist discovers himself. But most of the story is told through the breathtaking visuals; content wise, the film scores rather low.

The setting is the desert sands of Rajasthan, barren, yet hauntingly beautiful and evocative. The cast of characters includes four protagonists, Vishnu (Abhay Deol), who is running away from his destiny, a mechanic, played by Satish Kaushik, who needs a lift upto a 'mela', a gypsy girl (Tannishtha Chatterjee), and a 'dhaba' boy (Mohammed Faizal). The journey begin when Vishnu, who has no wish to carry on his father's oil business, escapes with a decrepit old truck, on his way to a museum in distant Samudrapur.

On the way, he encounters a young boy who wants to escape form the roadside 'dhaba' he is working in and a wandering car mechanic who wants a ride up to the village 'mela'. But the journey ahead is perilous… with no sign of water and the three then encounter the gypsy woman. Unknown to them is the fact that the truck is a moving cinema, which they discover only after they encounter the highway cop. And lo, behold!, in the middle of the desert, they screen a movie for the cop and a few villagers. Their second hurdle on the journey across the dunes comes when they encounter the water mafia and trade Vishnu's father's 'Aatma oil' for all his water. The journey ends, with the old mechanic passing away and the gypsy woman and the boy going their own separate ways.

What endures long after the movie is over are its stunning visuals and the manner in which Benegal uses clips of old Hindi and English films, which are screened by the rickety old projector aboard the truck. The motley crowd of Rajasthani villagers enjoying the magic of cinema, with language proving to be no barrier, is a joy to behold.

The story content here may be far from high, but the canvas that Benegal chooses is vast and fascinating. What comes across is the director's love for cinema, which this movie celebrates. The dialogues are crisp and quite witty but the screenplay takes its time to unfold, and apparently seems to be going nowhere.

The characters who people this landscape are the ones who really bring the movie alive. Abhay Deol turns in yet another very natural and understated performance as Vishnu. Tannishtha Chatterjee is passable and so is the young boy. But the one who really steals the show is Satish Kaushik as Om, the old mechanic, on his way to a far flung 'mela'. He is the one who steals the show and all hearts with his endearing performance. He is a class act in this movie. One may go in to watch Deol, but will definitely come out raving about Kaushik.

The camerawork by Michel Amathieu is a veritable visual treat and he invests each and every frame with warmth and beauty. In the end, all that stays with one is the visual fest that 'Road, Movie' provides. Visuals that live… to tell the tale.