Masaan Movie Review: A True Gem

Every once in a while, comes along a film, which does not boast of a great star cast, but yet makes a powerful impression on you, mainly through its performance, writing and sheer talent. A few months back, it was Court and this week, it’s Masaan.

Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, Masaan explores the India that lives in its small towns- the India of village fairs, of taboos regarding sex, of patriarchy, of selective morality and of romance threatened by caste differences.

Devi (Richa Chadda) and her father Vidyadhar Pathak (Sanjay Mishra) end up being the victims of extortion by a corrupt cop, who raids a seedy motel and arrests Devi while in a compromising position. The matter is complicated when the boy she was with, commits suicide and the corrupt cop threatens to charge Devi with ‘abetment of suicide’.

In another part of the town, Deepak (Vicky Kaushal) is smitten by the poetry quoting Shalu (Shweta Tripathi) and wins her heart with his shy charm, only to realise that her parents won’t let her marry a boy from the ‘Dom’ family, whose members spend their lives burning corpses on the Ghats of Ganga.

Chadda plays her role as Devi with a quiet dignity and your heart will go out for her, though a small part of you will wish that she would not be so internalised. Mishra is a brilliant actor (which he proved with films like Aankhon Dekhi) and he masterfully brings out the helplessness and selective morality of the middle-class Indian that we all can identify with.

Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi are brilliant finds and the way their friendship blossoms into tender love, will simply melt your heart and bring back memories of the first crush that we all remember with a fond smile. Both these young actors, who make their debuts with this film, are simply impressive and we hope to see more of them in the coming future.

Masaan was lauded at the Cannes Film Festival this year and now, we know why. The detailing, the characterization and the execution are meant to win hearts. Ghaywan’s brilliance is seen in the fact that Chadda’s Devi does not justify her sexual tryst with an emotional love story...she gets in bed with a boy she has met just a few times out of curiosity and that is exactly what she tells the cop, who raids the joint. On the other hand, Kaushal’s Deepak prints out the Facebook page of the woman of his dreams so that he can look at her whenever he misses her. It is moments like these that makes Masaan a must-watch.

Another aspect about the film worthy of mention is its music. The songs like Mann Kasturi and Tu kisi rail si guzarti hai are breathtakingly poetic and beautiful and add to the beauty of the film.  

Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan might be ruling the roost in cinema-halls nowadays, but do take time out for Masaan, a true cinematic gem.