Teree Sang Movie Review: A very laudable effort by Kaushik

Director Satish Kaushik shows great courage in picking up such a topical and sensitive topic of teen love and pregnancy in his film 'Teree Sang'. While the director's sincerity and conviction are laudable, one just wishes that he would have continued to hold on to that courage till the end of the movie and not suddenly shifted gears and gone the clich?d Hindi film route of lovers escaping from their parents house and trying to set up home. That kind of escapist fare defeats the purpose, intend and power of the movie. Granted that film directors are not supposed to be social reformers but there is a lot that art can do to interpret life and give it a new meaning. One just wishes that Kaushik had stuck with his original intent and made a more realistic movie.

It's obvious that his film would have invited comparisons with the Hollywood hit flick 'Juno', but it is definitely not a remake or a Hindi interpretation of 'Juno'. The subject matter of both films may be similar but their treatment is too different for them to be compared on the same platter. The best thing about 'Teree Sang' is that for the first time the issue of teen pregnancy is being addressed by mainstream Hindi filmmakers. That by itself lends the film a certain distinction. In totality, the film makes for interesting viewing.

The film's story briefly is about Maahi (Sheena Shahbadi), the only child of an upper class family, the Puris (Rajat kapoor and Neena Gupta) and Kabir (Ruslaan Mumtaz), the son of middleclass parents (Satish Kaushik and Sushmita Mukherjee). The 15 year old Maahi and the 17 year old Kabir go on a camping trip over the New Year where they get intimate after getting carried away by a drink too many. The second half of the movie deals with the trails and tribulations that the young teenagers go through and then how they realise the implications of their act. It is, as if, they are suddenly forced to grow up and become adults. In that sense, 'Teree Sang' is quite like a coming of age movie.

The first half of the movie is actually quite delightful as the director proceeds to explore the teenage love and their respective family backgrounds. In fact, some of the best performances of the film come from this half. The veterans Kaushik, Sushmita, Neena and Kapoor are perfectly cast in their respective roles as the parents. They are a delight to watch and it is difficult to judge who is the best amongst them. Kaushik really invests the first half with much warmth and a lifelike quality. The class distinction is brought out wonderfully by the director as is the conflict that arises between the two set of parents.

But in the second half, which has the lovers on the run, Kaushik resorts to clich?d Hindi film sentimentalism. This half of the movie immediately brings to mind the escapist fare of so many teenage love stories, where we have the young lovers on the run from opposing parents. It doesn't ring true and is quite inconsistent with the first half of Kaushik's movie. But Kaushik tries to get the film back on track towards the end and succeeds to a great extent.

Despite the inconsistencies in the film and its clich?d second half, the film still has a certain freshness to it. The teen romance bit is well handled by the director as is the pregnancy issue. But there are many more aspects of the problem that could have been highlighted by the director, who seems to dilute the issue after a point. The film's music has been composed by Sachin Jigar and has a youthful sound to it. The film has been shot well and moves at a fairly decent pace.

The two youngsters, Ruslaan and Sheena are perfect for their roles. Ruslaan is perfect as the ordinary, boy next door and he makes full use of his unconventional role to display his acting prowess. The young girl, Sheena, too is perfectly cast. She puts up a very confident performance. As for the veterans, they seem to steal the show. Rajat Kapoor and Neena Gupta as the affluent couple put in very natural performances. Kaushik and Sushmita as the parents of the boy, share a wonderful chemistry on screen and are quite a treat to watch. Actor Anupam Kher makes his presence felt despite the brevity of his role.

'Teree Sang' may not have the trappings of a potboiler but it is a film which has something to say. Despite diluting the subject to an extent, Kaushik does manage to make his point.