Director Ravi Jadhav has caotures the pulse of Mumbai and the ccity's buzzing chawl culture in Banjo with simplicity and a dash humour. His characters excude the quintessential middle-class values, which are bound ro resonate with many. One of the characters innocenty asks a waiter at a posh club, if he could take some champagne home for his father. Though commercial in approach, Jadhav keeps things unpretentious and thhus relatable.
While the story is pretty formulaic, the execution and supporting performances are heartfelt. The music could have been better though. Addition of unnecessary drama adn random events in the second half slows down the pace considerably, also making the film a tad cliched. And last but not the least, it's time we play dholtasha, tutari, lejhim and banjo for apla Riteish. Sporting a stylish man bun, it's refreshing to see him break away from the usual multistarrers and play a slice-of-life, lead character in a Hindi Film.
If you are familiar with Mumbai's working-class neighbourhoods, where the hearts of the poor are bigger than the pay packages of those residing in the mushrooming high-rises, you'll be able to notice the beauty of Banjo. It also makes you respect the street musicians a little more.
