When you chase your dreams, how far is too far? Director KD Satyam gets ambitious with his story, which has its heart in the right place, but fails to mould it into something impactful. Bollywood Diaries is one of those rare films that you would want to invest in but the half-baked narrative is not successful in holding your attention. It is adequate but not evocative enough.
Satyam wants to say it all, even when the film's writing is incapable of supporting his vision. His respective stories - of a Sonargachi brothel worker with her dream to romance cinema, a family man, well past his prime age, who is stuck in a mechanical job and wants to go to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting and a youth so consumed by his love for cinema that he turns deviant - don't converge. The characters' overwhelming love for the silver screen binds the stories together.
The plot itself is generic and familiar. There is hardly any novelty in what plays out on the screen. But the actors do their best make you buy into it. Ashish Vidyarthi, especially, is first-rate. His character is a manifestation of men who are stuck in a rut with their desires crushed due to family responsibilities. As ridiculous as his punar-janam yag seems, he evokes sympathy. Raima Sen is sincere but her character is not well fleshed out and that fails her track. Salim Diwan doesn't impress much except for the climax.
In this country, the glam world permeates into every sphere of our lives. Behind the shine of stardom, there is the struggle of multitudes, who are unable to make it big here. Is this film a befitting tribute to them? No. Lamentably, even with its noble intention and strong performances, the movie never soars.
