My review on paa. Review on Paa

After watching the promos of Paa, one would exepct to see a film that has an overdose of everything from drama to sentiments, glycerine induced tears to long emotional speeches. Surprisingly, Paa has none of these.   It's a beautiful film, inside out. The controlled performances, the story, the dialogues and the editing are nearly perfect. After a spate of horrible films, Bollywood has a winner.

The film is about Auro(Amitabh Bachchan), a child suffering from Progeria, a rare genetic disorder that causes him to age early. He thinks and behaves like a 12 year old, but looks nearly 80; a child living in an old man's body.    Vidya(Vidya Balan), a Gynaecologist, is his adorable and very loving mom. His dad is Amol Arte(Abhishek Bachchan), a promising, idealistic Member of Parliament. Vidya and Amol met while they were in college, fell in love, and soon after Vidya got pregnant(unintentionally).   He wanted her to abort, for marriage would mean a huge setback to both their careers.  Vidya walks out of his life and has the baby without his knowledge. Supported by her mom, she raises Auro- the child with an incurable disease; the child that will die before the age of 15.

Auro's character is at once both endearing and comical. He is as witty and playful as a 12 year should be, taking digs at his friends and making fun of his mom and grandma. At the same time you see that he cannot do things that a child of his age considers normal. Like eating spicy food, playing cricket or just running around in circles.

For his age he is a little too mature at times. When his mom tells him that Amol is his father, he doesn't get hysterical. He doesn't cry. He handles the situation very matter of factly, wanting to know why she didn't tell him of his existence before.

Vidya's character is one to reckon with. She doesn't plead with Amol to marry her, but takes charge of her life as a single mom. She is a 21st Century woman, with strong ideals and values.

Amol is the kind of politician that the country yearns to have. Idealistic, honest, with a mission to serve the motherland. It helps that his father(Paresh Rawal) himself was a politican, and so he is already rich, therefore he doesn't desire to make money.

He takes responsibility for his mistakes, telling Vidya that he should be allowed to be a part of his child's life. A stunning reply from Vidya shuts him up momentarily: Just by giving birth to a child doesn't mean you are his/her parent.

The film comments on politics and the media several times. Auro suggests that politicians are dressed in white not because it is the symbol of purity, but because they are mourning the country's death. The media is once again portrayed as a blood-sucking leech, with no ethics. They will exploit anyone for "breaking news", and will stoop to the lowest of levels for TRPs.

The film has explored all relationships very sensitively. The mother-son, father-son and grandma-grandson angles are all beautiful. The emotions are very real, the dialogues are lovely, and the editing crisp.

Needless to say Amitabh as Auro is astounding. Probably his best work in recent times. The makeup is so splendid, you simply can't tell it's him. Some of his typical mannerisms do emerge at times, but otherwise, it was a flawless performance.

Abhishek held his own in a role that threatened to be overshadowed by his father. He looked dignified, and was completely at ease in the presence of the Big B.

Vidya was perfect. Critics will have little to complain, for she has mostly donned cotton saris and looked really graceful. She emoted with her eyes, something that a lot of actors could learn.

Paresh had a small but fulfilling role. After the horrifying performance in De Dana Dan, he deserves a pat on the back for this one. When he asks Amol if he's gay, for he keeps refusing to meet women, it brought back hilarious memories of "Dostana". Vidya's mom, whom Auro called "bum", was perfect.

The songs are not chartbusters, just sweet.

The film provides a lot of chuckles and laughter. To give away the dialogues would be criminal.It was heartening to watch the little boy compare himself to his father to see if they had any similarities. The end seemed a little contrived, though it was still quite heartwrenching.