Vishal scores with Ruskin and Pankaj. Review on The Blue Umbrella

Vishal Bhardwaj is not just good, he is versatile. If I wanted to go into superlatives, I could say he a genius.  But lets wait and watch, and hope. He can write screenplays, compose music, direct and produce movies as well.  The best thing about him is that he seems to be comfortable with any genre of films.

Makdee and The Blue Umbrella are children's movie.  Maqbool (thanks crazyplaywright)  was serious and arty.  Omkara was bombastic and commercial (in certain aspects).  In each of these movies, his touch is different. Anyone going to see TBU expecting another Omkara,  can expect a huge disappointment.

But if you go to see the movie for the love of Ruskin Bond, you will come away wowed.  The Blue Umbrella is about Biniya who is given a beautiful blue umbrella by some Japanese tourists in exchange for a lucky charm.  Nandkishore Khatri, who runs Khatri Tea Stall on the bus route covets the beautiful umbrella. He tries to buy the umbrella off Biniya (this part was a bit boring), but she wont part with it.  Biniya's umbrella is stolen one day and Nandkishore Khatri stands accused.

This is the only 'story' anyone will part with.  The reason is, the rest of the story unfolds so beautifully and is so engrossing that I think it would be a crime to give it away.

I felt the story was almost biblical in telling, some of the seven deadly sins of Envy, Covetousness, Greed rearing their ugly head.  There is also a serpent in this beautiful Eden, who eggs the thief on to commit his crime.  In the end, with forgiveness comes redemption, cheer and hope.

My friend who had accompanied me to the movie did not agree, she said Ruskin Bond never went into symbolism.  I agree with her, but I think we tend to look for deeper meanings in things that affect us profoundly.

With Pankaj Kapur leading the cast, good acting was expected.  And he fulfils it.  His Nandu is caricature perfect. He even adopts a whiny accent and a himachali (?) dialect for it. Very apt for a children's movie.

After all, if we are watching Tom and Jerry, we dont expect Tom to underplay his role. However, the rest of the cast does not join him in this which is the only sore point I have with this movie. Dolly Ahluwalia has a very miniscule role as the masterjee's wife who secretly covets the umbrella too.  She shines in her few brief moments.  She is the only one who matches steps with Pankaj Kapur.

The 'Serpent', the devil's apprentice, was another one I liked a lot.  A perfect profile of an opportunist. Shreya Sharma was adequate in her role.

The music is mostly background with one chattri song and one another that is used in the background.  Now my favorite part of the movie, the locales and the cinematography.  It makes you catch your breath.  It is supposed to be shot in Himachal Pradesh and Dalhousie.

I suspect the movie was shot in Khajjiar (HP) which is supposed to be so beautiful that it makes you forget Switzerland. All the 'dark' moments of the movie when the thief is facing guilt and ostracism are shot during winters with breathtaking scenes of snowcapped mountains.  The happy moments are shot in summers with verdant landscapes perfectly showcased.

Watch out for : Nandu's speech at the Dangal.  It is a comic treat.