sandy

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Arundhathi Nag and Paresh Rawal
Director: R Balki
Rating: ***

Paa is a film that both thrills you as well as disappoints you on a certain level. You got to cheer all that it achieves, and rue what it does not. Right away, it must be said that R Balki is a fresh, original voice, very un-Bollywoodish in his sensibilities. His templates are refreshing and his insouciant humour manages to diffuse many a scene that could have so easily slipped into melodrama. The film is biwitchingly beautiful in parts, almost poetry on celluloid. Vidya and Abhishek’s courtship number at the start, Mudi Mudi (Illayraja’s music transports you into the world of his countless Tamil classics) is magically captured through montages.
Clearly, the director who made the charming yet over-the-top Cheeni Kum has learned from his debut effort, and his writing is decidedly more assured this time around.

The film straight away takes you into the life of 13 year-old Auro whose life revolves around his mother, Vidya (Vidya Balan), fun-loving grand-mom (Arundhati Nag) and half a dozen school friends. He suffers from the rarest of rare genetic disorder, progeria – one that accelerates ageing. Auro knows about his condition. His mischievous eyes hide a sagely mind, and it’s touching how he tries to make life easier for his mom. Little wonder then that he is greatly adored by people around him. A quick flashback acquaints you with the circumstances under which Auro was born. Vidya was in love with her college-classmate (Amol Arte). But both go their separate ways, when Vidya gets pregnant and Amol – an aspiring politician – urges her to abort the baby. Vidya gives birth to Auro, while Amol turns into a suave, do gooder politician. The story is essentially about the father-son, mother-son relationship, the joys of parenthood and the heartbreak of loving a losing a loved one.

And yet, Paa is not a path-breaking film or even a great film.

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