Basking in the sun. Review on Dhoop

When the sun rises:

Sun rises and casts itself on a part of the earth. It touches the skin tenderly. As time grows the touch of the sun grows too. The day sees many things happening under the sun. Some important, some not quite so. Some too crucial, some negligible. Under the same sun, we are left basking in a valley of emotions respective to any given turn life takes.

The Plot:

Basking in the same sun, a father of a dead soldier tries to find the meaning of his new life. An incident that has changed life's dimensions for him changed the reason for him to live.

Dhoop is a story of Professor Kapoor (Om Puri) and Savitha (Revathi) trying to live with the fact that their son Rohit (Sanjay Suri) is no more. The only things remaining with them are his sweet memories and unheard stories of his bravery. They are still not out of the shadows of their son's death, when they get a letter announcing a petrol pump has been allocated in their son's name.

Dhoop is a story of Piyu (Gul Panag), a young girl who lives with the memoirs of her dead fiancee. Unlike any other girl of her age, this particular girl is busy helping her fiancee's parents to keep the memories of their dead son alive.

Dhoop is a tale of a deceased system we are growing in. Of corruption and it's selfishness. No matter who plays the victim. A father of a soldier who died to save the grace of the country is asked the amount he can afford to pay as a bribe for gaining the papers of a petrol pump allocated in name of his son.

Worse is the fact that, Dhoop is based on a true story. The movie is based on incidents that happened with his family after Captain Anuj Nayar sacrificed his life fighting at Kargil in the southwest sector of Tiger Hills.

The Sun:

Dhoop stands as an honest effort in terms of direction and performances. However one cannot keep distance from comparing it with Mahesh Bhatt's 'Saaraansh.' Saaraansh was much more denser on the psychological state of the characters, while Dhoop sees it's protagonists as more practical characters. In terms of directorial values, Saaraansh was a mile ahead of Dhoop. But Dhoop still stands it's ground firmly. Each n' every character in the film is very well etched. Be it a clerk in a government office or be it the protagonists. The best part is that, each character has his own ego. The supporting characters are not seen buttering and getting overwhelmed for the lead characters. That's where Dhoop wins.

The story is narrated with flashbacks woven in present tense. The late son's bonding with the alive come effectively alive with the help of flashbacks.

Some of the best scenes in the movie wouldn't have been so if it hadn't been for the dialogues. The magic of a well-crafted script and screenplay can be experienced here.

Some of the many memorable scenes:

Clerk: ''Aap is petrol pump ke liye kitna de sakte hai?'' (How much can you afford for this petrol pump.)

Professor: ''Yeh petrol pump mujhe woh dega jo ek beta apne baap ko deta hai. Haath pakad kar chalne ka sukh.'' (This petrol pump will give me the same pleasure that a son gives his father. The pleasure of toddling by holding a hand)

These are just small bits of the movie. The movie is very beautifully crafted with sweet and bitter moments. The scene where Professor Kapoor talks over the phone to his son for the last time. The scene where one of Rohit's friends in the army drops in at his place one before and then after Rohit's death. The scene where Piyu is not ready to accept that Rohit is dead. The movie has the viewer totally engrossed due to it's emotional values.

The Performances:

The movie no doubt belongs to Om Puri and Revathi for their seasoned performances. The veteran actors live through their roles with ease. Gul Panag gives a natural performance. She is refreshingly different as compared to the women from contemporary model turned actresses slot. Sanjay Suri wins in lending his charm to his cameo.

The Technical Front:

Director Ashwini Chaudhary comes up with a an honest effort towards film making. He has handled a plot containing strong emotional threads with care, not letting the emotional elements go over the top. This possibility cannot be denied if an inexperienced director is sporting the director's cap. Ashwini Chaudhary has earlier made a movie called Laado for which he won the national award. Dhoop is another feather in his cap.

Lalit Sen's music plays magic on Nida Fazli's beautiful https://lyrics. And Jagjit Singh's and Hariharan's voices click the right chords. However the duet featuring Sanjay Suri and Gul Panag although being a beautiful gazal, only serves as an obstacle in the flow of the story. All other gazals are used in background without having the characters singing.

Screenplay and Dialogues by Kumud Chaudhary and Sanjay Chauhan are emotionally charged perfectly to the limit.

Arun Varma's cinematography captures Delhi under pure sun.

When the sun sets:

When the sun sets after striking for the whole day. Arrays of activities have been carried out through out the day. Some intentionally, while some just in a course of phenomenon. And some have truly touched the way of life we have been leading till this moment. Our skin still possesses that tan the sun presented us through out the day. Same goes true with Dhoop. The movie has the viewer thinking hours after he has left the movie hall. It's another question whether we tend to think and act according to what the movie proposes or whether we just go back to be a part of the dead system. Dhoop is a movie which can be missed easily by anyone, amongst the choices one has to make in midst of large corporate flicks. But the sun does strike hard enough to provide food for thought.