A Charming Ghost Story. Review on Paheli

Last year Shahrukh Khan had a fabulous run, both as a producer as well as an actor. His Main Hoon Na, a fabulous entertainer had him laughing all the way to the bank, Veer-Zaara created some dhamaal at the box office while Swades was a critically acclaimed venture. So this year, when you heard that he had teamed up with the avante-garde filmmaker Amol Palekar for his home production, Paheli, you were enthralled. So is SRK coming of age, finally?

Paheli is a sweet love story set in medieval times about a bania (SRK), a lass (Rani Mukherjee) and a ghost (SRK again). The bania leaves his bride of a night and goes away on an unexplained mission for a good five years. The ghost who was besotted by the lass assumes the form of the bania and stays with the lass for the same period. She knows that he is a ghost and fulfils all her marital vows with him. And this is the theme of the movie – the right of a woman to choose. The family members of the bania (Anupam Kher, Juhi Chawla and a host of character artistes) too mistake our friendly ghost for their own flesh and blood. Five years later, when the lass is about to deliver a child (don’t gasp, it is the ghost’s child), the bania returns home. There is pandemonium and the villagers decide to go to the king to resolve this issue. En route they come across a crazy shepherd (Amitabh Bachchan) who not just understands the problem but also comes up with a solution for it. And then comes the end – totally unpredictable and far fetched, but absolutely charming.

And if you ask me to sum up Paheli in word, it would be CHARMING.

The charm of Paheli comes from many sources – the theme, the cinematography, the background music, its fantasy-laden setting, a fairytale narration and an undiluted rural atmosphere.

Amol Palekar comes up with another path breaking theme but this time the canvas was bigger and the budget more elaborate. After all SRK was the producer. As a director he has excelled in conveying in a very simple and non-preachy manner such an intricate subject. Each and every scene in the movie is detailed and executed without any blemish. Those used to SRK’s urban flicks may find the pace to be a tad slow but then that is Amol Palekar’s brand of cinema – serious, contemplative, unhurried. But Paheli also has more than it’s share of fun and frolic. Rajpal Yadav in a cameo is brilliant. He is awesome as the frustrated postman. His act actually brings the house down. So is Anupam Kher who come up with a restrained version of his kanjoos-makkhichoos act from Dil. Also, the camel race is great fun and is bound to keep you riveted. And above all, Paheli is a love story - soft and tender just like the first monsoon showers. The chemistry between Rani and SRK simply rocks. Watching them you realize that this is one star pair that is so comfortable with each other. Or maybe it’s simply because SRK is the king of romance or simply because Rani has perfected the art of using her physicality of displaying the passion within.

Are there no negative points in Paheli? Yes there are.

Songs: Left me cold. Not because the songs were based on folk tunes but simply because the Gulzar-MM Kreem combination tried too hard. Also, there were so many songs that they appeared as intruders in the narration.

Performances: Surprise! The performances by the lead pair left a lot to be desired. SRK in both the roles appeared self-conscious and unconvincing. His pagdi and moustache did not make him part of a character but looked more as contrivances. His dialogue delivery and facial expressions were in typical SRK mould and jarred with the look and feel of the film. Rani was listless and inconsistent. She excelled in the love scenes but just paled into insignificance when it came to the minute detaling, something that was much required in a movie like this. And yes, there was a very loud, over-the-top Amitabh Bachchan. He was indeed very disappointing.

But I would still go and watch Paheli again. Simply because of one man called Amol Palekar who has given us great food for thought in a visually appealing package.