Nishabd Movie Reviews

Aah..how could Ram Gopal Varma bring something like this out in open? How could Amitabh Bachchan consent to play such a role? And after all would there ever be a 60 year old man who would take such a step of ??falling in love?? with a girl who would be fit to be his grand daughter?

All those who are making such statements may go take a hike. Because one thing is for sure that more than 90% of those who are saying so are still not 60 years of age. And hence they have no right or reason to comment on how a man could fall in love again at this age.

So could possibly answer this query? Probably our own parents who may have be 60 years or above! But can we expect them to give us an honest answer?

And this is where Ram Gopal Varma??s interpretation of the situation comes handy as he tries to tell a tale and reason on the side of the lead protagonist who has seemingly seen it and done all but somewhere down there the passion in him is still left ignited that just needed a spark more to come out full throttle!
By now, everyone is aware about the basic plot of the film. A 60 year old man Vijay [Amitabh Bachchan] meeting his daughter??s [Shraddha Arya] best friend Jiah [Jiah Khan] as she comes home for holidays. Vijay has a wife [Revathi] of many years and they are now living a retired life in the picturesque town of Munnar.

What seems to be a casual acquaintance to begin with turns into an unprecedented tale of blossoming love that was unexplainable and unprecedented. Of course for Jiah, spirited as she loves to be, it was a feeling that none could explain but eventually she was the first to take a move forward.

She teases Vijay, invites him and demonstrates her feelings for him. And eventually when Vijay finds himself attracted to him [let??s not get into a debate if it was sexual, spiritual, casual, platonic or whatsoever, the fact was that he found himself to be attracted to her in a manner that was unusual, is good enough], trouble arises.

Of course his wife and daughter are none too pleased about the situation and Vijay too realizes the fact [all this while] that it was nothing more than being self-destructive to be falling for something that was never his, could never be his and was futile to say the least. But would Jiah??s exuberance allow him to take a strong stance?

So does the film provide entertainment? Most probably not for all. European in theme and treatment, its narrative may be alien to majority of cinegoers, especially those outside the metros and other cosmopolitan cities, and hence it may be pardoned for those in the smaller centers and towns if they go home wondering what RGV had to offer to them. But for those who like to watch an unconventional tale with some superb technical aspects working in the film??s favor, ??Nishabd?? is certainly a different experience of it??s kind.

The film moves at a very slow pace and it is to the credit of the lead pair of Amitabh Bachchan and Jiah Khan who keep the audience engrossed as the relationship between them starts taking different shades. With focus more on the facial expressions, body language and subtle mannerisms, dialogues take a back seat and for a movie like this, it is only imperative that its visuals are stronger than the words.
It takes guts for an all time superstar like Mr. Bachchan to be accepting a challenging role like this and he does remarkably well yet again. If you thought that the best of him was with RGV in ??Sarkar?? then you have to watch ??Nishabd??. And what can one say about Jiah Khan? This is the best ever debut that she could have expected and with her superb confident act in front of the camera, she would only face difficulty to find stronger roles in her innings ahead in Bollywood as she has achieved so much in her very first film.

Amongst the supporting cast, Revathi??s talent has always been unquestionable and yet again she proves that she is someone who has been underutilized in Hindi cinema. Shraddha Arya is decent too while Nasser and Aftab Shivdasani are fine in their small parts.

Apart from RGV??s narrative, Big B and Jiah Khan, the other two factors that work most for the film are its background score and cinematography/camera moments. Spell binding and truly imaginative. These are some of the areas where RGV has traditionally worked hard on reinventing himself and strive for the best and his team gives him great results this time around too.

When a story like this is told, there are bound to be eyebrows raised and debates opening up. Nothing wrong in that; as long as one stops confusing oneself around the thin line between moral policing and empathizing with the situation. As long as it revolves around the latter, it still makes sense and all debates are more than welcome but when one starts poking questions like ??How could he fall in love?? it sounds nothing but downright stupid.

Is the person making such a comment being a part of something like this? If no, then it is better to keep the mouth shut without coming up with judgmental statements and just let a film maker do his job.