Mod - Review

Mod takes its time to establish the characters and settle in. Meanwhile, as an audience you are absorbing the atmosphere of this little town named Ganga, where everyone knows everyone. You follow Ayesha (Ayesha Takia) as she goes about her daily routine and unknowingly you know so much about her life from just exposure to one day in her life. That "unknowingly" bit is the power of good story-telling.

Without realizing it, I knew and grew fond of Ayesha, a strong-headed woman, which is so important to register as the story moves on. Also, the combination of Ayesha Takia's cute, baby(?) face with the will of a girl who had to take care of herself from a very young age, make Ayesha (the character) even more likeable. Ayesha Takia portrays this girl with all her nuances - the fear, distrust, sure-headedness, uncertainties, feeling of being loved - she covers them all.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Rannvijay Singh. I wouldn't say he disappointed, casting him wasn't fair to such a strongly written character. On the other hand, maybe a few films and characters later, he'd have been ready for this one.

A mentally unstable character is not an easy role to play for anyone. That the illness wasn't dramatized or glamorized was what endeared me to Mod. I'm pretty sure, some of the situations and reactions shown in the film are not medically correct, yet the entire story had an emotional angle to it which draws you to the story and its outcome.

Mod is a strong, serious story told with sensitivity and conviction. Welcom back, Mr. Kukunoor. How much ever, I like experimentation, I'm glad you are done with it, or at least are on a break.