Nanhe Jaisalmer
wogma rating: Add to 'must watch' list (?)
A child artist who can act, , a plot that is different, a kids' story that is given a mature treatment, and a Bobby Deol who can be ignored - all good enough to make it worth a watch!
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Though it might not be a break from the regular "little story-dance-comic relief-repeat" routine, this story is told with an atypical backdrop. Of course, Rajasthan has been covered beautifully umpteen times earlier. It's the slightly unusual "little story", the justifiable "dance", and the restrained "comic relief" that make it different. Although different isn't always good, this time around it is. The mature treatment given to a kids' movie is good enough for me to give it a few extra brownie points.
Samir Karnik should certainly start acting classes for children. The performance that he has extracted from debutant Dwij Yadav is one of the best I have seen from a child artist in a long time. Unfortunately, that can't be said of the adults. Fortunately though, the adults don't have too much screen time (yes Bobby Deol too! Now will you go and watch the movie?). And none of them, graciously enough, tried to over-shadow Dwij. It is his movie and the whole team let it be that way.
The structure of the story is pretty conventional. Problems are presented in the first half, and their resolutions are sought out post-interval. The pacing was rather interesting - but ultimately a drawback. The problems are presented so subtly and slowly in the first half that you feel nothing has happened so far. As the last hour begins, you wonder how they are going to wrap everything up in such little time. Of course, they do bring a closure to everything, and have to understandably do it quickly. My issue is that the first half was interesting, and the second half sort-of dull. I blame it largely on the avoidable, although endurable, preachy set-up. One could claim that it was the need of the story, but it became boring.
The few long shots of the town of Jaisalmer are beautiful, but seem repetitive. The lighting in the night shots of the lake is exquisite and achieves the romanticism it intends to. The close-ups however seem artificial. Watch out for the clever editing used to cover up Bobby Deol's dancing non-skills. And this is despite the relatively simple choreography employed.
Music for the title song and "Kesariya" is shockingly unlike this music director. It might be similar to others' music, but not this one. And before you can recover from the shock, you are back to trade-mark Himesh Reshamiya crooning in "Lamha Lamha", "Akhiya akhiya", and "ulfat ulfat". Given the repetitive use of repetition, need I say more about the lyrics? Or maybe it's just Himesh's musical requirement.
Never mind. Ultimately this is an adorable movie made out of an equally lovable kids' story. The endearing bit is that it does not sport the "what do kids know?" attitude. Of course, this is once you are done laughing at the fact that Bobby Deol is being presented as the best star that Bombay has produced. Soon enough, you begin admiring him for taking up this unusual project.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Raj Kumar, All Bollywood : ...Bobby is given space to reveal how a star, given a chance, can open up to a fan.... full review
Thumbs up, by Abhijit Mhamunkar, indya.com : ...No mandatory masala fare trappings, no heroines and a total focus on the main plot, Karnik's script is well mounted... full review
Thumbs up, Movie Talkies : ...Binod Pradhan's cinematography is definitely one of the pluses... full review
Thumbs up, by Sukanya Verma, Rediff : ...is quite a well-meaning children's film.... full review
So-So, by Aparajita Ghosh, Apun Ka Choice : ...could have done better without the songs of Himesh Reshammiya... full review
So-So, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...There’s a simple charm to the story, and the supporting characters lend credibility, but alas, the screenplay moves at a snail-like pace... full review
So-So, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ...How many people can actually identify with Bobby as a huge star?... full review
So-So, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...the film ends up as a docu-drama on literacy. Where's the entertainment quotient?... full review
Thumbs down, Bollyvista.com : ...Editing drags like nobody's business.... full review
Thumbs down, by Fatema H Kagalwala, Business of Cinema : ...powerless screenplay and loose, common dialogues both of which are lost on the audience due to their sheer inanity... full review
Thumbs down, by Indu Mirani, DNA : ...the songs sound like they were written for a romantic interlude... full review
Thumbs down, by Khalid Mohamed, Hindustan Times : ...Gratifyingly, the bonhomie between the two is life-affirming.... full review
Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...appeals in bits and spurts. But that's not enough... full review
Thumbs down, by Renuka Vyavahare, indiatimes : ... Scenes are highly repetitive and thus the story drags enormously.... full review
Thumbs down, by Shradha Sukumaran, MiD DAY : ...you’re weary of the sugary-sweet lines, the high-pitched acting, the dull pace and the inconsistent production values... full review
Thumbs down, by Jahan Bakshi, Now Running.com : ...Child actor Dwij Yadav...bravely tries to carry the film on his little shoulders, with little help from his mostly inert co-star in the film... full review
Thumbs down, by Jahan Bakshi, Now Running.com : ...The mood of the film is also alarmingly loud at times... full review
Thumbs down, by Hanumant Bhansali, Radio Sargam : ...child actor Dwij Yadav stands out as the lone winner in the film.... full review
Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Plot Summary
Nanhe Jaisalmer (Dwij Yadav) is a tourist guide in Jaisalmer, and is deeply fascinated by Bobby Deol - yes the actor. The movie is about where this fascination leads Nanhe.
What Worked
- The snippets from Bobby Deol's other movie - 'Soldier'...made me want to watch and review it immediately :)
- The contrast of Nanhe's loud character in the first half, where his character is immature, with the mellowed down and more responsible Nanhe.
- The scene in which Nanhe feeds his mother - tear-jerking.
- The shot that the song "Akhiya" ends with - creative and pleasing visuals.
What did not
- Nanhe's clothes - he had too many, and too clean, and new for a little boy of his age and economic background.
Nitty-Gritty
- Rajasthan is known for its conservatism. Are teenage girls allowed to dance on streets?
- Why is Nanhe's sister, Suman, dressed like a Punjabi when a boy and his family come to "see" her. They are in a hardcore Rajasthani city, right?
- The rickshaw scene (on the way back from the screening of 'Soldier'). The close-up did not work. It looked too artificial.
- The couple whose kids Nanhe tries to tease seemed too young to be parents of the kids.
- How do the kids mentioned above know that Nanhe can't read?
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Comments (9)
Review - Nanhe Jaisalmer...
A child artist who can act, a plot that is different, a kids' story that is given a mature treatment, and a Bobby Deol who can be ignored - all good enough to make it worth a watch! ...
[...] reviews Nanhe Jaisalmer. Ultimately this is an adorable movie made out of an equally lovable kids’ story. The endearing [...]
[...] of all is the performance director Samir Karnik ‘extracts’ from young Dwij Yadav. Meetu recommends Nanhe Jaisalmer. Linked by kuffir. Join Blogbharti facebook group. Do you know you can [...]
Hey ANU, isn't that how kids are generally. High pitched and then leave you exhausted? :) What I liked about Dwij's performance is how he portrays the character's maturity as the story progresses. If you notice, the shrill voice takes a back seat in the latter half.
Great Movie … going to watch a one more time
i would recommend this movie to anyone its really good
How his work will be mature after 10 years or 15
oth Bobby Deol and Nanhe are really very very good actors.
So amazing that more kids are exposed to a more challenging and quality roles in movies today. Looking forward to watch this movie.
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