Blessy Chettiar
Mumbai, 08 Nov 2017 1:35 IST
Updated: 13 Mar 2018 14:10 IST
The impact of an inherently strong Indian story is considerably reduced as it is written and told in English.
A pall of gloom is often the preface for stories based on the Partition of India. A certain baggage with a subtext of religious disharmony, violence and general hatred is a given. The content emerging out of the painful exercise seems to provide no scope for happy endings or anything close to one.
In Mango Dreams, Dr Amit Singh (Ram Gopal Bajaj) carries the baggage of guilt for his dead parents and brother who were killed by Muslim mobs during Partition. Since then, Dr Singh has come a long way, making a life for himself in Ahmedabad, but always haunted by his gory past. However, dementia threatens to take away the last few memories of his brother whom he had angered during a game of felling mangoes when they were kids.
Dr Singh’s son Abhi (Sameer Kochchar) comes back from America to admit his father into a care facility. But Dr Singh runs away from home and sets out on a journey to his native village which is now in Pakistan. His unusual companion, Salim (Pankaj Tripathi), is a rickshaw driver who has his own demons to silence. Their journey, conversations and camaraderie are what Mango Dreams is about.
American director John Upchurch smartly weaves events like Partition in 1947, the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 and the Gujarat riots of 2002 into the story, revealing layers to the personalities that are Dr Amit Singh and Salim. While Partition orphaned Dr Singh, it was during the Godhra riots that Salim’s wife was raped and murdered by a marauding Hindu mob.
What the protagonists feel and how they behave are governed by these upheavals in their lives. Salim’s hatred for Hindus and Dr Singh's guilt about his brother drive how they act in situations on their roadtrip from Gujarat to Pakistan. Upchurch beautifully captures moments between them, using background music effectively to convey the various moods of the film.
However, an inherently powerful Indian story written and told in English seems to defeat the subtext of religious harmony that runs through the film. The dialogue seems forced and ineffective as it conveys little emotion. The same script in Hindi or Urdu (or even Punjabi) might well have created more empathy in and been taken more seriously by desi audiences. It would also have better highlighted the strength of the story. While the filmmaker's effort is genuine, the final product seems contrived.
There is also some confusion about the theme. Is the film commenting on communal harmony? Yes. Is it preachy about religion? Yes. But it could just as well be about sibling rivalry, or filial affection, or a doctor-patient relationship, and we would not be complaining. As a road trip, however, the film can hardly boast of any memorable cinematography or scenes that stand out.
Ram Gopal Bajaj is endearing throughout, but the language makes you feel like he is overacting in certain scenes. Even Pankaj Tripathi, otherwise a brilliant artiste, seems out of place speaking in broken English. However, he salvages his role by giving an understated performance as Salim, who is hurting inside but redeems himself after his encounter with Dr Singh. His expressions are spot-on, but again they are betrayed by the dialogues.
Sameer Kochchar is effective in his small role as Dr Singh's US-based son.
Mango Dreams is Upchurch’s attempt to tell a sensitive Indian story. However, the impact is reduced by the alien tongue that conveys little emotion, especially of a cataclysmic event that changed the course of the country's history.