Road drags endlessly in travelogue film
KARWAAN (Caravan). Directed by Akarsh Khurana. With Dulquer Salmaan, Irrfan Khan, Mithila Palkar. At Nu Metro, Canal Walk. REVIEW: Mehboob Bawa
BEAUTIFULLY filmed in the south of India, this road trip movie about a young man who has to retrieve his late father’s body after a mix-up is leisurely paced and filled with some wonderful moments.
Avinash has been estranged from his father for a number of years. As a young man Avinash dreamed of pursuing a career in photography. But his father arranged a job for him in an IT company and thereafter their relationship deteriorated.
When Avinash gets a call that his father has died in a bus accident while on holiday, he has to arrange to collect the body at the airport.
He enlists the help of close friend Shauket, who has a car. But after viewing the body they realise that there has been a mix-up with his father’s body being delivered to a different destination.
Avinash makes contact with the daughter of the deceased woman whose body they have and arranges a swop. Shauket is not too keen on the fact that Avinash is being so nice even agreeing to collect the daughter from college en route.
They eventually reach their destination, but their journey is fraught with challenges.
Director Akarsh Khurana’s screenplay, based on a story by Bejoy Nambiar, is infused with some good humour and drama. But the plot drags on. It doesn’t detract too much from the overall enjoyment, but that’s simply because the acting is top-notch and the cinematography by Avinash Arun is picture perfect.
The film is like a travelogue through the beautifully scenic cities and small towns in the south of India.
The music is also not intrusive and fits nicely into the background complementing the scenes well.
Dulquer Sulaiman as Avinash is excellent. This is his Bollywood debut, but he has earned great recognition with award-winning performances in the Malayalam film industry.
Mithila Palkar who plays Tanya is very good too. She is relatively new to the industry with two films and a web series under her belt.
All the supporting actors deliver wonderful performances, but the acting kudos goes to the superb Irrfan Khan. He is a delight as Shauket and the scenes in which he woos a prospective partner are a hoot. Each of these characters have issues which they come to face with through their experiences.
The manner in which it all unravels is mature and intelligent.
Join these travellers on their journey and you too may learn some important lessons as you continue towards your destination in life.