Qarib Qarib Singlle
An Unmissable Modern Day Realistic Romance!!
Review By Lt Col D Purushothaman Pillay (Retd)
A heartwarming urban-romance pitting mismatched, middle-aged loners who accidentally meet through a dating site, and then curiously make the decision to journey together on a cross-country caper, that unknowingly bonds them, as the events unfold. This endearing Tanuja Chandra romantic, Indi-road movie, depicts a dueling couple engaged in a reluctant and stuttering courtship that finds answers to their own chapters of loneliness in their lives.
QQS has elicited spectacular performances from the lead pair that comprises of the acclaimed "Master of Deadpan Expression" Irrfan Khan, as the lovable 'Vyogi' a lonely, prosperous, jobless poet in his 40s, with a history of failed relationships, and the talented Malayalam actress Parvathy Thiruvothu who makes a promising and impressive debut in Hindi as 'Jaya' a successful and busy career-woman in her mid 30s, lonely as she is unfortunately widowed after the untimely passing of her Army husband. They essay the main protagonists in this contemporary modern hook-up saga triggered by on-line dating, which leads them to address personal issues with urban loneliness and the need for companionship, that is felt by a big segment of lonesome aspirational, solitary souls that abound the Metros these days.
The charming Vyogi-Jaya duo, captivatingly takes us through a rollercoaster of emotions as they journey through Rishikesh, Alwar and Gangtok with its share of missed flights, wrong trains and catch-up taxi rides, as they retrace the past relationships and heartbreaks of Yogi. In this process they also revisit their own individual long lost friendships and erstwhile heartthrobs and towards the end gain closure to those chapters of their life. It won't be right on my part to tell you how it ended, for that you must watch the movie to know what happens to the Vyogi-Jaya story.
Honestly however, everything cannot be perfect in human effort, so if there is any lament for me personally, it was the end which I felt was abrupt, tepid and not in pace with the rest of the story. Having said that, it has in no way detracted from the niceness one feels about the honest effort at storytelling, that QQS is all about.
The Cinematography of Eeshit Narain captures the soul of every frame he places his lenses in and Ghazal Dhaliwal's dialogues carries the story forward very meaningfully. I understand that this story was originally a play written a few years back by Director Tanuja's mother, Kamna Chandra, the talented writer who had also among other stories written '1942 A Love Story'.
Finally, this movie is bound to strike a chord with the burgeoning numbers of movie-lovers and city-loners, for the soulful "Jaane De" rendition by Atif Aslam in the final song in Gangtok, wherein the protagonists find closure to their pasts and look forward to their future, with those evocative lyrics penned by Raj Shekhar, set to the music by the old maestro Anu Malik, it brought tears to my eyes. The movie couldn't have been summarised any better than this. It goes like this...
Woh Jo Tha Khwabh Sa Kya Kahein Jaane De
Yeh Jo Hain Kam Se Kam Yeh Rahein Ke Jaane De....
......Behtar To Yeh Hota Hum Mile Hee Na Hotein, Magar Jaane De
Aadatan To Sochenge Hota Yun To Kya Hota, Magar Jaane De
Woh Jo Tha Khwab Sa Kya Kahein Jaane De....
(Oh am in tears as I type this note...please listen to this song you will love it. It is the perfect coming together of the story, melody, lyrics, music, and voice. It touches the soul.)
Watch Qarib Qarib Singlle if only to witness a deftly crafted story handled with sensitivity and realism, embellished with the stellar act from Irrfan Khan and the spectacular debut of a star of the future Parvathy, who effortlessly essayed a difficult character. This movie will tug at your heartstrings and leave you with a lump in the throat and in happy tears towards the end. And not many movies have been able to do that in recent memory! Since it is a review and numbers are a must, just for the record I would give it 4 on 5 for the honesty, performance and the soul in the story. Kudos Team QQS I am already looking forward to your next story!! Woh Jo Tha Khwabh Sa....Nahin Jaane Denge Hum!!
