Karwaan - Movie Review

Usually in movies, death and mourning are often shown to be over-dramatic and awfully painful. It was, therefore, extremely intriguing to see how writer, Bejoy Nambiar and debutante director, Akarsh Khurana bring an element of fun and comedy to something as remorseful as death. Karwaan, starring Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar, is a coming-of-age movie with the backdrop of a road trip across some of the most beautiful locales of South India.

Avinash Rajpurohit (played by Dulquer Salmaan) is a frustrated IT employee working in Bangalore, who abandons his passion for photography on his father’s insistence. His father, with whom he has an unemotional relationship, passes away in an accident on a pilgrimage and his body is sent to his son. A mix-up by the cargo company leads to the exchange of Avinash’s father’s body with that of a woman from Cochin. He takes the help of his friend-cum-garage owner, Shaukat (played by Irrfan Khan), to take a road-trip via Ooty to pick up the deceased woman’s grand-daughter, Tanya (played by Mithila Palkar) and reach Cochin to take the mortal remains of his father home. The journey en route is filled with some comical and some not so comical moments and sub-plots which make Avinash question his choices in life and rediscover himself.

The movie, with its crisp run-time of two-hours, has a wafer-thin premise showcased over a road trip. Though the movie has some crackling and warm moments, these are far and apart. Movies like these work mostly on the emotions that the characters create and it requires layering them with subtle features which connect with the viewers. Small details such as adding local Bangalore/Cochin flavor or giving a glimpse into the character’s psyche through dialogues, help the viewers stay invested with the narrative. Directors like Zoya Akhtar and Ayan Mukerjee specialize in this and this is where writer Bejoy Nambiar and dialogue writer Hussain Dalal, had the potential to create a better narrative but fall slightly short of it. While death and mourning have been handled maturely, without the quintessential Bollywood sobbing routine, there are some inconsistencies in between which seem difficult to digest. One such inconsistency is at a wedding in Kerala, where Tanya and Avinash end up drinking – forgetting about the decaying body they are travelling with! Giving credit where it is due, the writer and director beautifully reveal the issues that these three – a discontent average office-goer, a millennial tomboy and an eccentric middle-aged man face.

Irrfan Khan channels the same vibes of unconventionality that he had in Qarib Qarib Single. He is hilarious and unabashed, and delivers some of the most comical dialogues with a straight face. His simple yet effective performance makes you wish for his speedy recovery and be back to entertaining us again! ‘Debutante’ Dulquer Salmaan, get the best written character among the three, since we get to see a lot of layers being undone, which explain his firm and serious façade. Dulquer, with his wide range of work, is an established actor and he does not disappoint in his hindi debut either. Mithila Palkar is a livewire and probably the most complex character to understand – quite like every other millennial today! One of the best moments in the film comes towards the end, when the three of them sit on a bridge across a canal and discuss about their ‘father problems’. The second half, especially around the climax, is heart-warming. Cinematically, the entire sequence of Avinash reading his father’s letter has been beautifully shot, with a father and child in the backdrop symbolizing his relationship with his dad. When the letter ends, the camera pans to Dulquer’s face with a tree and its branches clouding over his head – signifying the liberation of his emotions. The camerawork by Avinash Arun deserves a mention here.

Despite a shaky first-half, Karwaan has its moments and makes for a good one-time watch. The performances, Irrfan Khan’s comic timing and the beautiful meandering roads certainly make for a breezy watch.

My Rating – 2.5/5