They say no director can save a film when the writing is weak. But, Anurag Kashyap is from a different world. Maybe, for him this saying or for that matter any saying doesn't ring true.
The film highly relies on it's treatment, which director, Anurag Kashyap is full of, when it comes to his bag of toolkit. A love story like this has been done too many times for the liking of Indian audiences. But, this time it was AK in the helm of things and the way he presents a story which sounds familiar and novel at the same time is what makes him one of the better directors in our country.
Is Manmarziyaan a perfect film? No. But is any film perfect? Ever? It's the delusion of the viewer which makes a film perfect or imperfect. You can always watch a film like this film or that film. You can always call something completely original if you've not seen enough. The god/art lies in the detail. It's not the start point and the end point that really matter, it's the journey that the filmmaker takes us through, and if it's exciting enough, that makes the difference.
Now, this one is a rugged journey as the filmmaker constantly tries to take us to the same place through different routes. Maybe, the conflict itself wasn't strong enough to hold for 156 minutes that it, at places, becomes, too redundant. Having said that, the destination does become pretty interesting. Especially, the way, the filmmaker attempted to mellow the drama in the destination so much that you feel like it's just another day in the lives of your characters, which is what maybe makes it so special. The long take treatment for the climax of the film was one of my favourite. Wish you hadn't cut the shot for that low angle 1/3rd profile, AK, I was just getting into it while I was observing them very carefully as they walk together. Gosh! This "commercial" Bollywood filmmaking makes you do things that you wouldn't want to. Still, you do it because after all you want to keep making films. The irony is that when people like it, you think it was the right way to do it and you continue doing it.
Though, your career has been made by breaking those illusions and I believe people who love your cinema love it for the very reason and not so that one day we see you becoming like others.
Anyway, Kudos to you AK, you can do this too. Hope, we see more of you and more often.
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