Review: 'Bas Ek Tamanna' is average

Cast: Samir Aftab, Gauri Karnik, Rituparna Sengupta, Vrijesh Hirjee, Reema Lagoo

Director: Rahul Kapoor

'Bas Ek Tamanna' unfolds in the backdrop of Lucknow, where lives a young and soft spoken guy Faraaz, who is in search of a good job. Faraaz works as temporary guide to avoid his complaining father.

One day he gets noticed by a Dubai based rich business woman Sameera, who has a six year old son Ahmed suffering from bipolar disorder. Impressed by the loving and caring attitude of Faraaz, Sameera offers him a job in Dubai.

Faraaz accepts the proposal but does not disclose the exact nature of the job to his parents. His parents want him to marry Sanah before leaving for Dubai. Soon after, Faraaz sets for Dubai, where he has to play the role of a father to Ahmed. Concerned and kind by nature, Faraaz starts performing his character to the perfection, without realizing that he is actually falling in love with Dubai and Ahmed.

Soon he stops taking calls from Lucknow but continues to send money. One day, happy in the paradise, Faraaz encounters an old acquaintance from Lucknow, who gives the news of his father’s demise. After a huge fight with Sameera, Faraaz returns home to discover the pathetic state of affairs. Sameera also returns to Lucknow without Faraaz's knowledge.

Sanah accidently meets Sameera and Ahmed and severs all ties with Faraaz. The situation does downhill henceforth. The initial storyline must have looked promising to the producers as it had the potential to become a good emotional drama.

The director could be blamed for a lot of dilution that happened during the execution. Some technical mistakes are evident. Sameera invites Faraaz to her home after a short ten line chat and in the next scene; Sameer enters directly into her porch. Where did he get the address? Only Vrijesh Hirjee owns a mobile phone in the entire vicinity. Why don't the others own it too? May be they are not capable enough to pay the bills, but then the economic condition of

Vrijesh's character suggests something worse. If the heroine can purchase expensive jewellery and works as a teacher in a posh school, then why can’t she afford a mobile? The narration lacks punch. However, the climax scene is well executed. The director should also be praised for his efforts for the sequence where Reema Lagoo decides to leave for Mecca on feet.

The dialogues are written with traditional Urdu touch of Lucknow, but sadly no one speaks such high brow Urdu now.

The story does not contain anything new and has the touch of films of early 70’s. Dealing with a plot full of religious nuances has never been an easy task and thus the director looks confused about the characterization in different scenes.

Lagoo looks most believable among all; in fact she is the one who carries the film on her shoulders. Rituparna Sengupta is average as Sameera. The role suits her age and glamorous image, but she fails to deliver her innate charm, especially manifested in the earlier roles of a married woman. Gauri Karnik’s return to the silver screen is appreciable and she has definitely worked a lot on her diction.

The role does not have scope for glamour, but Karnik tries hard to get noticed. The hero is clearly in awe of Shah Rukh Khan and has the same mannerisms. Samir Aftab as Faraaz shows the glimpses of the hidden potential in the songs, but when it comes to emotional scenes, he gets better. For the time being, he is the second best actor of the film.

However, Samir needs to work on his mannerisms, which portrays him more like a philosopher than a lover. The natural settings give authentication to the story but artificial flower shops and market areas are not anywhere close to satisfactory. Camera shows Lucknow via small streets in a convincing fashion, but the director of photography is requested to work on the shots taken against the sun. The spilling sun changes the mood of a romantic song entirely.

Background score is almost in sync with the mood of the film. Editing is average and does not contribute much to the film.

'Bas Ek Tamanna' could be praised for its progressive script. The integrity and community feeling of Lucknow is captured well but the director could have avoided the futile debate about polygamy. Rituparna Sengupta's explanation about being single in the climax is one of the highlights of the film. Overall, an Eid watch, if you don’t get tickets for other biggies released simultaneously.