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| Khwaab (Dreams) |
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  (8/10)
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Runtime: 90 m |
| Public Rating: 7.60 (5 votes) |
Director: Madhu Sudan |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Drama |
Year: 2004 |
| Writer(s): Madhu Sudan |
| Distributor: 1 |
| Reviewed by: Oktay Ege Kozak |
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Movies are hard work. Especially for those of us trying to make it on our own in a cesspool of producers, agents and all kinds of other people waiting in line to put us down, trying to make us realize the fact that the competition is fierce and that no, we are just not good enough to cut it. A director going out of his way to achieve what others think is not possible is a tremendous tale of success. Khwaab is such a film. One made by an Indian graduate film student from the Academy of Art College with extreme determination to put his vision on screen, no matter what. The fact that it’s about a confused filmmaker trying to survive amidst pressure from his producer, his friends and especially his parents adds to the irony. In this story of determination, the product is a mirror of the experience.
The movie tells the story of Aditya, an Indian software engineer who isn’t satisfied with his job and laments on his dreams of becoming a filmmaker and making his dreams come true. The movie goes the right way with depicting cinema as the romantic and sentimental enterprise it should be which still holds some meaning to some people in the midst of the financial cookie-cutter monsters that are roaming about. Aditya refuses a promotion offered by his company to the absolute shock of his co-workers and family and enrolls in a crash-course film school. Pretty soon, he starts making deals with a B-Movie producer but when the producer also tries to control his vision and his life, he finds out that he is in the middle of the same identity problem.
Raj Vasudeva portrays the main character Aditya with the sensibilities of a good leading man. His work is passionate yet subdued and cool, leading to a very decent performance. Manjit Singh turns her somewhat underwritten character of the emotionally supportive female to an annoyingly overplayed performance, with her beauty and somewhat intoxicating presence barely saving it. Apart from the two leads, Gary Agid stands out with his portrayal of the playful and wise alter ego of Aditya who helps him out through tough times (the scene where he gives a crucial example from Fellini’s 8½ at just the right moment is great) and Sanjay Lamba breathes fresh air to the overall film as Aditya’s quirky and amiable best friend.
First time feature director Madhu Sudan proves the fact that he can handle a professional feature project with this film which he made off the ground without any major studio funding. His camera work is creative and smooth while most of his transitions are original, including ones where sketches of the characters dissolve into real images. The movie is the work of a director with absolute potential.
The biggest problem with Khwaab is the notion that it lacks a complete third act. The film ends very abruptly without any sense of closure or completion for the characters, leaving their arc completely hanging. I don’t know if that is a problem of the screenplay or a budgetary cutback by the producers, but it is definitely the film’s weakest point. I hope someday they will be able to write and produce a decent final twenty minutes to the film so it can be thematically complete. Another weak point of the film is the overlong music video segments which repeat the previous shots of the film without even attempting to move the story forward.
Leaving the shortcomings aside, Khwaab is a very engaging and thought-provoking film which is strongly recommended to anyone who wants to become a filmmaker and an altogether artist and is a tremendous achievement on the filmmakers’ part. Hats off.
P.S: Anyone interested in obtaining a copy of the film or contacting the filmmakers can visit the film’s web-site at www.khwaabmovie.com
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