Ankhon Dekhi

Story: Life passes you by when you are too busy making plans for tomorrow. In times when the art of survival has overtaken the art of living, can you manage to live in the moment?

Review: Societal norms often dictate our actions and beliefs. Day in, day out, you try hard to fit in. Who would want to come across as ignorant, odd and a prude to the judgmental lot after all? It’s easier to agree with the majority, hold our heads high and ego higher. In order to safeguard this pretence, we lose out on discovering who we really are. Right from our childhood, we are trained to follow what’s been told to us. No questions asked, no risks taken.

The film’s protagonist Bauji (Sanjay Mishra) faces this dilemma. Trapped by the burden of duties and responsibilities forever, an incident in his daughter’s life directs him to a path of self-discovery and forces him to only believe in what he sees. But can you sustain these idealistic visions in the real world without being tagged either ‘crazy’ or ‘saintly’?

Rajat Kapoor’s film is thought-provoking and as a storyteller, he touches a chord. His satirical take on how everyone conforms to the herd mentality is relevant and praise-worthy. It inspires us to unlock the shackles of mediocrity and standard behaviour – comprising of what’s right and wrong, true or false.

What we liked the most about this film is its old Delhi setting. It is as authentic as it can get and contributes immensely to the film’s emotional quotient. The intricacies of a joint family have been explored beautifully. In fact, this track works better than the one revolving around Bauji’s spiritual epiphany. Sadly, the latter gets more prominence.

The performances are another asset. Sanjay Mishra and Seema Bhargava (as Bauji’s wife) are flawless. They infuse life into the story. The younger actors are impressive too and thankfully, not a single character’s loud and Bollywoodised Punjabi, unlike many Delhi-oriented films.

What however doesn’t work for the film is the fact that it borders on abstract at regular intervals and lacks continuity, making a few scenes and conversations seem out-of-context.

Nonetheless, the film is emotionally liberating. See it to believe it.