Samaira

If you've watched the trailer of the film, you will get an idea of what the story of Samaira is. For those who haven't, here's a brief introduction. Samaira (Ketaki Narayan) is an accomplished travel blogger who has won numerous awards and acclaim for her work. However, there's a question that's been hounding her for a while. Samaira was adopted by a couple when she was a baby. While her adoptive parents haven't kept that part a secret, she has had a fall out with them due to another reason. She is curious about her roots and wants to find her birth mother. Incidentally, she also gets an assignment to document the Pandharpur Wari, which is heading on the route that she wants to explore. So, she embarks on this quest of spirituality and self discovery, making acquaintances like Jason (Ankur Rathee) on the way and also inching closer towards the truth about her roots.

The story is genuinely interesting and one that explores the various sides of pre and post adoption life for the adopted child. With that, the director has also brought in the causes behind people leaving their kids at orphanages. However, this has led to too many things being crammed into a limited time of 1 hr and 55 mins and it takes away from the crux of Samaira's journey. While having a genuine story is important, it's not enough. Weaving it into a seamless, technically-sound film is equally important, something that Samaira fails at. Essentially, the films ends up being a passionate attempt, but an amateur one nonetheless.

Ketaki puts her heart into the performance and Ankur is decent too. But, Samaira doesn't quite hit the mark as a complete experience.