Sorry Bhai!!
Cast: Sharman Joshi, Sanjay Suri, Chitrangda Singh, Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani
Director: Onir
Plus : Interestingly handled story, great acting from Sharman and Shaban
Negative : Rushed climax; Chitrangda’s character is disappointing.
Review :
Performance-wise, the film sorry bhai scores rather highly. Sharman Joshi, as a self-deprecating jazz-loving scientist, plays a character calculated to sweep sympathy at every turn, but the actor recognises that this is a heavily flawed protagonist and plays his part with striking sincerity. There are parts when his social awkwardness is just comic fodder, but Joshi crucially never plays for laughs.
Boman Irani, on the other hand, knows exactly what pitch to perform comedically in, and he works up a role — one he can sleepwalk through — into a comfortable simmer, and his chemistry with Azmi is excellent. Chitrangda Singh suffers from the film’s sketchiest written character, and despite looking positively luminous, is never entirely convinving. She seems to be trying a bit too hard, and, coupled with admittedly weaker writing only her character really suffers from, her performance here is a let down.
Sanjay Suri always seems to be perfectly in control in Onir’s films, and this one’s no exception. The film’s most powerful scene — one where it’s title is actually brought out and used amid extreme high drama — belongs to him. Playing the perfect elder brother, he’s devastated by what his younger sibling’s just told him, and the titular ‘Sorry’ simply doesn’t cut it. He slaps the younger brother a couple of times, stares in shock, and then just sits down as his knees buckle in disbelief. And as he sits stunned, Sharman clings on desperately to his leg, kneels by his bhai’s knee, and convulses into sobs.
And despite himself, a furious Suri stretches a hand out and ruffles the younger one’s hair. Despite being filled with disgust and loathing and the steamrolled-over feeling of unexpected betrayal, brotherhood can’t snap away in an instant. Love remains
Cinematographer Sachin K Krishn makes Mauritius look striking, and the film paints its characters overwhelmingly in white — quite in the way Johnny Gaddaar, for instance, centered around the colour red.And it’s no coincidence that we end up with a very pleasant film, but perhaps Onir should have tried to do more than stay innocuous.
The film never quite decides what side of the comedy/drama line it should walk on, and while the thematic romance is set over only a few days time — inexplicable, since we’d willingly believe it took longer — the third act comes in a hurry. The denouement itself is a fine plot turn, a maternal twist robbed of its impact by a sudden rush to the finish line.
And yet Sorry Bhai’s final turn is progressive enough for me to recommend it immediately to my folks. It’s a film pleasant enough for us all to smile at, and surreptitiously even wipe an eye for. And sometimes that’s exactly what we need.
Related posts:
