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Review: Via Darjeeling
Director Arindam Nandy does try to step off the beaten track but the main snag with Via Darjeeling is that the various stories just don’t mesh together, writes Khalid Mohamed.
Via Darjeeling
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Sonali Kulkarni, Parvin Dabbas
Direction: Arindam Nandy
Rating: **
Yak, do, teen. How much they talk. Seems a honeymoon went awry when the husband just evaporated into thin air. A few moons later, the investigating cop (Vinay Pathak) and a motley gang offer their different takes on the honeymoon mystery – ranging from the ho-hum to the ho-ho-hum.
Now before you bring up the ghost of Akira Kurosawa’s seminal Rashomon, desist. The main snag with Via Darjeeling is that the various stories just don’t mesh together. They are left suspended in mid-air, and the ending is as abrupt as a power breakdown. Honestly, you’re left with a quizzical frown.
On the more upbeat side, Kay Kay Menon, Sonali Kulkarni and Prashant Narayan, as a New York-returned boozard filmmaker, summon up competent performances. And the effort does try to step off the beaten track. Most importantly, it’s different enough not to have a thoda or thodi in its title this week.
