Karwaan Review: Karwaan Is Like A Breath Of Fresh Air, Uplifting You In A Reverie Of Its Own. An Extraordinary Journey Of Rediscovery!

Karwaan Review: Karwaan Is Like A Breath Of Fresh Air, Uplifting You In A Reverie Of Its Own. An Extraordinary Journey Of Rediscovery!
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Directed By: Akarsh Khurana
3.5/5 stars
Review By: Shreshtha Chaudhury 

A thing one should keep in mind before going to watch this film is that it is not your conventional road trip movie. It is a rollercoaster of emotions comprising attachments, deprivations and the grim truth of death. 
Director Akarsh Khurana draws in a symbolic journey where the ultimate destination is to find your true self. Karwaan is all about shedding your inhibitions and discovering the varied emotions of human relationships.

The journey of Karwaan begins with Avinash (Dulquer Salmaan) who works in an IT firm but is bored with the very monotony of his job and life. All hell breaks loose when he learns about his father’s death in an accident and the transport company responsible for delivering his father’s body delivers the wrong corpse only to reveal that his father’s body is delivered mistakenly in Kochi. This bizarre case of two falsely exchanged bodies leads Avinash to embark on a road trip all the way to Kochi along with his whimsical friend Shaukat (Irrfan Khan). Joining them in their journey is Tanya (Mithila Palkar) who turns out to be the granddaughter of the woman whose corpse is mistakenly delivered to Avinash. One of the crucial flashback of the film also shows the unattached and strained relationship of Avinash with his father who disapproves of his dream to be a photographer and persuades him to take a job in an IT firm not to mention his infamous line in which he states that the people who choose arts are nothing more than the so called ‘liberals’ who just choose the easier path in the name of ‘revolution’.

All the three protagonists of the movie act as a catalyst in their own way but it is Irrfan Khan who breathes life into the film. Some of his dialogues appear to be shrewd and sexist sometimes but just because of Khan’s impeccable comic timing and quirky sense of humor, they do not fail to tickle your funny bones. There are some moments where even without uttering a single dialogue, his antics appear to be hilarious and humorous. Some of the most life changing instances in the film belong to him. Not to forget a heart wrenching scene where he recalls his mother enduring domestic abuse from his dad, it is in this scene where one can see his sensitive side and there begins an unexpected love story of his which is both comical and thought provoking.

Debutante Dulquer Salmaan is realistic, charming and at his impressive best in this debut venture. The Malayalam heartthrob has an impeccable screen presence and does full justice in essaying the dilemmas, whims and meandering emotions of his character. Mithila Palkar is perky, free spirited and essays that rebellious streak of today’s generation through instances where she nonchalantly uploads picture on her Snapchat or Instagram and when she is transparent about being open about her virginity. Then there is Kirti Kharbanda who does not fail to impress us in a short cameo appearance in the film.

All the three main protagonists have their own journey of revelations throughout the film. The scenic beauty and the picturesque locations of South India are beautifully captured in the movie by cinematographer Avinash Arun who is famed for his work in the National award winning film Killa. The soundtracks especially songs like ‘Chota sa fasana’ sung by Arijit Singh and ‘Heartquake’ sung by Papon are melodious and serve as a perfect catalyst to the film. Another plus point of the movie is its realistic and wacky dialogues by Hussain Dalal which includes an emotional Avinash opening about his relationship with his father or Avinash and Tanya’s argument about the degrading essence of ‘actual’ photography owing to the various instagram or application picture filters in the recent scenarios. Bejoy Nambiar, the man behind the story of the film deserves the utmost applauds because of his precise and flawless narration of this life inspiring tale. The only plot hole is that there could have been a more sense of intimacy and close proximity between the lead characters in some of the scenes.

Watch Karwaan not to just view a film on a road trip with beautiful locales but to embark on a journey where more than just the destination, what matters is the path and answer to rediscovering oneself  and choosing the path which will really give you true satisfaction.