'Photograph' Review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui-Sanya Malhotra starrer Ritesh Batra directorial provides unsatisfying soul food

Film: Photograph (Romance, Drama)

Critic’s Rating: 2.5/5

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Jim Sarbh, Farrukh Jaffar, Geetanjali Kulkarni

Direction: Ritesh Batra

Written by: Ritesh Batra

Duration: 2 hrs

Language: Hindi (U/A)

Story:

Rafiq (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a Mumbai-based struggling street photographer who has old family debts to pay. He also has an aggressive but loving grandmother (Farrukh Jaffar) who insists on seeing him married. Quite by chance, he happens to click a photograph of an aspiring Chartered Accountant Miloni Shah (Sanya Malhotra). And, before you know it, there’s a quiet bond between the two.

When his daadi (grandmom) lands up in the island city and asks to meet his fiancee, Rafiq introduces her to Miloni, who he has rechristened as Noorie. As Miloni and Rafiq begin their charade of being a couple, you also discover several other aspects of Mumbai; a place where the twain sometimes meet.

Review:

Photograph has its charm. Like Ritesh Batra’s previous work – The Lunchbox (2013) and Our Souls At Night (2017) – this film, too, has a certain mystical quality, though in reality it tells you a hard story. The poor photographer and the privileged student are as different as chalk and cheese. But like we all know, attraction defies norms. One can clearly see that happening here. Their religious leanings, the fact that they belong to a different strata, their education (or the lack of it) nothing seems to pose a real problem because the two overlook their differences.

And, though their quiet intimacy doesn’t include any actual physical proximity, there is a beautiful relationship between Rafiq and Miloni. One that actually sees the viewer getting involved with them. Their cab rides, their walk in the rain and their pakoda-chai outings do strike a chord. In fact, you want them to push up the tempo.

However, this is not mainstream Bollywood. So even as you wish for some frenetic feelings to come into fore and hope these two will break into a duet, you get stumped because nothing of that sort happens. Instead, their whole charade keeps getting extended with no real results. And after a point, you just sigh because everything loses steam.

Nawazuddin walks through his part inconsequentially because that is exactly what he has been ordered to do. Sanya’s reserved demeanour is a bit too cold. She needed to 'thaw' just that little bit more. Farrukh Jaffar as daadi is adorable. She’s the sort of woman who, you wish, was part of your growing-up years. Geetanjali Kulkarni as the domestic help at the Shah household is also someone you learn to respect and love.

The pace is slow, but if you are not in a hurry, then you may savour it. The problem is the premise of Miloni and Rafiq’s quiet-by-chance friendship appears stagnant after a bit because Batra doesn’t really build too much on it.

Verdict:

If you like romance on slow burn, Photograph might appeal to you. Otherwise, just leaf through your own albums.