Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa (2021) – Jinx Coolness’ Cinephile Weblog
5 min read
Based mostly on the brief prose of acclaimed filmmaker, the late Satyajit Ray, director Abhishek Chaubey’s contribution to the ‘Ray’ anthology sequence on Netflix, ‘Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa’ follows 2 eccentric strangers on a transformative coach journey. A single of them, Musafir Ali is a previous pickpocket-turned-famed Ghazal singer/poet, although the other who goes by the moniker of Mr Baig is a athletics journalist who at the time realized achievement as a 1-hit question in the industry of wrestling. This is not their 1st meeting, as both the tourists are linked via a frequent object of their desire- a golden pocket watch, aptly named as ‘Khushbakht’ (which interprets to ‘lucky’ in Urdu) which, as per its title, bequeaths its wearer with excellent fortune. This same item of need hounds Musafir with guilt now, as he finds himself seated reverse Mr. Baig when again, and he finds himself grappling with thoughts of frustration above an incapacity to arrive clear to his fellow traveler from whom he’d snatched his ‘destiny’ absent in the extremely same compartment years prior to his productive singing vocation. Now this remorseful poet must muster up the braveness to unload his weighty stress at the next station, lest it eats absent at his soul…
Manoj Bajpayee as Musafir Ali
As an alternative of giving a comparison of the onscreen adaptation with its literary counterpart (mostly because I have not browse the latter as yet… Ray fanatics, really do not arrive at me!), I’ll concentrate on this adaptation’s quite a few strengths, these types of as its strongest forte nonetheless- The comedy producing which is punctuated with witty puns galore, wordplay joke on wordplay joke, and personally, the scene showcasing Musafir Ali going to a doctor who diagnoses him with ‘kilepato-maaniya’ is particularly just one that life rent-absolutely free inside of this English lit major’s head.
The dialogue is a distinctive mix of Hindi and Urdu, interspersed with shayari/couplets, and is as whimsical as it is verbose, even nuanced if one pays shut interest. But don’t worry, as even for all those viewers not fluent of both language like myself, even with the English subtitles turned on, the nuances are not totally missing either. Pay back even closer notice, and you could possibly even capture a meta reference or two, particularly if one particular is an admirer of both Satyajit Ray and Manoj Bajpayee’s works. The jest and jokes also operate parallel to a thought provoking social commentary on subjects this kind of as greed, the human inclination to blame one’s stars rather than truly hold oneself accountable, atonement, vainness, etcetera.
Its storytelling is interlaced with a healthy dosage of magical realism, and one more noteworthy aspect is the experimental mother nature of its execution- Ranging from the visible storytelling and cinematography on exhibit here- These types of as Musafir consistently breaking the fourth (maybe even the fifth) wall as he addresses his omnipresent audience who tags along on the educate journey and consequently simultaneously the metaphorical ghosts of his earlier which ultimately catch up to him, hallucinatory sequences that feature him imagining his ‘victim’ lunging at him from throughout the berth, even cursing an now accursed man in a vindictive tone, and the mirror shots that are indicative of the two-faced attitudes prevailing inside equally the men.
Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa reunites Gajraj Rao and Manoj Bajpayee two decades after Aks
Gajraj Rao showcases his versatility in the part of the two confronted Mr. Baig, whose cuddlesome Paddington Bear-esque persona functions as a facade for his ‘Jekyll Hyde moments’. Watching this veteran of the craft changeover among a sweet and righteous gentleman offering bittersweet concoctions these as tea infused with dried lime (an Arabic delicacy that is also an acquired flavor) to his fellow passenger, and an unhinged former wrestler threatening to crack the latter’s jaw with his bare palms is truly what one could possibly get in touch with a masterclass in performing. The rubber faced Manoj Bajpayee excels at lending sufficient help to his co-star. Bajpayee showcases his prowess in a memorable instance whereby his character lastly finds peace and redemption at the up coming station, undergoing a refined evolution in his system language as this previously disgraced man comes at his location with a reassured skip in his step. Equally actors, who were past sighted sharing display area two a long time back in the neo-noir paranormal thriller ‘Aks’, share an effervescent chemistry that desires to be bottled, and thankfully, this time all-around the duo is afforded a whole lot extra display time jointly. Their onscreen appeal further enlivens proceedings and I need a buddy cop flick starring these two in the lead stat! In actuality, their pure banter practically produced me feel as if I was impeding upon a non-public conversation involving two drunk uncles. A particular point out to the established style and suave styling of the characters, be it Musafir’s stylish suede brocade vests that capture the eye or the color coordinated outfits of Musafir and Baig, the latter of which achieves the wished-for influence of foreshadowing the shared life-style alternatives and qualities of both these adult men who are more comparable than they may consider.
Clocking in a working time of practically an hour, ‘Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa’ is occasionally derailed by a handful of scenes in the initial 50 percent that are unnecessarily dragged out or truly feel a tad over indulgent, and could have been trimmed. Furthermore, when the surrealistic plot factors are effectively-executed, it unquestionably experienced possible to be considerably trippier, hence pushing the envelope even even further (then yet again, I could sound biased due to the fact I have not go through the unique source product and consequently am entirely clueless with regards to the quirkiness in the first).
In general Abhishek Chaubey nonetheless serves up a cinematic offering that’s as slurp-a-licious as the tempting treats served up at the fictional Ghalib’s snack store, so do handle yourselves. Having said that once you have gotten a flavor for it…
