Hello Friends,
I have been conditioned to think that knowing the language is essential to understand and appreciate a film. However, my recent interludes watching the new age Malayalam and Hindi films have changed my thoughts. Be it Take Off, Bangalore Days, Puli Murugan, Premam, Piku, Lunchbox, and few others has left me wondering how easily I was engrossed in the film. Tumhari Sulu(TMS) and Qarib Qarib Singlle (QQS) were yet another heartwarming and pleasant films that left you with a smile. The camaraderie between the couple in TMS and the evolving love between the lead pair in QQS were indeed enjoyable and relatable. They were not characters or stories that were alien, instead they were real life characters and situations etched neatly.
It is the coming together of two very different individuals through an online dating channel. Jaya (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and Yogi (Irfan Khan) embark on a road trip together and through this journey they get to know each other better and their stark differences are obvious. Jaya is a widow holding a steady job, friends and brother to complete her life. However, she is unable to let go of her past and is caught between the past and future. It is in this confused state of mind that she meets Yogi who is a big chatter box and takes life as it comes. How they travel together, discover each other, acknowledge and accept the differences and arrive at a juncture where they are ready to graduate to the next level of relationship is finely presented. The most endearing quality of the film is its real life like situation. But those said and accept the fact that we need more films like this, there could have been better clarity about the characters’ past and other related details. It is vague to decipher the story at some places, but maybe the vagueness adds to the allure.
Useful Links
http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/qarib-qarib-singlle-the-odd-couple/article20088644.ece
Cheers
Bhuvana Rajaram
