Well and Truly A Special Film
Film: Yellow (Marathi with English subtitles)
Cast: Mrinal Kulkarni, Upendra Limaye, Gauri Gadgil
Directed by: Mahesh Limaye
Duration: 2 hrs 10 mins
Rating: * * * *
Mahesh Limaye, the cinematographer of films like Dabangg, Corporate and Fashion dons the hat of a director with Yellow, which is yet
another superlative product to come from the Marathi film industry which is on
an absolute roll at the moment. It is heartwarming, charming and the story of a
girl with Down syndrome is also told with certain sensitivity. And most
importantly, Limaye uses the medium of cinema very well with some deft touches
to tell the story of a girl who comes out triumphant against all odds.
Told with a voice over in her own words, the film is about
Gauri (played by Gauri Gadgil) who is a special child but because of her Down
syndrome her father (Manoj Joshi) abhors her. He thinks she has shattered his
dreams and there will be nothing for him to be proud about her. “First we used
to call them mentally retarded, then we started saying mentally challenged and
now we have a cute word for them called, 'special'” he tells the teacher making his
apprehensions clear about Gauri’s future. Unfortunately, as a father, forget about lending a helping hand, he
doesn’t even have any sympathy for his daughter.
The mother (wonderfully played by Mrinal Kulkarni) moves to
her brother’s (Hrishikesh Joshi) house and the uncle also becomes the girl’s
best friend. He is his pragmatic and has a light-hearted approach to all the
complexities of life.
Soon, they discover that Gauri takes to water, well, like a
fish to water. After winning a few laurels as a swimmer, she trains under a
professional and no-nonsense coach (Upendra Limaye) and while the coach-student
relationship has its share of expected up and downs, it still keeps you
engaged.
There are several pluses that the film has, to start with,
the writing and the direction. With the subject like this, it is easy for the
writers to emotionally manipulate the audience by going overboard but at no
stage does the film resort to that. The father’s character was a bit one
dimensional but then there are several one dimensional people in real life as
well.
Not only does the story have a human angle, there is also
the underdog factor that has you cheering for the character. It also succeeds
in making a point to the audience about special children without being preachy
and any film that can entertain and educate people, more power to such films
and filmmakers (Riteish Deshmukh is one of the producers).
The thought of Taare
Zameen Par will cross your mind but just about – after all, we don’t
compare superhero movies or films from the romantic genre, do we? And with
films, how it is being told is as important as what is being told.
Technically, this is a well refined product and on the
acting front, the cast has done a top job. Hrishikesh Joshi as the uncle and
the more familiar Upendra Limaye as the coach are apt. Mrinal Kulkarni is first
rate as a single mother and real life Special Olympic medalist Gauri Gadgil
acts like a thorough professional.
Yellow is a must watch film and since it is subtitled in
English, there is no excuse to miss it.
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