Road to Sangam (2010)

Nice effects though.

Fantastic!

Absolutely Fantastic

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

This is a small budget film,and the theatre was almost empty.Its the story of a Muslim motor mechanic ( played by Paresh Rawal )of Prayag who is given the very special task of repairing the motor of the very same vehicle which carried Gandhi's ashes to the Ganga Yamuna Sangam 62 years ago.Apparently some ashes are left and are to be immersed at sangam by the mahatma's grandson Tushar Gandhi ( played by Tushar Gandhi himself ).But bomb blasts occur in Prayag and Muslims are arrested .......leading to a call by the city's fanatical Ulema for a strike ........which means Paresh Rawal wont be able to complete his work on time ...Paresh is a god-fearing Muslim who supports the strike completely.........indeed has taken part in a violent protest against the arrest of the Muslims.......but the fact that he wont be able to complete the august task he has been given , tugs at his heart .He decides to go against the will of the entire community by completing the task even in the strike........inviting violence and excommunication from the fanatics against himself.To those who spew hatred against him ,he asks ,this man was killed by his own people for taking our side and fighting tooth and nail for our continued existence in this country ,even as Hindus were being pushed out of Pakistan,so i am working for the greatest well-wisher of our community in this land !!Having completed his task against the will of the quam ,he goes to see a Gandhi exhibition........and having accumulated info on gandhi , takes a even more astonishing decision .......he ,who had openly defied a strike ,must now convince the community to observe a strike when the truck carrying Gandhi's ashes ( whose motor he had repaired ) passes through the Muslim area , in respect for the prophet of non violence !!!!!The movie is a emotional one ,made more so by a emotional music score.......and Parash Rawal's acting is truly what holds the film together.I found it worth a watch......

Today is 30 Jan, 2011 the death anniversary of Gandhi's death and I come to watch this movie. After watching the movie, I was curious to know what people thought about the movie. Why this movie didn't got any prize. I am really shocked.This movie made my day and now I am thinking about doing something for the nation. Now I want to do something so that I can make people to think about nation. People who are critics may criticize the movie, they can not ignore the inner feeling of their heart. I voted the movie 10 out of 10 and I really appreciate the movie.thanks

Today I watched Road To Sangam online on funbolo.com and now I have only one regret that I could not watch it earlier. It's a movie to be watched by every true Indian, every true Muslim and every true human-being. It was released sometime back and to the misfortune of the Indian audience, it was not even took notice of. I really pity that meaningless and mindless movies score on the box office due to the pre-release hype generated for them and outstanding movies like Road To Sangam are not even given a look.A motor workshop owner, Hashmatullah (Paresh Rawal) gets a job of repairing the engine of a very old truck without being aware of the fact that this is the truck which has carried the remains of Gandhiji's body for dispersal in different rivers of the nation and now only one such urn is remaining which is to be carried to Sangam (the amalgamation point of Ganga and Yamuna at Allahabad) for the dispersal of its contents there. Before he could accomplish the job, his community leaders call a strike of the Muslims in protest to the arrest and torture of local Muslims as the aftermath of some explosions in the city. He himself is the general secretary of the concerned committee but once coming to know that the job undertaken by him is related to the remains of Gandhiji, he refuses to become a part of the strike and thus invites the wrath of his community-man. Being a liberal and right-thinking person and taking the inspiration from the life of Gandhiji himself, he finally succeeds in carrying out the job as well as make his community-men understand his point-of-view.This novel idea pertaining to the dispersal of the ashes of Gandhiji has been developed quite proficiently, linking it to the Muslim-psyche and the activities of the fundamentalist elements as well as the negatively thinking elements in the community. How less educated and ill-informed youths are misguided, is shown quite realistically but it raises hope that right-thinking persons can change the scenario if they come to the front and speak to their community brethren fearlessly on related issues. True, the police atrocities and tilted mentality towards the Muslims is also responsible for the already deteriorated and further deteriorating situation in our country, still the Muslims can themselves introspect and look at several things objectively to find out what is right and what is wrong. That insight itself will guide them to move in the right direction. It's always easy to misunderstand others as well as misread the things prevailing. However the movie emphatically underscores the positive and hope-providing fact that proper observation and correct understanding of the things is also very easy. Only the windows of the mind are to be kept open. Right-minded people (which are always there) can come forward and bring about a positive change in the scenario, provided they throw off the burden of fear of the fundamentalists and the vested interests which appear to be mighty but actually may not be.Gandhiji's philosophy of humanity is still relevant which discards all the differences of the mankind whether on the ground of sex or religion or cast or creed or race or province or language or likewise. Through the character of Hashmatullah, it has been propagated once again and this propagation is, in fact, very effective. Though the long dialogues send an air of preaching, the actions of the hero support the talks and do not allow them to appear hollow. The message is pretty clear to the Indian Muslims - 'You have to be the change you want to see in the world.' The narrative takes some time in taking off but once taken off, there is no laxity. Despite the exemplary message, it is not weak on the entertainment front and is very very interesting. The editor could have shortened the length by 15-20 minutes. However the length is not felt very much because there is no boredom.The art director and the cinematographer have done a splendid job by creating the middle class areas of the city on the screen with a high degree of reality. Everything appears in such way that the viewer gets a feeling of witnessing in person whatever is visible on the screen.The performances of all (including the great-grandson of Gandhiji - Tushar Gandhi) are highly admirable. However it's Paresh Rawal's movie who carries it alone on his strong shoulders. He has made himself deserving to be considered among the greatest Indian actors through his talent and toil. In this movie, his hard work speaks for itself.The music of the movie (by Sandesh Shandilya and others) is also good. The very old prayer - Lub Pe Aati Hai Dua Bann Ke Tamanna Teri and the Qawwaali - Hum Subah Ke Bhoolon Ko (sung by Vijay Mishra, Ghulam Qadir Khan & Ghulam Murtuza Khan) are specially mentionable. The devotional songs dear to Gandhiji have also been incorporated suitably and emphatically.Summing up, producer - Amit Chheda and writer-director Amit Rai have done an outstanding job. It's a movie pronouncing the message of the Mahatma, the message of humanity without any overtones or rhetorics. It has won several international awards but not the viewership of the Indian audience. I recommend this movie as a must-watch for every right-thinking Indian. Nobody willing to watch meaningful and purposeful cinema should miss this masterpiece.

*this review contains no spoilers* I went to watch Road to Sangam only knowing that it was a film with a connection with Gandhi and had won some awards. What transpired on the screen in the next 135 minutes changed my perception of Gandhi and changed me as a person. I am some one who did not regard Gandhi in the high esteem a lot of people regard him in. He, to me, was some one who was adamant and threatened the nation with his blackmails which were carried out promptly by his followers. What I did not understand was that it was the power of Gandhi's thoughts which made people act the way they did. It had reason, it had logic.Coming to the film. We are given a rationale and the film makes a strong case for it. You almost start believing in the thinking behind it. Then, there is a slow process of change which is so slow and gradual. It is not some thing which happens right away or through a flash bulb of genius. It is realization in process. The way the change is shown is convincing enough for some one to believe in the Gandhian principle.The film has many layers to it. It is a film which asks 'what defines Karma'. It is a film about holding upright the faith Gandhi showed in the muslims of India. It is a film about how a person be it a Muslim or a person of any religion (or even an agnostic or atheist for that matter) should behave. That's the bigger picture.Then the film touches on tough subjects like partition and the role of an Indian Muslim. Many layers and subjects touched, all given due space.Paresh Rawal is excellent in the role of a man who works based on logic and is principled at the same time. I can't think of a better actor to carry out the role. The part of a Muslim from the state of Uttar Pradesh, perfect with the local accent, who has his own little mannerisms and characteristics is played perfectly. The facial expressions are not exaggerated. The lines are spoken with a calm balance about them, exactly how the character would say it.The pace of the movie is neither fast, nor slow. It has it's own rhythm and flows rather than moves. The cinematography is excellent with aspects of small town India (the city Allahabad in this case) shown. There are panoramic views and then there is attention to detail. A man making aloo tikki is shown for instance to capture the flavour of the chaat which is so popular in small town India.Coming to Gandhi films, I have seen quite a few. Gandhi was a great biographical sketch. Gandhi My Father shows the flaws of Gandhi - the father of his son. Lage Raho Munnabhai which was so popular tries to explain the Gandhi way of thinking and does a fair job of it. It has the bollywood masala mixed in it, was perfectly marketed and was a huge success. Gandhigiri became a trend. Sardar, again starring Paresh Rawal (as Sardar Patel), paints Gandhi as a principled, yet stubborn man whose will might have cost India There are umpteenth movies which are presented as documentaries on Gandhi, most of which are holistic. No movie portrays Gandhism, like Road To Sangam does. At least none I have seen.The show I went for was almost canceled as only one other person showed up at the ticket counter. In the end, just five of us came to watch the movie which they did screen thankfully. One engineer who had studied from Allahabad itself remarked that Gandhism is dead as no one turned up for this movie. I remarked that Munnabhai was a huge success. So it is a marketing flaw and lack of funds which meant audiences didn't come to watch this film. There is another aspect to it. It isn't a masala flick like many other bollywood flicks or like Munnabhai. It is not boring in any way, mind.I give the movie a perfect 10/10. Don't think it could have been made better.I just hope more people see it. So go see it and spread the word!