WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
The question has spanned the ages–how far would you go for love? Not just for a brief infatuation or someone you greatly fancy, but for deep, wholehearted, soul-stirring love? It can embody risks that encompass mind, body, and spirit, yet diving straight in will be the choice when there is but one to make. Then we must ask–can such abiding love survive the tests it will encounter? In the heart of the Uttarakhand mountains there stands the Kedarnath Temple, a historic location of worship to Lord Shiva, with thousands flocking to it on pilgrimages seeking favor and blessings, and also a place of business for a humble Muslim pithoo (porter) named Mansoor (Sushant Singh Rajput).
Aiding pilgrims and tourists in reaching the famous site, Mansoor lives a quiet, fun, and mostly fulfilled life along with his mother (Alka Amin). However, a chance encounter with a local impetuous Hindu girl named Mandakani (Sara Ali Khan) sets in motion a teasingly innocent friendship that blossoms into much more, despite the ill-advised pursuit of it via warnings from her priest father Briraaj (Nitish Bharadwaj), older sister Brinda (Pooja Gor), mother Lata (Sonali Sachdev), and fiancé, businessman Kullu (Nishant Dahiya), who holds very hostile feelings towards Mansoor’s “kind”. Ignoring it all, the two lovers continue their whirlwind romance, sparking further familial animosity and confrontation. But, unknown to them all, a devastating event looms closer that will shatter current circumstances and put true love through the ultimate trial.
Next, my Mind:
In this critic’s years of watching Indian cinema, mainstream and independent, it is efforts such as this from writer/director/co-producer Abhishek Kapoor and screenplay/dialogue/story writer Kanika Dhillon that define the excellence this prolific industry can produce. Highlighted to superb effect by the ever-present ability to combine distinctly affecting drama, playfully whimsical humor, and heartwarming romance with the equally moving utilization of songs and, here, a sole dance scene, the overall execution delivered creates the necessary atmosphere to have greatest impact on the viewer, especially given its depiction of the shocking real life, gut-wrenchingly terrifying, and acutely disheartening natural disaster that occurs to bring the film’s narrative to a gasping-for-air, tear inducing, heart pounding conclusion, all while putting the final exclamation point on the tale of two lovers who should never have been together striving to overcome religious difference, overt hatred, and brutally enforced prejudice to find the real joy and commitment only true devotion can muster. It’s fictional love with heartbreaking reality as its backdrop, much like James Cameron’s “Titanic”, and it’s carried off here with admittedly touching precision and intent.
Visually, the film allows us to soar freely through the absolutely stunning vistas that can be witnessed when traversing the Garhwal Himalayan range, from lush grassy hillsides, gorgeous snow-capped peaks, old style winding paths of stone leading to the town and Temple, all encompassing the rushing waters of the Mandakini River which virtually surrounded the town of Kedarnath, making the perfect setting for the romantic air the film elicits. Yet, it is the same rugged beauty that ultimately gives way to the tumultuous storm system which, in June 2013, caused the massive flash flood that serves as the film’s sobering “villain”. The mere visualization of it and the catastrophic ferocity it represented had me in tears and feeling so weighed down with the fact it really happened, with the death of 4300 attributed to its cascading power, another 70,000 missing, and a fortunate 50,000 who were rescued by Indian military forces. In the context of the film, the onset of this chaos serves as a final catalyst that brings two worlds together for the sake of sheer survival and human decency, even as it also takes a hauntingly tragic toll on them as well.
Rajput, whom I had only seen in two of his previous efforts, “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” and “Raabta“, perfects his leading man persona even further and to very believable effect via his role as Mansoor, a common man, a Muslim, and hard worker who simply strives to entertain his guests when guiding (or carrying!) them to the Kedarnath Temple while attempting to make the most of a meager income in living with his mother. His “everyman” demeanor is then challenged to several degrees, sometimes to evident discomfort or hesitation, when he meets Mandakani, whose carefree attitude is somewhat off-putting to him, but attraction to undeniable. Putting his whole heart into it, he embraces the romance through and through, only to have the carpet pulled out from under him upon learning unexpected facts about Mandakani’s past and her current religious affiliation plus family disapproval towards him. Yet, due to her unbridled insistence and perseverance, he chooses to fight for what they have, willing to take whatever shame or punishment might be doled out, until the flood comes and changes everyone’s perspectives. Soon, he has a choice to make that will define everything he and Mandakani are, and throughout this entire film, Rajput truly makes each and every emotional high and low accessible through a solidly emotive performance. He pulls off every element–drama, humor, romance–with equal but controlled bravado and intensity that endears you to him easily.
Perhaps the bigger story to be told here from the acting standpoint would be the fact that this film marks the feature film debut of Sara Ali Khan, daughter of the always excellent Saif Ali Khan and former wife Amrita Singh, who more than makes her mark with a bang as Mandakani, an impulsive, imprudent, and reckless young woman who certainly makes it known how she feels through her actions and words that so often distress the rest of her conservative family. Not wishing to conform to the rules, especially in view of a tension-filled relationship with older sister Brinda and an unwanted fiancé in Kullu, her manner brings her into contact with Mansoor while watching a cricket match in town, leading to more encounters that end up birthing the playful banter sessions they have while Mansoor takes her up to Kedarnath and eventually the love the springs up from it. Yet, even as she becomes more and more immersed in their intimacy, outward forces begin working against her that culminate in hurtful clashes with her family while drawing even more ire from Kullu, who chooses to take matters into much more violent hands. Still refusing to recant her commitment to Mansoor, events threaten to spiral to greater extremes until the flood happens, putting a desperation to be with Mansoor into higher gear while facing a heartrending loss amidst it all. Khan can deliver both a raw sassiness that befits the character but still turn around and display such beautiful tenderness as well, all contained within her exterior beauty that this critic feels indicates the rising of a new and deserving talent in the Bollywood acting ranks.
Primary supporting turns come through Bharadwaj as Mandakani’s father Briraaj, a local priest whose sense of familial shame due to his youngest daughter’s rash choices is a constant source of frustration, reaching a fever pitch at one point, but getting a reality check that changes his mind, Gor as the older sister Brinda, who has her own reasons for disliking the younger sibling and wanting to aid in her downfall, but who also might experience a change of heart, Sachdev as their mother Lata, whose own disagreements and disapproval of Mandakani’s ways still seems tempered with a mother’s inherent, but firm, love for her child, Dahiya as the stern-hearted, arrogant Kullu, Mandakani’s fiancé whom believes he controls everything and desires to bring the town into a new age while hating Mansoor and any other Muslim, blights on the town he feels, wanting to oust them by any means necessary, and Amin as Mansoor’s mother, a kind, intelligent woman who still opposes her son’s pursuit of Mandakani, but who also harbors her own hurts when it comes to love, marriage, and notions of commitment. Additional turns are made by Tarun Gahlot, Mir Sarwar, Sunita Rajwar, Arun Bali, Faiz Khan, Basu Soni, Lalu Makhija, Sharad Vyas, Priyadarshan, and Hitesh Bhardwaj among others.
In total, with relevant messages that should illustrate why hate, non-understanding, and prejudice need to be out of our society mixed in with its visual potency, poignant romance, and aim to honor and remember those who were lost during the floods of 2013 in Uttarakhand, “Kedarnath” is the quintessential Bollywood film that carries the innate ability to entertain while showcasing the industry’s acting and story writing prowess, social awareness, and, I feel, statement to the world that Indian filmmaking is growing, constantly improving, and totally here to stay.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
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