‘Morning Walk’ is a collection of clichés. Though it has some impressively realistic and middle-class settings, with some soothing music, it soon falls flat. The film is not a patch on the beautiful family dramas of Gulzaar or Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Quickly, the film experience turns from high-brow to highly boring.
Joymohan is a retired Professor, who comes to Mumbai to spend his twilight years with his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. During a morning walk, he meets an old flame, Neelima, and realizes that her daughter, Anjali, is his child too. He is now torn between his responsibility towards his son’s family, and his love towards his daughter’s. Finally, he sells his house to fund his daughter’s education, and moves in with Neelima.
What could have been an interesting and fresh look at changing middle-class values and families is ruined by a tired script and some very shallow characterization. The dialogues lack sparkle, and appear to be copied from umpteen Bollywood melodramas.
Some of the characters are also incredible. Rita (Divya Dutta), the daughter-in-law, seems to be a straight lift from a B-grade movie, with all the traits of the stock vamp: smoking, drinking, working, non-cooking, money-minded and selfish. In fact, she out-vamps all the bad vamps of yore, with some hysterical scenes.
Anupam Kher does a mediocre job, as he does not seem to have much support from the script or screenplay. Sharmila Tagore has aged gracefully and looks dignified and tranquil. But this is hardly one of her best performances.
Among the supporting cast, Rajit Kapoor’s performance stands out for its subdued frustration, while Nargis looks fresh and beautiful. Avika Gor manages to impress.
There isn’t much to recommend the movie, though. Don’t watch it unless you are on a charity spree for failed directors.
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