Morning Walk

From the looks of it, you’d feel that MORNING WALK is about senior citizens/septuagenarians, but director Arup Dutta crams the film with so many sub-plots that the film loses focus. It’s like starting at Churchgate, but instead of heading towards Virar, you end up at Thane. Okay, let me explain. Had the director stayed loyal to one story [the senior citizens’ concern for each other], it would’ve been an emotional experience. But the story changes gears pretty often. In the beginning, you feel that it’s a bahu [Divya Dutta] versus father-in-law [Anupam Kher] saga. Later, the young couple [Shayan Munshi, Nargis] start singing songs and the focus shifts to the love story. Towards the end, it’s back to the senior citizens and the twist in their lives. The plight of the senior citizens was beautifully depicted in BAGHBAN, but that was about a married couple. Here’ they aren’t. And the director could’ve explored this facet to the fullest. Sadly, he doesn’t!

To cut a long story short, this ‘Walk’ is just not refreshing!  One morning walk in Joymohan’s [Anupam Kher] life changes it all. After suffering a heart-attack one morning, on his birthday, Joymohan realizes that he needs to spend more time with his family — son [Rajit Kapoor], daughter-in-law [Divya Dutta] and grand-daughter [Avika Gor]. It is during his ‘Morning Walk’ that his life changes forever. He meets his once-upon-a-time-student and friend Neelima [Sharmila Tagore], now a mother of two, who carries with her a strange but surreal truth. Neelima’s bright and beautiful daughter Anjali [Nargis] dreams of pursuing her doctorate from the U.S. and is encouraged by her doting mother and boyfriend Ajay [Shayan Munshi], an upcoming singer, who will go to any lengths to put a smile on her face. It’s a tale of two families who are so different from one another, yet connected through a special bond. The problem is, the number of unwanted tracks in the film rob the film of the seriousness. Sure, there’re interesting moments, but they’re few and far between. The director is handicapped by a poor script, with the end looking incomplete and confusing. Jeet Ganguli’s music is soothing and easy on the ears.  Anupam Kher and Sharmila Tagore lend dignity to their respective roles. Rajit Kapoor looks perfect for his part. Divya Dutta does well, but why did the director make her over-react towards the end? Nargis doesn’t deliver. Shayan Munshi shows a marked improvement over his previous work. Avika Gor gets no scope.
 
On the whole, MORNING WALK is a dull and dreary experience.