BOTTOM LINE
Unique Experiment, Mildly Uneven
PLATFORM
Netflix
RUN TIME
1h 52m
What Is the Film About?
Newly transferred DSP Ridwaan Sayyed arrives in Baramulla, Kashmir, to investigate the baffling case of missing children. As he delves into the mystery, his family moves into a dilapidated house and begins experiencing supernatural occurrences. Ridwaan is forced to confront local dark secrets, his own troubled past, where reality and folklore meet.
Performances
Baramulla is a director’s vehicle and the opportunity to let performers take centrestage is minimal. Yet, the lead cast does its job with flair. Manav Kaul is a fine choice to play a brooding, sensitive middle-aged father. Bhasha Sumbli makes a more pronounced effort to showcase her inner turmoil, doing a good job as Ridwaan’s wife.
Both the on-screen children – Singh Rohaan (who sparkled in Laal Singh Chaddha), Arista Mehta deliver the goods at opportune moments. The supporting cast is efficient, helping the film sustain its momentum consistently.
Analysis
How does one re-interpret the angst of the past in a cinematic form, mirroring its painful echos without sounding like a rage-filled rant? Baramulla attempts to underline the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits in the early 1990s, their forced exodus from the valley and deaths in the hands of the militants through a supernatural drama, forging a link between the past and the present.
Officer Ridwaan’s arrival in Baramulla coincides with the disappearance of several children in the region. Back home, he’s trying hard to stabilise his equation with his rebellious teenage daughter Noorie. Their residence is marred by a series of eerie occurrences. Meanwhile, ‘diaper militancy’ is on the rise, with youngsters treading a war path right in their formative years.
Baramulla emphasises personal is indeed political – the disturbances at Ridwaan’s home are indicative of the external chaos in the region. Time and again, the focus is on the lost innocence of the younger lot, caught in a no-man’s land, between the ripple effects of the past and the tense present in a precarious political climate. The film gives an overall picture of the situation, avoiding specificity.
The director employs several visual and aural metaphors to arrive at his core theme – the cold setting, the magic trick, the shadow with eyes, the white lilies, the chanting of the hymns, the ignored corner of the house, to name a few. The narrative detailing is impressive, done without a sense of hurry. Yet, until half-way into the film, the film leaves you perplexed than engaged.
The second hour of the film is more or less directed at the viewer – that times may change, people may perish, but the flames of the past still continue to burn, the wounds are yet to be healed. Even though vengeance may seem like the core motive towards the end, it is only used as an effective hook to look at what a family endured, in a place they once considered their own.
More than what it tries to say about the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, Baramulla is interesting for its innovative use of form to make a strong social/political comment. The tension in the setting is built quite gradually, sometimes at the cost of narrative precision. Also, the entire ‘diaper militancy’ subplot could’ve benefited from more nuance, the treatment is uni-dimensional at times.
On the whole, Baramulla takes time to grow on you because there’s no spoon-feeding, especially in the first hour. You sense something’s fishy and a not-so-obvious angle to the strange occurrences, but the fun lies in decoding it. Ultimately, when the cat is out of the bag, you appreciate the director’s intent. However, the ending feels like a compromise to an extent too; the resolution is convenient and impulsive. There could’ve been better methods for closure.
Baramulla is a cinematically interesting experiment that presents the brutality of the past in a supernatural form, but it’s fully satisfying either. It has solid technique, though lacks nuance on a thematic level.
Music and Other Departments?
Composer Susmit Limaye’s music highlights the growing tension in the household and the region, swiftly altering the tonality of the score as per necessity. The cinematography (by Arnold Fernandes) lets the viewer soak into the ambience organically, without letting personal indulgences dictate the result. The pacing is slightly uneven in the first hour, though the dots connect well later.
Highlights?
Unique take on the Kashmiri Pandits issue
Innovative storytelling style
Technically sound
Drawbacks?
Uneven narration
Wobbly first hour
Convenient resolution
Did I Enjoy It?
In most parts, yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, but stay patient with the slow start
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Baramulla Netflix Movie Review by M9
