Uunchai Review: Sooraj Barjatya's Film Is An Age-Defying Ode To Friendship And Life

Three old men and two old women are on a road journey to Kathmandu. You don't see that often in films, do you? While Sooraj Barjatya's Uunchai is a full-blooded Rajshri film, it is diverse, intensifying and life-altering without the backdrop of a big fat traditional wedding or a family reunion. Uunchai's star cast featuring the generation that literally plays their age and owns the very fabric of their characters feels like a defining moment not only for B-Town but also for us as an audience.

Uunchai is a hard relate, for everyone. It teaches you, without being preachy, that change is the only constant and its acceptance - although hard - makes life more endearing in the long run. It acquaints you that life and relationships are a balance we must maintain until our last breath, and not when we are expected to make it work. The film surfaced formidable, hard-to-accept truths, about the parent-child relationship, that being older does not ultimately put you in the right and being younger does not imply you're always in the wrong when in a situation unfavourable for your parents.

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Uunchai review

Spoiler alert

The film begins with unravelling a heartwarming bond between four friends from different walks of life Amit Shrivastav (Amitabh Bachchan), Javed Siddiqui (Boman Irani), Om Sharma (Anupam Kher) and Bhupen (Danny Dengongpa). The plot further deepens as the three friends Shrivastav, Siddiqui, and Sharma set on a road journey, in the company of Siddiqui's spouse Sabina Siddiqui (Neena Guta) and Mala Trivedi (Sarika), post-Bhupen's sudden demise leaving them with memories, pain and anew purpose to live up to. The three decide to honour Bhupen's last wish of going on a trek with his friends to Everest Base Camp, by taking a hike in majestic Nepal hills to spread their friend's ashes in the mountains he always longed for. They embark on a journey of self-discovery, unexpected challenges and overcoming inhibitions in each other's acquired strength. Will they be able to honour their friend's final wish? Will the insurmountable challenges break them? Or will they embark on a journey that will change their lives forever?

My two most prominent takeaways from the film were two feelings I had, one watching the film and the other looking at the hall full of the older generation accompanied by their friends, families and grandchildren.

Sooraj Barjatya, like usual, managed to bring people together in a way like no other and that's not all, he showcases the road journey as reflective, relatable and restoring in more ways than one, and the best part about it is that he, returning to direction after seven long years, makes it seem effortless.

"Doston ki baat hi alag hai, Dil bharta hi nahin"

There's a scene at the beginning where Danny Denzongpa says, "Doston ki baat hi alag hai, Dil bharta hi nahin." That's pretty much what gets the film rolling into what can be seen as an adventure full of life lessons through a road trip from Delhi to Kathmandu via Kanpur, Lucknow and Gorakhpur. Every halt will give you a lesson or two, and you'll realise you knew it all along but are too afraid to practice or be vocal about it.

A still from the film

The friendship between Irani, Bachchan and Kher is beautifully depicted, and the fact that they have not done a full-fledged film together in this regard makes it even more special. Neena Gupta and Boman Irani are endearing as the adorable couple Sabina and Javed, with the two having some of the film's most captivating dialogue exchange. I'm sure the audience would want more of this pairing in the future; I do. As the grumpy one among the friend group, Kher offers the most hilarious comic instances. There's nothing Amitabh Bachchan cannot do as an actor, and his vulnerability on screen makes you believe all the unpretentious gyaan he passes in between scenes.

There's a cameo by Nafisa Ali Sodhi, who plays Bachchan's spouse Abhilasha Shrivastav and brightens up the screen with her two-minute scenes. Danny Denzongpa's presence makes you want for more of him on screen, he is so graceful that it almost makes you forget he has ever played a negative role in his life. Parineeti Chopra paves her way into becoming a Rajshri actor with full conviction. She plays a strict tour guide who is going through a turmoil of her own and has some lessons to learn along the way. Neena Gupta's expressions and dialogue delivery are so well refined, she's natural like everyone says. It's pleasant to watch Sarika play Mala Trivedi, a woman motivated by redemption to take that hike to the camp, with such an assured demeanour.

The soul of the film is the resilience that defines the honourable friendship between the characters

Resilience, which surpasses age-defying norms, shackles societal acceptance of what the older generation is expected to do, and paves way for redefining purpose regardless of what stage of life one is in. I can now identify with my 65-year-old father even more because, like these elderly individuals in Uunchai, who welcome living in uncertainty but look forward to every moment of their existence, my father also believes in showing up without fear of his advancing age or ill health. He, like all parents, is unstoppable, and I believe we sometimes underestimate the older generation because aren't they all doing precisely what our generation is doing? - Hustling in anticipation, living with expectation.

Thankfully, the cast and crew of Uunchai make the plot around the trek to the Everest Base Camp credible. With the mannerism of the characters blending into the conventions of the trek with grave difficulties, multiple challenges involved in the itinerary, and the strength that sometimes breaks, the oldies hiking up the mountain looks believable and inspirational.

A still from the film

Sunil Gandhi has done an impeccable job at writing scenes which are high on emotions and serve their purpose with great timing and camaraderie between the characters, whether it's their onset of the trip in Delhi, their pit stop in Knaour or the unexpected turn of events at Gorakhpur, the thread of the film woven into fine storytelling doesn't break and keeps you hooked. Shout out to Manoj Kumar Khatoi for exemplary cinematography. The long and close shots of the magical Himalayas are brilliant and so very captivating.

One of my favourite scenes from the ">film is towards the end when Javed video calls his spouse, Sabina from the Everest base camp and tells her that although he loves her and she is his priority, he believes they should learn to live without each other, too, time to time. It is when Sabina tells him that he will find a new person in her when he returns because that person is now full of self-love and avails choices that she wants to go ahead with. "Main kahin bhi restaurant mein jab bhi order karti thi ya toh aapki pasand ka karti this ya Hiba (their daughter) ki, mujhe kya pasand hai mujhe pata hi nahin," she says. Marriages may require a bit of distance to remain healthy, and that's part of what makes a couple powerful. Taking the liberty to quote Kahlil Gibran here: "Let there be spaces in your togetherness. Love one another, but make not a bond of love."

The film won't pump you to go for a trek tomorrow, that's not its purpose. The film showcases the mountain within us that we all fear climbing in our capacities. Your life isn’t over until it’s literally over, and that is the most significant takeaway from Uunchai, a lesson that will stay with you for life and not just until the theatre's exit.

Views expressed are the author's own.