Balaji Telefilms Ltd presents an emotional family drama with the lead roles of Amitabh Bachchan, Rashmika Mandanna, Neena Gupta, and Ashish Vidyarthi, among others. It is the story of the Bhalla family who is trying to cope with the death of the family head, the children’s mother Gayatri Devi, and the wife of Harish. It is their life journey of remorse and self-discovery.
Amitabh Bachchan can give liveliness in the film but is sparse in punch and influence. Directed by Vikas Bahl, it is mediocre, missing the elements which could render him a better treat. The film is also impaired by the director’s shallow treatment of its characters.
Goodbye – The Best Story – Line
The story discovers the anguish and pain that comes from the unexpected demise of a family member and what they have to go through. The director tries to find how different people find ways of overcoming grief. After losing his wife, Harish could not find solace and a shoulder on which he could cry. He was left lonely and reclusive. Children got busy in their respective lives, and neighbors got interested in gossiping and giving trivial advice.
Harish is desirous of rituals, but with no idea of how to perform them, he finds himself in a dilemma. He accidentally missed the last call from his mother, so did not get the opportunity to understand the things required for the necessary rituals. His daughter Tara (Rashmika Mandanna) who is an advocate is a modern girl and so does not believe in performing any rituals. Harish’s elder son Karan (Pavel Gulati) is busy in board meetings, so don’t have time for trivial things, and Karan’s American wife Daisy (Elli AvrRam) is not able to adjust to the family environment. His adopted son Angad (Sahil Mehta) is so stressed out that he tries to overcome it by overeating, while the youngest Nakul is out of reach.
Of all these family members, one member who is left alone is old Harish. The theme of the movie is how elderly parents feel deserted and ignored.
A Brief Review – Goodbye
Though Bahl attempted to display emotions and some tearjerker moments, it could not well craft the moment to the likes of Mohan Kumar and Ravi Chopra. These directors made us shed copious tears. The film keeps on moving, but as we span through, we find the characters are underwritten, and the conflicts unnourished. What is so irritating is the lecturing tone about the values of rituals.
While watching the movie, we could make out that no single character in the film has ever been to a cremation ground and seen death. But, the makers of the film would like to concentrate more on the importance of religious practices which could least fit into the propaganda pictures. There are some heart-melting moments in between, especially the flashback scenes of the love between Harish and Gayatri, yet it failed to create the impact, which it could have reduced to a cringe-fest that fails to create cinematic punctuation.
It is a heartfelt dramedy where the whole of life gets a simple little thing, and an act of “letting go”. But what is more hurting is the time when no character is getting to say goodbye. These aching lines are from “Life of Pi”, but are at the crux of Goodbye. So, do you like to have your life pass by or make the most of it, or harbor the sentiments of fear and future uncertainties?
Climax
This film is all; a funeral drama, tragicomedy, and dispute between old and new including closures. Vikas Bahl’s film juggles different genres and times, a grief tale but with a comical twist. The story speaks voluminously about when you allow silence to enter the chaos. It is about how the family moves forward and converses. Credit goes to Sunil Grover, who brought a twist to the story, infusing life into their dull and grief moments.
Goodbye is already running in theaters and doing great; must watch it once if you liked the story.
Share it with your friends!
Similar Posts
