Releasing in a cinema hall near you is a film called Waiting which you must include in your “must watch” list. Here’s why! After a considerable wait, there comes a film where actors can actually act! Waiting has an enviable DNA, with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Kalki Koechlin and Rajat Kapoor. It can’t get better than this!
Further, it has music by Mikey McCleary, which actually helps the story move forward rather than puncture the smooth flow of the narrative. And finally, a refreshing plot line, mature writing, and sensitive handling of the subject make it irresistible.
What do you do when a dear one is fatally ill… ? You have no option but to wait… and those countless hours spent waiting at the hospital lobby for a reassuring nod from the doctor is what Waiting tries to explore. Sans artless emotional manipulation and unnecessary melodrama, this one is a sincere and honest effort to try and understand the psychology of grief, fear and the resilience of hope.
Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin are as usual brilliant actors and deliver a sterling performance. The way Shah mines the expression of weariness on his face helps to create a compelling character as he negotiates his life around his wife who has been in a coma for 8 long months. Kalki plays a newly-wed girl, Tara, whose life turns upside down with the news of her husband’s sudden accident.
We wish some more time was spent in trying to develop Tara’s character but Kalki and Naseeruddin Shah’s on-screen chemistry more than makes up for it. The terrific ensemble cast with Rajat Kapoor and Rajeev Ravindranathan give us many more memorable moments.
Director Anu Menon paces the film masterfully and her hold on the narrative rarely flounders. At 98 minutes, Waiting should not be missed.
I give it 3 and a half QUINTS out of 5. Wait no more to book those tickets!
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)