Pallavi Subhash Movies

About Happy Journey movie

Happy Journey tells the story of one such individual Niranjan (Atul Kulkarni) who has been working since a very young age in Dubai. This has alienated him from his family including his younger sister Janaki (Priya Bapat) , although she remembers him fondly and misses his presence. Often putting his family first and not being able to fulfil his personal desires has also made Niranjan cynical and bitter. Several years later, Niranjan and Janaki meet under some unusual circumstances giving them a chance to rediscover their relationship. They decide to embark on a roadtrip with the intent to mend their relationship and have an adventure of their own. What happens along the journey forms the crux of the film.

Indian cinema has hardly depicted the character of a younger sister beyond the hackneyed and clichéd norms of our cinema, giving such characters little or no personality at all. Rarely has Indian cinema explored the brother sister bond as well as this film does. This is one of the foremost reasons why the film largely works. Be it sharing the most intimate secrets or helping to pursue the woman you love. There is a refreshing honesty in the way the bond of the siblings has been depicted in the film. Never before has the character of a sister depicted in such a way, especially in Marathi movies. It is often said that your siblings are one of your best and the first friends you ever make in your life. The film also puts across this point rather subtly through its proceedings.

Besides exploring the brother sister relationship, the film in parts is a road movie, which is yet another genre that has been pathetically explored in our films. The only notable exceptions to this are perhaps films such as Kacche Dhaage and North 24 Kaatham. Road movies are essentially movies concerned with the idea of self-discovery, wherein often the premise of the physical journey undertaken by its protagonists serves as an excuse for them to overcome their demons and rediscover themselves in the process. But given the fact that we, the Indian audiences are suckers for emotional manipulation and shallow melodrama, such films often resort to same and end up being preachy too. Happy Journey thankfully avoids resorting to such clichés or melodrama, though it occasionally resorts to some of it.

Although the focus remains largely on the siblings rediscovering their fondness for each other, the other characters are well woven into the narrative such as Alice (Pallavi Subhash) the long estranged love interest of Niranjan. The joy of meeting an estranged companion after a long time and the joy of rekindling an old relationship is depicted nicely through the story of Niranjan and Alice.

The cinematography by Rangarajan Ramabadran depicts the picturesque and pristine quality of the Konkan area of Maharashtra and Goa quite well, tempting you to zip off to these places for a trip at the earliest.

Atul Kulkarni has been one of the most impressive actors in recent times and this film reaffirms the same. As the bitter, older sibling who has become cynical towards life and uncaring towards himself and others and who slowly becomes a changed man, Kulkarni is rightly understated and continues to impress.

It takes a while to get used to Pallavi Subhash’s Goan accented Marathi, but once it does she doesn’t fail to leave a mark. As the reticent Alice who has been used to living in a sheltered environment but tired of the same and is joyous to rekindle her old relationship, Pallavi Subhash plays this character quite well and looks stunning in almost every scene.

The film however belongs to Priya Bapat. As the bold and outspoken girl who yearns for the attention of her brother, she is outstanding and undeniably holds the film in an author backed role. From playing minor roles in both the Munnabhai films to playing secondary but important roles in films like Mee Shivajiraje Bhosle Boltoy and now to Happy Journey, she has indeed matured well as a performer. It would be interesting to see the kind of roles she does from hereon.