Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File (Hindi, 2014)

One would frankly never associate Vinay Pathak, known for rib-tickling performances in movies such as ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ and ‘Bheja Fry’ with a role as serious as this. That works in his favor as he breaks the barrier and delivers an impeccable performance as the Freedom Fighter, Gour Hari Das. The director, Ananth Mahadevan deserves a pat on the back for his conviction in having Vinay play the protagonist.

Gour Hari’s pain on seeing India, the very country whom he fought for, not respecting its freedom, is evident in every single frame. In fact, there are several sequences where the camera rests on his for several moments to capture is intricate reactions before he utters a response to the multiple people who question him. His acidic satire makes the audience cringe and laugh at the same time while he wins hearts by exhibiting an Ahimsaic demeanor – a Gandhiji replica almost.

Almost 80% of the scenes have Vinay, but the strong supporting cast of Konkona Sen Sharma as his supportive wife and the Ranvir Shorey as the hen-pecked chain smoking husband cum responsible journalist, are spectacular. Konkona’s pain on seeing her husband face so much ridicule, his deteriorating health condition, & her words to their son about his dad stay in our hearts long after the movie. Their presence certainly adds value to the film.

There are some weighty cameos worth mentioning: Saurabh Shukla & Murali Sharma as irresponsible Government employees, Mohan Kapoor as the hot-shot lawyer, Vikram Gokhale as the Chief Minister, Vipin Sharma as the cunning neighbor, and last but not the least, Siddharth Jadhav as an irrepressible tout.

Hats off to renowned journalist C.P.Surendran, the man responsible for the marvelous & engaging writing behind this epic journey of Gour Hari. Almost every dialogue uttered by Gour Hari has a punch with a subtle satire thread running throughout. While sports biopics are the flavor the times we live in, if you think that this one on a Freedom fighter will bore you, we request you to think again, for the journey of Gour Hari is written in a highly engaging fashion.

Alphonse Roy’s camera work is splendid with quite a lot of visual motifs catching the eye. The shot from within the typewriter was such a treat. Also refreshing to note that it was shot on Film & not digital. Not only does L.Subramaniam’s music tug at your heart relentlessly, but also the silences, that have been given the necessary space, sustain the feeling of helplessness. Acclaimed editor Sreekar Prasad makes sure that film is under 2 hours with every scene playing a part in the overall scheme of things.

Ananth Mahadevan must be lauded for kindling the National Spirit that still lies within every citizen of our country without being ever manipulative or preachy. Specifically the scene of Orissa missing from the map reminds one of so many other states have been sidelined. Kudos to him for avoiding unnecessary artificial sequences in the film.