Summary : Predictability, prejudices, silliness, and the storytelling drown out a message about how you can achieve great heights at any age.
Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Danny Denzongpa, Parineeti Chopra, Neena Gupta and Sarika
Director : Sooraj Barjatya
Stars : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Review :
Maybe, the mellowdrama that a Barjatya film goes into, lacks in this film. Its goals go far beyond what Uunchai can accomplish. The first movie from director Sooraj Barjatya in seven years, and his second in 16 years, is a bit of a climb.
It centres on a long road trip and a six-day high-altitude climb, both as challenging as you would imagine them to be. However, it is more of a drawn-out motivational speech that promotes ideas that are as old as the hills than a vibrant, interesting movie that will leave you wanting more.
The film, which stars Amitabh Bachchan as a best-selling author of young adult character development books, is full of emotional crescendos, but the journey from Delhi to Kathmandu and the hike from Lukla to the Everest base camp are devoid of much adventure until the movie is on its last legs and about to fall apart under the unwavering solemnity of its goal.
Fun-loving Bhupen (Danny Denzongpa), an individual who fled Nepal as a young adult and spent his entire professional life in Delhi working for the Indian government, passes away from a heart arrest on the eve of his birthday. He makes preparations to go back to Nepal for a Himalayan climb with three men he has known for fifty years at the party earlier that night.
The three friends—writer Amit Shrivastav (Bachchan), bookseller Om Sharma (Anupam Kher), and owner of a clothing store Javed Siddiqui (Boman Irani)—decide to honour their deceased friend by making the arduous climb up the mountain, knowing that it will be an endurance test for their arthritic bones and weakened lungs. The three are on a special outing because they are carrying an urn holding Bhupen’s ashes.
Even though they have health problems and other concerns, Amit, Om, and Javed, three elderly people, join a group of young trekkers who are being led by adventure tour operator Shraddha Gupta (Parineeti Chopra). When times are particularly trying and they are on the verge of giving up, they recall Bhupen’s constant claim that Everest holds the answers and that the journey to its base is worthwhile.
Uunchai, which represents a comeback for the late Tarachand Barjatya’s Rajshri Productions label, makes a valiant effort to stay up with the times but is unable to resist the allure of antiquated practises. The movie looks for the most straightforward solutions to cope with difficult psychological and behavioural issues, if it isn’t blatantly corny. Although the days of straightforward love stories are long gone, Uunchai is unwilling to let them die.
It becomes clear that the camaraderie between the three men and the hopes of reconciliation and filial (or familial) fealty that they nurture not only hide a lot of latent tension and emotional scars but also turn out to be disconcertingly misplaced as the story unfolds and the backstories of the main characters are gradually revealed, with separations, bereavements, and misunderstandings causing lasting psychological damage.
They go through the state of Uttar Pradesh by car, stopping in Kanpur, Lucknow, and Gorakhpur along the way. Everywhere they travel, the group only encounters disappointments and conflicts, yet, like life, they continue on their trip.
The script gives the actors ample opportunity to showcase their talents. Neena Gupta plays Shabina, Javed’s wife, and Sarika plays Mala Trivedi, a stranger who joins the group and greatly irritates the friends. They don’t let the chance slip by. Unfortunately, the plot in which they are involved lacks any illuminating insights on what the whims of time do to people as they grow older and attempt to cope with life’s unexpected turns.
The millennial Shraddha, a rebel who is willing to forge her own path despite the cost, is used in the Uunchai script as a representation of the zeitgeist. Although she frequently disagrees with the three old guys, it is usually the latter who prevail.
The questions that Uunchai seeks to address through the collective lens of four guys who have had more than their fair share of ups and downs in life are approached in a staunchly conservative manner. It discusses lost loves, premature deaths in marriages, irreconcilable disagreements in another marriage, the onset of clinical depression, and a girl’s estrangement from her parents, among other topics. The film’s scattered revelations are meant to serve as its dramatic high points. But they pass by without making even a slight ripple.
When old age threatens to alter the pace and quality of existence, the excessively long Uunchai spends a disproportionate amount of time rambling on about ageing, transience, mortality, and the desire for freedom. Although these are essential topics to address, Uunchai treats them in a way that verges on being preachy and sweet.
The Himalayas, which are represented by cinematographer Manoj Kumar Khatoi as being translucent, are where a significant portion of the story takes place. Is the editor’s indulgence with some of the frames due to their breathtaking beauty? A much sharper edit was required for Uunchai. The peak that the film seeks is elusive, much like Mount Everest, which is visible in the distance in several frames.