All India Rank Review: Varun Grover makes a gentle and crowd-pleasing debut | Bollywood

Lyricist Varun Grover makes a confident and captivating directorial debut with All India Rank, which opened the 12th Dharamshala International Film Festival. Set in 1997, it begins by explaining the components of Euler’s identity, considered the most beautiful equation in mathematics. ei π + 1 = 0. Animated numbers appear on the screen to gently make this point. We soon find out that the narration is of his 17-year-old Viveksin (Bodhisattva Sharma) who is to leave home for his IIT preparations. (Also read: Agra Review: Kanu Behl takes on sexual oppression in this year’s boldest and most important film)

premise

Vivek doesn’t know what his dream is. He has always been a topper in school and somehow his father RK Singh (Shashi Bhushan) knew that Vivek would get into IIT. His mother Manju (Geeta Agrawal) has no say in this regard. Glover built this middle-class family with his characteristic resourcefulness. His father has to resist the urge to smoke, and his mother has high cholesterol levels, but that doesn’t stop him from gorging on sweets. For Vivek, it seems that the only thing they can control is their own destiny. And from his sheltered home in Lucknow, he heads to Kota, the land of the makers of IIT. From here, his journey begins to take shape in many ways.

Varun, himself an alumnus of IIT-BHU, has crafted this semi-autobiographical film from elements of the stylized youth genre. Yes, I have a select few friends who will come with me. There is also Samta Sudiksha, a focused and hardworking girl student who slowly approaches Vivek’s sincerity. But even with familiar touches, Glover is able to inject a rush of heartwarming moments injected with just a touch of freshness and nostalgia.

The culprit is the attention to detail. Glover establishes the setting beautifully. Now he’s in 1997, so cell phones aren’t anywhere near these faces. If you have to make a call, you should mark the nearest phone booth. However, due to the same element as the telephone booth, the incident diverges and will later cause Manju to suffer. (A subplot that feels a bit stretched after a while.) RK Singh also struggles with his job. But despite these threads tying into All India Rank’s thematic concerns, they sometimes tend to sap the story’s energy.

what works

In collaboration with cinematographer Archana Gangrekar, Grover constructs this world with care and grace. There’s not a hint of sentimentality in the design of this debut product. Special mention to Mayuf Mainak who effectively used the best songs saved for last with Vishal Bharadwaj’s incomparable baritone.

Bodhisattva Sharma as Vivek gives a beautiful performance, carefully bringing out the awkward, childlike innocence in his demeanor. And then there’s Sashi Bhushan and Geeta Agarwal who play Vivek’s parents. It’s clear on screen how much care and consideration Glover has put into crafting these two characters of his. Together, their scenes resonate an unforced and joyful truth. The truly special moment comes when his father takes the peppy “Shaktiman” hook step and tells him he’ll always be there no matter what. I found myself smiling ear to ear.

While ‘All India Rank’ is likely to bring to mind recent dramas such as ‘Aspirants’ and ‘Kota Factory’, the film is about being willing to accept that not everyone has the answers. In this respect, this movie stands out. But one has to keep asking questions and keep exploring the elements of intrigue and wonder. With a kind heart and a huge heart, Glover has created an extremely crowd-pleasing debut feature. The goal is simple. Chase the magic formula that will fit your heart and head somewhere. Until then, explore.

Santanu Das is covering the 12th Dharamshala International Film Festival as part of accredited media.

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