'Banjo': tedious, but brave

In what could be seen as a breakthrough performance for the underrated Riteish Deshmukh with reservations, "Banjo" provides him a chance to play a street musician in the bustling egalitarian bylanes of Mumbai where water scarcity is seriously countermanded by an abundance of dreams. In fact one of the dreamers dreams of owning his personal water tank. Deshmukh plays Taraat, who we are told, has been raised by a now-old and senile musician (Janardhan Parab). Early in the film when in typical "Raja Hindustani" style Taraat is supremely smitten by the Gori Memsahib from the US (Nargis Fakhri), he goes through a lengthy drunken monologue where he pretends to hold a conversation with his inert foster-father who can't hear a thing. Deshmukh exercises admirable control over the dialogues and the shifting emotions in the sequence, never overstating the self-pity for applause.