Movie review: Mukti Bhawan

Just like one celebrates birth where a woman goes to the hospital to deliver, this film celebrates death, where an old man goes to Mukti Bhavan, a hospice on the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi, in the hope of attaining salvation while awaiting his final call. The 77-year-old Daya (Lalit Behl) who is fondly addressed as Babuji, gets a premonition that his days are numbered. And, like a true Hindu, he expresses his desire to spend his last few days on the banks of the holy river. His son Rajiv (Adil Hussain) reluctantly accompanies him, more out of duty than love. And just like in a delivery, the audience too is subjected to the labour pains which at the end of the viewing, though sad, bring tears of joy and fulfilment. Though there is nothing morbid about the film, the narrative is shrouded in melancholy making it a tragicomedy. Humour surfaces through the subtle, down-to-earth one liners which also double up as strong messages that questions practicality and traditions.