By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Thursday,
March
23,
2006
The
plight
of
senior
citizens
has
been
depicted
in
a
number
of
Bollywood
films
in
the
past,
but
the
ones
that
stand
out
are
Zindagi
[Sanjeev
Kumar,
Mala
Sinha],
Avtaar
[Rajesh
Khanna,
Shabana
Azmi],
Swarg
[Rajesh
Khanna],
Jaisi
Karni
Waisi
Bharni
[Kader
Khan]
and
Baghban
[Amitabh
Bachchan,
Hema
Malini].
But
Umar,
directed
by
Karan
Razdan,
goes
a
step
further.
It
not
only
looks
at
the
atrocities
committed
by
their
kith
and
kin
during
their
sunset
years,
but
the
story
also
has
a
crime
angle
running
parallel.
The
problem
is,
while
the
story
of
the
senior
citizens
holds
interest,
the
crime
part
doesn't.
If
the
emotional
story
of
the
three
aged
people
[Kader
Khan,
Prem
Chopra,
Satish
Kaushik]
appears
straight
out
of
life/identifiable
and
moves
you,
the
crime
story
fails
to
thrill
you.
It
actually
stands
out
like
an
island.
Director
Karan
Razdan,
who
is
also
credited
with
the
script,
may
be
keen
to
convey
a
message
with
Umar,
but
ideally
he
should've
stuck
to
the
senior
citizens'
issue,
avoiding
juxtaposing
the
murder
mystery
angle
to
the
main
plot.
The
conclusion,
therefore,
is
that
Umar
neither
makes
a
strong
statement
about
the
plight
of
the
senior
citizens,
nor
does
it
emerge
as
a
murder
mystery
that
keeps
you
on
the
edge.
Umar
revolves
around
three
senior
citizens
--
Iqbal
[Kader
Khan],
Chandrakant
[Prem
Chopra]
and
Rajpal
[Satish
Kaushik]
--
who
live
in
London
with
their
families.
Insensitively
treated
by
their
children,
all
three
are
humiliated
and
insulted
all
the
while.
Enter
Shashank
[Jimmy
Shergill],
who
has
grown
up
to
respect
his
elders.
Treating
the
senior
citizens
with
affection
and
respect,
Shashank
quickly
wins
a
place
in
their
hearts.
Shashank
falls
in
love
with
Sapna
[Shenaz
Treasurywala],
who
happens
to
be
the
daughter
of
a
rich
businessman
[Shakti
Kapoor].
But
Sapna's
dad
does
not
approve
of
this
relationship
because
of
Shashank's
status.
Shashank
gets
falsely
framed
for
the
murder
of
his
lady-boss.
The
court
finds
him
guilty
and
puts
him
behind
bars.
Shocked
by
the
sudden
change
of
developments,
the
three
senior
citizens
plan
his
escape
when
he
is
being
taken
to
prison.
Shashank
manages
to
escape,
but
is
shot
in
the
process.
Shashank
is
given
shelter
in
Iqbal's
house,
but
when
Chandrakant
and
Rajpal's
children
find
out
about
this,
they
complain
to
the
cops,
hoping
to
win
a
reward
in
the
process.
To
avoid
any
unpleasantness
between
the
senior
citizens
and
their
respective
families,
Shashank
decides
to
leave.
Instead,
all
three
walk
out
with
Shashank.
How
the
senior
citizens
clear
Shashank's
name
forms
the
remainder
of
the
story.
There
are
two
stories
running
parallel
in
Umar.
The
very
start
of
the
film,
when
the
three
senior
citizens
help
Jimmy
escape
from
the
British
police,
gives
an
impression
that
there's
more
to
the
film.
And
as
the
story
advances,
you
realize
that
besides
the
main
plot
[senior
citizens],
there's
a
love
story
[Jimmy-Shenaz]
and
revenge
angle
[Dalip
Tahil]
attached
to
it.
Umar
appeals
intermittently.
And
the
portions
you
carry
home
are
the
ones
that
have
the
children
ill-treating
their
parents,
which
truly
move
you.
At
least
two
sequences
stand
out:
The
first
involves
Satish
Kaushik,
who
gets
an
attack
of
asthama
while
playing
with
his
grandchildren
and
the
second,
when
a
heated
confrontation
takes
place
in
Prem
Chopra's
house
and
in
a
fit
of
fury,
the
son
slaps
the
father.
Even
the
sequence
at
an
office,
when
the
English
officials
keep
Kader
Khan
waiting
endlessly
and
Khan
lashes
out
when
pushed
against
the
wall,
is
worthy
of
note.
But
the
post-interval
portions,
when
the
crime
saga
takes
over
and
the
three
senior
citizens
become
fugitives
and
along
with
Jimmy
go
on
a
hiding,
takes
the
graph
of
the
film
down.
And
things
continue
to
deteriorate
right
till
the
climax,
when
they
confront
Dalip
Tahil
in
his
house.
The
end
is
truly
formulaic!
As
the
writer
of
the
enterprise,
Karan
Razdan
falters
because
the
crime
angle
in
the
story
is
highly
predictable.
His
direction,
however,
is
inspiring
at
places,
but
bland
at
times.
There's
not
much
scope
for
music
in
the
film
[Shameer
Tandon],
but
the
one
track
that
has
a
haunting
feel
to
it
is
the
Jagjit
Singh
rendered
'Khumari
Chaddh
Ke
Utar
Gayi'.
The
Manna
Dey
track
is
okay,
but
its
placement
in
the
story
is
weird.
Imagine
the
fugitives
suddenly
breaking
into
a
song
when
the
fact
is
that
the
cops
as
well
as
the
villains
are
thirsting
for
their
blood.
Cinematography
is
eye-pleasing,
with
the
locales
of
London
giving
the
film
a
fresh
look.
Dialogues
are
well
worded
at
times.
Umar
rests
on
the
three
protagonists
--
Kader
Khan,
Prem
Chopra
and
Satish
Kaushik.
Khan
is
capable,
conveying
the
pathos
through
his
eyes.
He
is
very
believable,
enacting
his
role
with
precision.
It's
after
a
long
time
that
Chopra
gets
a
role
that
does
justice
to
his
talent
and
he
takes
full
advantage
of
it.
He
is
excellent.
Kaushik
is
highly
creditable
and
the
only
thing
you
want
to
ask
the
actor
is,
why
isn't
he
doing
more
films
as
an
actor?
Jimmy
Shergill
is
first-rate.
Although
the
main
story
is
focused
on
the
above-named
actors,
the
youngster
manages
to
make
his
presence
felt.
Shenaz
Treasurywala
is
stiff.
She
needs
to
be
natural
in
front
of
the
camera.
Shakti
Kapoor
is
efficient,
especially
in
the
sequence
when
he
invites
Jimmy
over
to
his
house
and
the
three
senior
citizens
land
up
one
after
the
other.
Dalip
Tahil
is
alright.
On
the
whole,
Umar
is
made
with
noble
intentions,
but
the
message
does
not
come
across
firmly.
In
view
of
the
fact
that
the
film
has
been
released
with
low-key
promotion
and
a
not-too-happening
cast,
its
business
prospects
will
remain
on
the
lower
side.