By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Saturday,
June
09,
2007
Very
rarely
does
one
come
across
a
film
that
makes
the
other
films
look
so
trivial
in
comparison.
Dharm
is
one
of
those
films!
In
which
genre
does
one
classify
/
place
a
film
like
Dharm?
It
talks
of
religion.
It
talks
of
communal
harmony.
It
also
looks
at
the
parent-child
bond.
Most
importantly,
Dharm
is
one
of
those
thought-provoking
films
that
touch
the
core
of
your
heart.
Certain
films
are
beyond
box-office.
It
would
be
blasphemous
to
evaluate
their
potential
on
the
basis
of
how
they
fare
at
the
turnstiles.
That
holds
true
for
Dharm.
An
outstanding
film
in
all
respects,
this
one
deserves
the
highest
praise
and
of
course,
the
highest
award.
Do
yourself
one
favor.
Watch
Dharm.
Dharm
is
about
a
Hindu
priest,
Pandit
Chaturvedi
[Pankaj
Kapur],
who's
revered
in
Benaras.
One
day,
his
daughter
gets
an
infant
home.
The
mother
of
this
infant
had
disappeared
and
was
untraceable.
The
priest's
wife
[Supriya
Pathak
Kapur]
requests
him
to
allow
her
to
raise
the
child
[Krish
Parekh],
instead
of
sending
him
to
an
orphanage.
The
priest
hesitates
initially,
but
agrees
later.
Gradually,
the
child
wins
everyone's
heart,
including
that
of
the
priest.
The
story
takes
a
turn
when
the
child's
mother,
a
Muslim,
resurfaces
and
claims
her
child.
The
entire
family
is
shocked...
Director
Bhavna
Talwar
deserves
kudos
for
not
only
choosing
a
daringly
different
story,
but
also
presenting
it
with
rare
maturity
and
honesty.
A
lot
of
hard
work
and
detailing
has
gone
into
this
film
and
it's
evident
in
each
and
every
frame.
To
pinpoint
a
sequence
or
two
would
be
doing
gross
injustice
to
the
film,
but
a
few
sequences
do
leave
you
spellbound.
Take,
for
instance,
the
intermission
point,
when
the
mother
of
the
child
surfaces
or
the
climax,
which
deserves
an
ovation.
Bhavna
Talwar's
direction
deserves
distinction
marks.
The
writing
[script:
Vibha
Singh;
dialogues:
Varun
Gautam]
is
flawless.
Only
thing,
the
chaste
Hindi
is
difficult
to
comprehend
at
places,
but
goes
well
with
the
mood
of
the
film.
Cinematography
[Nalla
Muthu]
is
superb.
Sound
[Dileep
Subramaniam]
is
of
international
quality.
Costumes
[Shehnaz
Vahanvati]
are
authentic.
The
performances
are
award-worthy.
Like
always,
Pankaj
Kapur
delivers
an
astounding
performance.
It's
akin
to
a
textbook
in
acting.
Supriya
Pathak
Kapur
excels.
Krish
Parekh
is
first-rate.
Hrishita
Bhatt
is
good.
K.K.
Raina
is
top
class.
The
actor
enacting
the
role
of
Raina's
son,
Pankaj
Tripathy,
is
effective.
Dayashanker
Pandey
is
superb.
On
the
whole,
Dharm
is
one
of
the
finest
films
produced
in
India.
A
film
that
deserves
to
be
seen
by
every
lover
of
qualitative
cinema.
A
film
that's
bound
to
create
ripples!