It
takes
us
just
5
minutes
to
get
a
hang
of
this
film's
narrative
structure.
As
nimbly-
paced
as
a
fast-bowler
playing
cricket
in
a
wide-open
field
trying
to
avoid
all
the
roar
of
and
din
of
the
cheering
crowds
in
the
pavilion.
VOTE
FOR
YOUR
FAVOURITE
OSCAR
NOMINEES
For
a
film
that
has
a
surprisingly
large
number
of
characters
(after
the
23rd
Sikh-Briton
running
up
and
down
the
wooden
staircase
I
stopped
counting)
the
noise
decibel
is
surprising
low.
The
clamour
of
a
crowded
Sikh
household
in
London
never
overpowers
the
emotional
kernel
of
this
film.
The
delicate
supple
bonds
that
grow
among
people
who
are
not
just
mal-adjusted
in
a
foreign
land
but
are
also
spiritual
and
emotional
misfits
in
their
own
household,
are
brought
out
in
vignettes
that
show
the
hand
of
a
confident
storyteller.
Nikhil
Advani's
admirable
episodic
structure
of
Salaam-e-Ishq
failed
because
of
its
inordinate
length.
This
time
Advani
takes
no
chances,
not
with
the
length.
Economy
of
expression
is
paramount
to
the
effectual
storytelling
in
Patiala
House.
Not
that
Advani
shies
away
from
taking
risks.
The
self-assured
manner
in
which
he
aggregates
the
characters
in
a
house
run
by
a
patriarchal
Sikh
in
Britain(Rishi
Kapoor,
firmly
in
command)
without
crowding
and
asyphixiating
the
canvas
shows
Advani's
deep
empathy
with
the
characters
who
drift
into
his
range
of
vision.
At
heart,
Patiala
House
is
a
father-son
story.
Akshay
has
done
them
before.
One
immediately
recalls
Suneel
Darshan's
Ek
Rishta
where
Amitabh
Bachchan
was
the
father
who
drove
son
Akshay
to
a
state
of
smothered
silences.
In
Patiala
House,
Akshay's
silences
scream
in
wounded
protest
every
time
papa
Rishi
Kapoor's
iron
hand
falls
on
the
boy's
dreams.
Ouch!
In
many
ways
the
screenplay
(Advani,
Anvita
Dutt
Guptan)
is
a
compendium
of
cliches:
despotic
dad,
timid
mother
(Dimple
Kapadia),
unfulfilled
son,
encouraging
girlfriend,
her
precocious
surrogate-son
(he
reminded
me
of
Kajol's
boy
in
My
Name
Is
Khan)….Advani
converts
familiar
characters
into
real
believable
warm
endearing
characters
whose
lives
begin
to
matter
to
us
as
we
watch
them
in
their
Southall
setting.
The
historic
data
about
the
Sikh
community
in
Britain
is
kept
at
a
bare
and
bearable
minimum.
The
narrative
never
feels
the
burden
of
the
cross-cultural
migratory
journey
made
by
the
plane-load
of
characters.
And
that's
the
film's
biggest
USP.
Even
as
the
peripheral
characters
make
a
fleeting
but
coherent
impact
(Rishi
Kapoor's
pregnant
daughter-in-law's
anguish
at
watching
her
husband
being
treated
like
a
doormat
is
as
apparent
to
us
as
the
family's
daughter
Hard
Kaur's
tattoo
on
the
arm)
we
are
constantly
seeking
out
the
next
chapter
in
the
repressed
Gattu's
wretched-going-on-glorious
life.
Akshay
plays
Gattu
with
a
restrain
that
never
shies
away
from
tears.
Every
time
he
thinks
of
his
ruined
dreams
a
trickle
of
a
tear
comes
down
from
the
side
of
his
cheek.
It
isn't
done
for
effect.
Akshay
embraces
Gattu's
shattering
dreams
and
makes
them
his
own.
Is
this
Akshay's
finest
performance
to
date?
For
the
sheer
mastery
over
the
heart
and
soul
of
his
character
and
the
dignity
he
brings
to
the
loser's
character,
yes,
this
is
Akshay's
best.
Watch
him
in
that
sequence
where
a
cricket
ball
rolls
out
of
his
pocket
in
his
mother
Dimple
Kapadia's
presence.
Akshay
is
heartbreaking
in
his
earnestness.
Akshay
and
Rishi
don't
look
like
father
and
son.
And
that's
the
best
compliment
one
can
pay
to
the
film's
theme.
How
can
they
look
like
a
family,
when
the
father
has
spent
all
of
his
son's
growing
years
denying
the
boy's
sense
of
the
self?
Oh,
Rishi
is
a
bellowing
volcano
of
arrogant
prejudices.
Brilliantly
bravura
as
always,
Rishi
almost
echoes
the
tyranny
of
Prithviraj
Kapoor.
Player
kiya
paida
to
darna
kya?!
Patiala
House
His
sudden
reformation
at
the
end
is
unconvincing.
The
unhurried
grace
of
the
rest
of
the
film
kind
of
gives
away
to
an
urgently-claimed
culmination.
One
can't
blame
Nikhil
Advani
for
abandoning
the
pace
at
the
end.
He
knows
the
audience
wants
a
hurried
send-off.
Anusha
Sharma
remains
effervescent
in
her
volubility.
But
she
needs
to
play
a
less
talkative
character.
Fast.
Though
scarce,
the
moments
between
Akshay
and
Dimple
are
very
precious.
There
is
a
especially
evocative
sequence
at
the
hospital
when
the
invalidated
Rishi
Kapoor
tells
his
screen-
wife
Dimple
Kapadia
to
shut
the
door
on
their
screen-son
Akshay's
face.
The
film
has
some
exceptionally
emotional
moments
bolstered
by
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's
resplendent
background
score.
Santosh
Thundiyil's
cinematography
adds
precious
little
to
the
proceedings.
London
doesn't
seem
to
come
alive
beyond
the
cricket
field.
The
editing
(Manan
Sagar)
could
have
been
less
generous.
Portions
of
the
narrative
lose
their
energy.
Before
it
sags,the
director
swoops
up
his
characters'
dreams
into
curvy
shapes.
The
narrative
never
loses
its
way
in
the
maze
and
clutter
of
the
characters
and
ambitions.
Gattu
finally
finds
his
groove.
The
film
never
loses
it.
Story first published: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 13:51 [IST]