One
look
at
the
promos
of
Road
To
Sangam
and
you
realize
that
this
isn't
one
of
those
films
you
watch
every
week.
Road
To
Sangam,
in
fact,
pricks
your
conscience
and
mirrors
a
reality.
Wars
have
been
fought
and
are
still
being
fought
in
the
name
of
religion.
Road
To
Sangam
tries
to
seek
answers
to
the
burning
issue
and
in
the
process,
also
talks
of
partition
and
the
Muslims
in
present-day
India.
Made
with
honest
intentions,
this
one's
targeted
at
connoisseurs
of
cinema.
Road
To
Sangam
tells
the
story
of
a
God-fearing,
devout
Muslim
mechanic
named
Hashmat
Ullah
[Paresh
Rawal],
who
has
been
entrusted
the
job
of
repairing
an
old
Ford
engine,
not
knowing
its
historic
significance.
He
is
caught
in
a
complex
situation
after
a
powerful
bomb
explosion
rocks
his
town,
leading
to
the
arrest
of
innocent
Muslim
youths
of
his
locality.
A
strike
to
work
is
called
by
the
prominent
leaders
[played
by
Om
Puri
and
Pawan
Malhotra]
of
his
community
to
protest
against
the
unjust
treatment
meted
out
to
those
arrested
youths
by
the
police.
Will
he
support
the
protest
and
abandon
the
repair
of
the
engine
or
go
against
the
wishes
of
his
community?
A
simple,
thought-provoking
story,
Road
To
Sangam
has
some
brilliant
moments
and
also
some
sequences
that
you
carry
home.
But
what
could've
been
told
in
a
concise
format
seems
stretched
after
a
point.
Also,
besides
moving
at
a
snail's
pace,
there's
also
sermonising
at
times,
which
wasn't
really
required.
Writer-director
Amit
Rai
explains
his
point
of
view,
but
the
screenplay
could've
been
firm
for
a
stronger
impact.
Otherwise,
the
director
has
succeeded
in
extracting
wonderful
performances
from
the
principal
cast.
Paresh
Rawal
excels
in
this
film.
This
is
amongst
his
finest
works.
Om
Puri
is
equally
competent,
although
the
length
of
his
role
is
limited.
Pawan
Malhotra
is
efficient,
as
always.
Javed
Sheikh
is
good.
The
remaining
actors
enact
their
parts
very
well.
On
the
whole,
Road
To
Sangam
is
mainly
for
connoisseurs
of
cinema
and
also
for
the
festival
circuit.
Story first published: Friday, January 29, 2010, 14:26 [IST]