Beyond
The
Clouds
Movie
Review:
Ishaan
Khatter
|
Malavika
Mohanan
|
Majid
Majidi
|
FilmiBeat
Rating:
3.0/5
Star
Cast:
Ishaan
Khatter,
Malavika
Mohanan,
Gautam
Ghose,
Sharada,
Dhwani
Rajesh
Director:
Majid
Majidi
Oscar
nominated
Iranian
filmmaker
Majid
Majidi's
first
Indian
venture
'Beyond
The
Clouds' created
quite
a
buzz
ever
since
its
inception.
Right
from
Deepika
Padukone
giving
a
look-test
to
Kangana
Ranaut
claiming
'she
walked
out
of
the
film
because
her
role
wasn't
substantial',
the
film
was
in
news
for
various
reasons.
Of
course,
everyone's
quite
curious
to
know
what
Majidi
has
in
store
for
us
this
time.
His
films
are
known
to
seamlessly
combine
grime
reality
and
metaphors.
In
Majidi's
films,
every
cloud
has
a
silver
lining.
Does
he
impress
with
'Beyond
The
Clouds'?
Here
comes
the
answer.
The
film
kickstarts
with
a
captivating
opening
shot
where
a
young
boy
is
seen
darting
across
a
flyover
and
soon
the
camera
follows
him
into
Majidi's
wonderland.
The
boy
is
Aamir
(Ishaan
Khatter),
a
street
boy
who
peddles
drugs
for
living
and
believes
it
to
be
his
instant
route
to
becoming
stinky
rich.
Unknown
to
him,
his
estranged
sister
Tara
(Malvika
Mohanan)
is
in
prostitution
due
to
financial
constraints.
Until
one
fine
morning,
Aamir
finds
the
cops
hots
on
heels
and
takes
refuge
at
his
sister's
workplace
and
then
at
her
home.
The
wounds
of
the
past
are
yet
to
heal
for
the
estranged
siblings.
Further
things
take
a
drastic
turn
when
Tara
is
put
behind
the
bars
in
an
attempt
to
murder
a
man
while
retaliating
against
his
rape
attempt.
The
rest
of
the
plot
revolves
around
how
the
siblings
find
a
family
which
they
always
craved
for
in
places
where
they
never
expected.
Majid
Majidi's
films
are
known
for
their
visual
appeal
and
Beyond
The
Clouds
is
no
exception.
The
recurring
motiffs
in
the
form
of
silhouettes
and
the
flirty
play
of
light
and
shadow
add
an
interesting
touch
to
his
story-telling.
He
pulls
you
into
the
underbelly
of
Mumbai
and
presents
a
story
of
poignant
human
fiction.
To
quote
James
Allen-
Circumstances
do
not
make
a
man,
it
reveals
him
to
himself.
Beyond
The
Clouds
has
some
brilliant
moments
that
squeeze
your
heart.
But
then
they
are
sparsely
scattered.
Majidi
doesn't
focus
much
on
Aamir-Tara's
sibling
bonding.
As
a
result
of
this,
you
never
feel
the
pain
of
their
separation.
At
several
places,
the
filmmaker
doesn't
tie
the
loose
ends
to
let
the
audience's
imagination
wild.
Does
it
help?
To
each
his
own,
is
what
we
think
here.
While
the
first
half
of
Beyond
The
Clouds
is
all
about
building
the
characters,
it's
actually
post
interval
that
the
story
comes
alive
and
stirs
the
emotional
chord.
Even
Majidi
couldn't
escape
from
the
charms
of
Bollywood
and
has
used
it
at
many
points.
Talking
about
performances,
Ishaan
Khatter
is
a
complete
show-stealer.
Right
from
the
first
frame,
the
young
lad
keeps
you
engrossed
with
his
roguish
smile,
deliciously
charming
screen
presence
and
commendable
acting.
As
Aamir,
he
concocts
a
perfect
combination
of
arrogance
of
the
young
age
with
vulnerability
and
leaves
you
mighty
impressed.
To
sum
up-
'Bollywood,
you
better
watch
out
for
this
new
talent.'
In
comparison
to
Ishaan,
Malavika
Mohanan
comes
as
pale
and
looks
slightly
miscast.
In
a
few
scenes
particularly
the
break-
down
ones,
the
actress
goes
overboard
with
her
expressions
and
voice
modulations
which
doesn't
click
with
the
film.
Gautam
Ghose
pulls
off
his
role
well
despite
having
few
words
to
mouthe.
Veteran
South
Indian
actress
GV
Sharada
is
top-class
and
has
several
strong
moments
to
offer.
The
kids
Shivam
Pujari
as
Chotu
and
Amruta
Santosh
Thakur
as
Asha
are
a
delight
to
watch.
Tanistha
Chatterjee
is
passable.
Through
Majidi's
eyes,
cinematographer
Anil
Mehta
captures
a
different
side
of
Mumbai
that's
grim,
real
but
yet
so
full
of
hope.
Be
it
the
action
sequence
which
captures
the
flamingoes
or
the
shot
where
we
see
a
silhouette
of
Ishaan's
Aamir
dancing
to
Muqabla
behind
a
curtain,
Beyond
The
Clouds
has
several
striking
visuals.
AR
Rahman's
music
blends
well
with
Majidi's
story-telling.
Hassan
Hassandoost's
editing
works
fine.
Beyond
The
Clouds
may
not
count
amongst
Majid
Majidi's
best
works
but,
it
has
got
enough
meat
to
chew
upon.
This
time,
his
social
criticism
in
the
film
doesn't
exactly
reaches
its
peak.
Still
it
grabs
your
attention
with
Ishaan
Khatter's
fresh
talent,
Anil
Mehta's
captivating
visuals
and
the
backdrop
of
'aamchi
Mumbai'.
Three
stars
from
my
side.