'Saalon
baad
yeh
photo
dekhegi
madam...Toh
apko
aapke
chehre
pe
yahi
dhoop
dikhayi
degi....Aapke
balon
meinyeh
hawa....Apke
kanon
mein
hazaron
logon
ki
awazein......Hamesh
ke
liye
sab
chale
jayega,"
says
Rafiq
(Nawazuddin
Siddiqui)
to
Miloni
(Sanya
Malhotra).
The
man
with
a
camera
around
his
neck
clicks
polaroids
at
Gateaway
Of
India
for
a
living.
The
girl
on
the
other
hand,
is
a
chartered
accountant
aspirant.
'Click'
goes
the
camera
but
she
disappears
without
paying
up
and
leaving
him
with
a
copy.
The
frivolous
encounter
between
these
strangers
soon
give
us
a
closer
sneak-peek
into
their
lives.
While
Rafiq
shares
his
small
shanty
with
other
migrant
workers,
Miloni
on
the
other
hand,
is
a
girl
of
few
words
with
internal
conflict
brewing
within
her.
When
Rafiq's
grandmother
(Farrukh
Jaffar)
pesters
him
to
find
a
bride
for
himself,
he
passes
off
Miloni's
photo
as
Noorie,
his
love
interest.
Rafiq
manages
to
convince
Miloni
to
play
along.
Over
Rafi's
'Tumne
Mujhe
Dekha',
a
walk
in
the
rain
and
some
chai-bhajiya,
the
duo
slowly
begin
to
rise
above
their
melancholic
lives
and
get
drawn
towards
each
other.
It
all
begins
with
a
'photograph'
in
Ritesh
Batra's
latest
outing.
The
filmmaker
brings
together
two
characters
from
diverse
worlds
to
simmer
a
love
story
where
silence
speak
volumes.
While
open
confessions
of
love
have
no
place
in
Batra's
narrative,
he
makes
up
for
it
with
Hindi
film
music.
The
director
gives
you
moments
where
you
can
soak
in
the
emotions
which
they
carry.
Sadly,
Ritesh's
minimalist
approach
ends
up
scratching
just
the
surface
as
you
fail
to
decipher
the
inner
feelings
of
Rafiq
and
Miloni.
The
plot
feels
stretched
at
times
and
tests
your
patience
if
romance
on
slow
burn
isn't
your
thing.
Speaking
about
the
performances,
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
plays
his
role
to
perfection.
However,
Batra
refrains
from
giving
his
character
multiple
dimensions
which
could
have
given
him
an
opportunity
to
explore
deep.
Sanya
Malhotra
underplays
Maloni
with
conviction.
However,
a
little
more
detailing
in
her
character
would
have
created
a
bigger
impact.
Farrukh
Jaffar
as
Rafiq's
grandmother
is
a
firecracker
and
is
the
beating
heart
of
the
film.
Jim
Sarbh
as
Miloni's
tuition
teacher
looks
a
tad
miscast.
Tim
Gillis
and
Ben
Kutchins' lens
beautifully
captures
the
two
contrasting
landscapes
of
the
city.
John
F.
Lyons's
editing
is
abrupt
at
places.
The
background
score
gels
well
with
the
film.
It
is
said,
'A
picture
speak
a
thousand
words.'
Sadly
in
Ritesh
Batra's
Photograph,
they
are
reduced
to
just
monosyllables.
I
am
going
with
2.5
stars.