Goodbye Movie Review: Big B-Rashmika Mandanna's Film Gets Its Emotions Right Despite Few 'Hics' On The Way

Story

Goodbye begins with Tara (Rashmika Mandanna) having a blast in the pub after winning her first legal case. "Argument mein mastery hain tere," one of her friends quip as they shake a leg on the dance floor. After a 'wild' night, Tara opens the door to a 'devastating' news where she is told that her mother Gayatri (Neena Gupta) passed away due to heart attack the previous night.

Consumed by the pain and guilt of rejecting her mother's last calls to her, Tara lands up at the Bhalla residence for her funeral where her father Harish (Amitabh Bachchan) is seen struggling to cope with his loss along with their dog Stupid. As scenes unfold, we get a peek into Tara's estranged equation with her father owing to their different viewpoints and the former being in an interfaith relationship.

Soon, Harish and Gayatri's kids who are scattered in different parts of the world, assemble to bid their final 'goodbye' to their mother. Old wounds reopen and their family dynamics are put to test. Will they sail through these tough times?

Direction

In recent times, films like Seema Pahwa's Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi, Sanya Malhotra's Pagglait, to name a few, have explored the theme of life and loss on the big screen in their own quirky ways. Vikas Bahl's latest outing Goodbye is another addition to this list.

A quick look at the director's filmmaker shows that he has a knack for telling heartwarming stories with offbeat characters, sprinkled with a dash of 'humour'. When it comes to Goodbye, Bahl keeps this template constant. However, this Amitabh Bachchan-Rashmika Mandanna scores more in the emotional aspect than the 'ha-ha scenes'.

The humour especially in the first half sometimes come across as insensitive and forced. You are supposed to giggle in scenes where a group of ladies discuss about a Whatsapp group as a dead body lies just a few feet away from them. A woman brags, "Mere smile pe log marte hain." In another instance, she and her colony friends are busy discussing whether they should name their new Whatsapp group as 'lonely Harish', 'Harish needs us' or 'Gone Gayatri Gone'. Sigh, if only one could make these scenes disappear!

It's only when Vikas Bahl peels off the layers of his film and establishes Gayatri's equation with the family members through montages, that you start feeling the film come to life. Post interval, Goodbye transports you into another world where it has its heart in the right place. Bahl takes the help of some cool visuals and a song to reveal Harish-Gayatri's love story and it leaves you with a big smile on your face!

Performances

Goodbye proves yet again why Amitabh Bachchan is known as one of the acting legends in Indian cinema. Be it the scene where his character Harish is seen trying to get a grip over himself post the night of Gayatri's demise or the sequence where he finally has a heart to heart chat with his wife's ashes, Big B leaves a lasting impression and how!

Neena Gupta is an absolute delight on screen even in her limited screen space! There's a teeny-weeny moment in the film where her character is seen taking a cigarette puff! The swag that she oozes in just few minutes makes you want to see more of her in the film.

Rashmika Mandanna pulls off a fairly decent act in her debut Bollywood vehicle. However, her thick South Indian accent while mouthing the Hindi dialogues leaves you a tad disappointed.

Speaking about the rest of the cast, Sunil Grover, Elli AvRam, Pavail Gulati, Ashish Vidyarthi, Abhishekh Khan and Shivin Narang play their respective roles with honesty and conviction.

Technical Aspects

Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti's cinematography adds a depth to Bahl's story-telling. His usage of pan shots to distinguish a memory from the other scenes and other such techniques lend an interesting dimension to the visuals. A. Sreekar Prasad's editing flows well with the narrative.

Music

The songs in Goodbye are most situational and pleasing to the ears. But it's 'Chann Pardesi' and 'Kanni Re Kanni' which travel deep into our hearts.

Verdict

"Mumma ne sirf right turn liya hain. Woh chalti rehte hain, lekin humein dikh nahin rahi," says a character in this Vikas Bahl directorial. In a similar way, the film too moves with its share of ups and downs. Thankfully, at the end of it, we see the larger message that it has in store for us. It reminds us of Haruki Murakami's popular lines, 'Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.'