Beyond the Clouds is special for two reasons. It is the Indian debut of the acclaimed Iranian film-maker Majid Majidi (Children of Heaven, Song of Sparrows). Secondly, it is the acting debut of Shahid Kapoor's younger brother, Ishaan Khatter. Malayalam actress Malavika Mohanan is also making her Bollywood debut here. Beyond the Clouds has received quite some acclaim during its festival circuit run. Now that the movie is finally ready for its Indian release, let's see how does Beyond the Clouds rate against Majidi's previous works and how is Khatter as a performer,

Aamir (Ishaan Khatter) is a street-smart drug peddler, roaming around the bylanes of Lower Mumbai. He has a strained relationship with his elder sister Tara (Malavika Mohanan). Tara, who works in the Dhobi Ghat, gets arrested when she nearly kills her pervy employer who tries to rape her. As her assaulter lies in hospital incapacitated, it is up to Aamir to make sure that he gets well so that his confession can bring Tara out of jail.

There is often a joke that when international directors make a movie about India, they are more obsessed with the poverty and Dharavi than anything else. Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire is the biggest example in cementing this trope. Majidi's Beyond the Clouds is no different. It is more interested in showing the strata of society in Mumbai that Bollywood rarely explored since the dawn of this millennium - the lower middle-class and those who live on a hand-to-mouth existence.

However, unlike Slumdog Millionaire, Beyond the Clouds is not… what they say… 'poverty porn'. Though you can draw parallels with the Danny Boyle movie (the red-light area scenes will definitely hark you back there), Majidi doesn't set his movie in the slime and the grime just for the shock value. He is more interested in connecting lives in unexpected situations and finding humanity in the bleakest of situations. And he succeeds in making impact with those traits to some extent.

The first ten minutes or so of the movie is filled with quite energy and gusto. The opening shot establishes the existential beauty of our city. The camera first shows a busy flyover with a huge billboard of a mobile operator overlooking it. Our young hero is seen making a deal with a car on the bridge. The camera pans down to reveal the homeless living under it, invisible to the cars driving above them. The camera then follows the hero and his friend driving on a bike through a narrow bridge over a dirty river to get across to the glitzy city all in just one shot. Never has any movie established the essence of Mumbai in just a single shot. DOP Anil Mehta is at his elements here, not just in the sequence, but adding quite a few layers of beauty in many moments of the movie. When it comes to capture the landscapes of Mumbai, right from the congested lanes of Lower Mumbai to the flamingo- habitated creek of Thane, Beyond the Clouds doesn't put a foot wrong there.

The opening scene then moves to a quite over-confident Aamir and his cronies getting on to their deal-making ways. A police raid busts their plans which leads to a frenetic chase that sets the chain of events rolling in the movie. It is also here that Majidi reduces the pace to give more impetus to human entanglement. If you have watched his Children of Heaven, you know Majidi is a master at that. In Beyond the Clouds, he has a strong hold over the proceedings, but there are some huge misses too.

Let's talk about what works. There are some genuine moments of warmth in way some characters bond in the movie. The scenes with Tara and the son of a sick fellow inmate (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is genuinely heartwarming. Majidi also manages to invoke some black humour in the scenes involving Aamir taking care of the bedridden assaulter, while also fiddling with him. We had to admire how the director manages to craft some real genuine bonding in the very unlikeliest of the situations.

The sequences where Aamir meets the assaulter's old Tamilian mother and his two young daughters are also infused with warmth. But these scenes, which forms the actual emotional core of the movie, also end up being its weakest aspect. The entire idea was to parallel what Tara is going through in jail, with kids being common factor in changing the protagonists (a piece of bribed gold also has its part to play). While Aamir's change of heart seems genuine, the scene feel superficial like the broken (but quite polished) English spoken between Aamir and the assaulter (Gautham Ghose)'s elder daughter. Maybe it was to help the international audience connect with the movie, but wouldn't it be better to not use language but rather let the sentiments and humanity be the bonding factor? The subplot also thrives in predictability. Even when Aamir thinks of selling the kid to a brothel, you know how things would turn out. Also don't know if it is deliberate or not, but the bonding between the brother and the sister also feels rushed and under-developed.

While speaking of how Majidi got the essence of Mumbai's underdeveloped areas almost right, there are aspects that need work. For a movie set in Maharashtra, there is hardly any Marathi spoken around. Even the little that is spoken feels like it is put in as an afterthought. The language is also quite 'safe' with that PG quality that takes away some of the realism. Even the weather in the city is not done right, we have stormy rains right after Holi, that is supposed to bring in the summer. These might be little quibbles, but when it comes to someone like as accomplished as Majidi, it matters!

Talking about the lead players, it is quite a splendid debut for the young Ishaan Khatter. He has some of the rawness in his performance, but that helps in his act as the young lad whose tongue often lands him in trouble. Right from his unkempt look, brash attitude to a confident body language, you just can't take your eyes off Khatter. At times, the director does seem to indulge the youngster, especially when it comes to showing off his dance moves, but that's forgivable. If his endearing performance in the movie is anything to go by, Ishaan can look forward to a long innings in Bollywood like his elder brother.

Malavika Mohanan, however, feels more of a mixed bag. While she excels in the quieter moments, she is very unconvincing in scenes where she has to explode. Ditto for AR Rahman's background score. At times, it tries to go the Slumdog Millionaire way, at times we forget AR Rahman's music is even there in the movie. At two hours runtime, the pacing also feels off in some portions.

Yay!

- Majidi gets the under-belly of Mumbai nearly right

- Quite a few emotional, heart-tugging moments

- Fantastic camerawork from Anil Mehta

- Overall performances

- An assured debut from the talented Ishaan Khatter

Nay!

- Malavika Mohanan's mixed-bag performance

- AR Rahman's inconsistent BG score

- Some subplots lack the depth

- Pacing

Final Thoughts

Though it may not be among Majid Majidi's finest works, Beyond the Clouds offers some genuine, compelling human drama that has its heart-tugging moments. Also watch it for an assured and impactful debut from Ishaan Khatter, who is set for a long innings in Bollywood.

Rating:
3.5 out of 5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 18, 2018 10:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).