User Reviews

You were not forced to buy a ticket to this and neither were you going to the theaters for a women crying on the remains of her dead son/husband.

Road,movie comes as a completely basic story line that has Vishnu(Abhay Deol) as a boy who goes through a certain phase revolving around poverty stricken, starving population of the deserts and ends the movie as a man.

The others are cameos, Satish Kaushik carves the way with super acting amidst the most gorgeous the deserts have ever looked ! 90 minutes are not very long and Road is more than worth it for within a certain number of years the main behind cinema will shift towards cinematography and art direction.This is the bible for those days.

overall a 7/10 || 8/10 and a pleasure watching the closest Bollywood has ever come to "El aura".

There are just four characters in the movie. Vishnu, played by Abhay Deol, wants to do more than just waste his time selling herbal oil as his father does before him. So, he volunteers for a friend to deliver across the desert an old truck which is a mobile cinema. The film is then about his journey, the movies that he plays & more importantly, the people that he meets on the way.

We have seen bits of brilliance from Satish Kaushik in the past, from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro to Calendar in Mr. India, but I think this is the one that he will be most remembered for as an actor. Cast as a veteran mechanic, Kaushik plays a central role in taking the movie in a different direction than the protagonist has planned to. He has been cast very well along with the little boy that Vishnu picks up early in his journey. Both these characters provide for the lighter moments in the film while also inducing some thought provoking dialogue. There is also scope for a female lead. A tribal whose husband was slain over a water dispute some years ago. As she mentions that she too wants to get lost in the magic of cinema, one can't help but wonder if there is a deeper meaning to this sentence. And this deep meaning dialogue is a standard feature of the film.

Wide angle views of the vastness of the desert that lead to nothingness in the desert and a set of women treading along for days in search of water are brilliantly executed. And, other than the road & the movies, they are a common string throughout the film.

The film exists at many levels. At the most superficial level, it appears to be a subtle comedy with situational jokes and a bit of slapstick too. You dig a little, and you find that it is a person's journey to finding himself by having to deal with an old truck, rough, dry weather and some people who have been through their share of pain & suffering and how they still manage to be at peace and look forward to some elusive tranquility.

Dig a little deeper and you find the film is about some inherent social problems that still affect most of rural & tribal India. That something as basic as water can be a reason for murder & arson is hard to imagine but it is brought to us with a lot of sensitivity. How the lead characters almost die of thirst, how they almost get killed for trying to steal water all help appreciate a problem that is alien to most of us.

Dig a bit more and we find that Indian cinema is trying to usher in the seemingly selfish directors who make films from the heart with a message that they want to send across to anyone who tries to understand their cinema. There is no plot in the movie that would build up into something big. For a film like this, there has to be no plot. Very few directors can do it and get away with it. It is a movie that should go down as one that shifted or at least tried to shift the paradigm of Indian cinema.

That said there is much that the director could do better explaining & elaborating a little. Like what is the protagonist actually wanting to do with the truck, how does a particular mela (caravan fair) disappear overnight and mostly, why such a brilliant film seem a bit too long even for its 95 minute run time.

It is most definitely a lesson in cinematographic excellence. One would just hope that it would be a complete movie in itself too.

Dev Benegal's 2009 film was premiered on Channel 4, where I saw it. Radio Times, in their lazy and scant review, described it as 'plays out like an Indian Cinema Paradiso set in the deserts of Rajasthan', which is only partly true.

Almost nothing can stand up to Cinema Paradiso, that being in my top 5 films of all time, but Road, Movie certainly has its charms. The centrepiece is a colourful, ageing truck that is also a mobile cinema. This van is the ticket to freedom for Vishnu, a restless young man, who wishing to escape being sucked into his father's hair oil business (yes, this is a gentle comedy) and he has a buyer for it; a museum in a town by the sea.

To get there, he treks across the desert (gravelly, but still tough) and his journey and the characters he meets, including the mechanic called upon very early (it HAD to be a temperamental van!) who becomes the projectionist and general fixer-up of everything. There's also a young lad, a runaway urchin. These two could be seen as the Philip Noiret character and the boy in Cinema Paradiso. Then a visually striking gypsy woman, who becomes a romantic distraction for Vishnu, is picked up when they run out of water and she has some.

Bollywood films are the most watched in the world, apparently and so obviously various flicks are shown in sprawling communities, projected onto the walls of dwellings and such.

Shot in deeply saturated colour and looking very attractive, it's not a deep, meaningful film but a nicely distracting, accessible one, nostalgic about long strips of celluloid and the joy that they can bring - and one that western audiences can easily appreciate and enjoy.

It looks like it's generally unavailable in the U.K, at least as a region 2 DVD. I only found this region 1 on Amazon by typing in the director's name and not the film's title - as that brought up hundreds of connotations, but not the right one.

Hopefully now, Channel 4's airing will have it released properly. It certainly deserves to be.

Dev Benegal's 'Road, Movie' is quite an interesting film. It has potential, it has a story to tell... but falters in one section, which is: It lacks the power, that one expects from Benegal. Sure it's good, but one expected much more from this celebrated filmmaker.

A restless young man played by Abhay Deol, itches to escape his father's faltering hair oil business. An old truck beckons, He offers to drive the antique Chevy across the desert to the sea, where it has been sold to a local museum. His journey then-after, is filled with ups and downs, love and hatred. 'Road, Movie' starts off very well, but becomes a waste post 45-minutes. The Yashpal Sharma track looks forced by the screenplay, and even the climax leaves a lot to be desired.

Coming directly to the acting department, Abhay Deol is superb. The talented actor carries the film on his shoulders and is in character in every shot. Satish Kaushik is terrific, once again. Tannishtha Chatterjee does justice to her part. Mohammed Faizal Usmani, the kid, is annoying. Yashpal Sharma is wasted in an apology of a role. Veerendra Saxena is passable.

On the whole, 'Road, Movie' might entertain you if you're looking out for some different type of cinema. From my side: A Good Effort!

'Road, Movie' is an extraordinary movie and one of the most beautiful films I've seen in recent years. This is the story of Vishnu (Abhay Deol), a young apathetic and carefree guy who hits the road in his old neighbour's very antique kind of a truck, a 1942 Chevy with a traveling cinema in its back carrying Victoria film projectors. For him, this truck is in a sense a way to escape his family's burden - selling Atma hair oil for his dad — and take a week of freedom while driving from Rajasthan to the sea. On his way, Vishnu picks up several passengers who go on this journey with him: a smart orphaned boy, an old wise mechanic, and a beautiful widowed gypsy. Even this barren place has its rulers, however, and they appear in the form of a sadistic policeman and cruel, water-hoarding gangsters.

This movie is visually stunning, poetic, artistic and completely real. Dev Benegal's direction is fantastic. In order to understand the true meaning of this symbolic piece, one would have to figure out what every object in the movie signifies - the oil, the water, the well, the people he meets and goes on this journey with, the group of water searching women he always encounters on his way. This is the journey of life, and everyone is free to interpret it the way they want. But it does not really matter if you just want to enjoy the film. The movie is just engaging, mysterious and interesting without forcing you to find a hidden significance in the story. The situations, the dialogue, the characters, the locations are so authentic and fascinating that the movie flows extremely well. I was captivated not only because it is visually stunning; it is also perfectly paced and has an inexplicably understated sense of life.

Road, Movie captures the serene and peaceful beauty of the broad and desolate desert landscapes. It is done is a way that is so precise that there seems to be no way possible to take your eyes off the screen. This is aided by two aspects which are of the strongest in the film: the exquisite cinematography and the superb background score. These two aspects, done with sheer excellence by Michel Amathieu and Michael Brook, respectively, are perfectly brought together on-screen to create a breathtakingly mesmerising visual treat. The music complements the images and vice versa. I loved the sequences in which the group started screening different classic films, used to relax the villains. From Deewaar (1975) to Jaal (1986) to Andaz (1971). And ironically, Vishnu's father's damned hair oil somehow always comes to his rescue.

As already mentioned, the film is extremely realistic, and the acting is roundly natural. All characters no matter how lengthy or brief they are look totally genuine. Abhay Deol leads this film, and this brilliant actor yet again proves why he is possibly the finest actor of his age bracket. He is a brave actor as he is not afraid to be unlikable or look selfish and he does it exceedingly well. Mohammed Faisal plays the nameless boy who is in search of a better life with ease and conviction. Tannishtha Chatterjee is mind-blowing as the mysterious and widowed gypsy woman. The scene in which she starts singing a beautiful folklore song is wonderful. However, the one who steals the show is undoubtedly Satish Kaushik - he is simply outstanding from start to end. He makes his character so authentic, likable and memorable. This is one of his finest performances and according to me the finest in the movie.

In one of the film's most wonderful dialogues, Satish Kaushik's character says something that really epitomises the power of this picture: "Ah, the magic of cinema - lets you forget life, pain, worry... Takes you far away into a world of dreams." 'Road, Movie' really is a lyrical tribute to the magic of movies - a breathtaking, beautiful and fascinating gem. This is a spectacular picture.

The movie has got rave reviews and after seeing it on DVD last night, I felt compelled to add my few bits to the mix. No doubt I may have missed the cinematography of the desert landscape on my TV screen. But I would like to comment on the content, not on the visuals.

I feel that the director has tried to give a message to the audience through this production. That one should not take things at face value. In fact I was reminded of Ancken's Seraphim Falls, in which characters appear and sequences occur, which are totally surreal and unreal. But entertaining nonetheless. And a big question mark remains at the end, when the viewer is left wondering as to what the hell happened? For a change, this movie deals with the stark desolation and horrors of Rajasthan, rather than focusing on its forts and princes, with their decadent lifestyles. But there are also many unanswered questions, possibly deliberate. Or possibly just foolish errors. For example, the truck (guzzling petrol, guessing from its model) traverses the huge state, without requiring a single filling of fuel. The protagonist is not well off, but he has no problems with money, according to his declarations. He embarks on a road journey, but does not stock up on food or water, or even a road map; neither he or his family think of this. Was the hero a retard? The truck is his fathers' friend's. So was it gifted, together with its content of film reels and projection equipment? Was it sold off in the end? For running the films, he takes electricity from the police station. But subsequently, he shows films in the middle of the desert. Where did the power supply come from? Was the fair an illusion? If it was, how did the hero earn Rs 45,000 from the poor desert inhabitants?

These and many many other questions make the viewer wait for the end, waiting for some answers. But the film ends with a jerk, and the viewer is left hanging mid-air in this 'arty' movie.

Road, Movie is director Dev Benegal's tribute to the magical realm of cinema. He is back in style after a decade-long sabbatical following Split Wide Open, to show the world how much he has matured as a filmmaker. He adds his Midas touch to such an offbeat piece of celluloid, giving it a western aroma only to take you on a journey that is sure to find you wherever you are and promises to take you wherever you want to go.

Vishnu (Abhay Deol) is a young man who is sick and tired of the life that is thrust upon him. To escape from his father's hair oil business, he volunteers to drive an antique 1942 Chevrolet truck across the desert to a museum, only to experience the thrill of adventure amidst his humdrum life. On his way he picks up a young tea-stall boy (Mohammed Faizal Usmani) who wishes for a better life in the neighbouring city and a voluble mechanic (Satish Kaushik) who intends to attend a local fair. Vishnu's road trip is filled with its initial hiccups with the truck breaking down at the drop of a hat. He encounters a corrupt cop who looks for sport in Vishnu amidst the lifeless desert. This is when Vishnu discovers that his truck houses a movie projector and is a mini theatre-on-wheels. He trades their release with the cop who has a libido alive enough to watch blue films.

The third character Vishnu picks up en route is a young gypsy woman, played by Tannishtha Chatterjee of Brick Lane fame. Time and again, amidst the drought-struck desert, Vishnu and his mates pass by a band of women frantically searching for water, the imagery being heightened when they see Vishnu drink from a bottle. Vishnu's presence of mind is heightened in the climax when he dupes the desert-don (Yashpal Sharma) with his hair oil advertisement gimmick. Unfortunately, after 97 minutes, Road, Movie comes to an abrupt halt, leaving you desirous of much more.

Road, Movie, as the name suggests, is both about the life on the road and how the characters are rescued by the movies they screen. Cinematographer Michel Amathieu (Paris Je T'Aime) has captured the barren virgin deserts of Rajasthan with immense grandeur and élan and deserves the laurels for providing the visual imagery. The background score by Michael Brook (Into the Wild) is reminiscent of Gustavo Santaolalla in The Motorcycle Diaries and sets the tone of the journey. Production design by Anne Seibel (Munich) illuminates the sequences of the fun-fair amidst the dull and dry desert, which sadly is just a dream sequence. The dialogues are hilarious and coupled with the comic timing of such seasoned actors trigger giggles and laughs, especially those of the little boy and Satish Kaushik when he is verbose, drunk on Old Monk and high on ganja!! The plot does have scope for improvement and could have been thickened. The characters could have been further developed. All but the protagonist are unnamed. Satish Kaushik is at his comic best. Tannishtha does justice to her limited screen time reaching her peak when she sings an impromptu gypsy song. Abhay Deol shows exactly why he was always who Dev Benegal had in mind. Abhay Deol has grown from strength to strength such that none of his cousins are even distant competition to him. He comes across as very disillusioned and enigmatic and unlike in Dev D, he is shown in this movie searching and drinking water. His chemistry with Tannishtha seems coercive and feeble.

This film is sluggishly slow, just as the speed of the vehicle depicted and it requires tremendous patience to watch and appreciate it. The film conveys an important message of self-discovery and fulfillment albeit it loses direction. Road, Movie is sure to tug at the strings of your heart and is a must watch for all ages. So, get on the road and watch this movie. I am going with a 3.5 stars out of 5.

• Joydeep Roy for MuvieMadlyDeeply.com

Finally, "Road, Movie"- critically acclaimed director Dev Benegal's much awaited 3rd directorial venture comes to Indian screens after 'wandering' over from a number of film festivals.

First look at the movie and you will know that the director isn't catering to a large strata of audience. The movie has a chugging along sort of pace, quite like the Truck that is the carrier of our protagonists. A feel of wanderlust will strike you if you have that sort of streak.

The movie is basically about a journey of self-discovery (Vishnu's). The wanderlust struck oil businessman's son discovers in this journey the meaning of relationships. His companions in this journey are a mechanic (kaushik), a tea-seller boy (Faizal) and a nomad (tannishtha). Along the way there are skirmishes with the police and water mafia.

The performances are sterling. Abhay deol plays to the hilt the selfish, city-lad. Mohammed faizal impresses as the tea-stall boy an Tannishtha Chatterjee is natural in her role of a wandering nomad. But the man who steals the show as the mechanic is veteran actor Satish Kaushik. Absolutely wonderful performance by him.

Besides the cinematography is absolutely scintillating. Never has the rajasthan landscape been so beautifully picturised on screen. Michael Brook's background score is beautiful to say the least.

A movie with international sensibilities but an Indian heart. Calling this Bollywood will be a shame. This movie belongs to world cinema. Quite easily this one belongs to the collector's shelf. Mr. Dev Benegal-- Take a bow, Sire!

Go on this journey or rather 'Wander' into it.

The pace of the movie acts against it. So does the technicalities. While the sunny sides are too many, Road, Movie proves to be a simple movie talking simple story.

Abhay Deol is very good, so is the supporting cast. The deserts & roads & travelogue has been wonderfully shot & photographed. There's nothing much in the dialogs or the score, but the music is kinda cool. Now the makers seem no masochists by implying what they consider the main point of the movie. It talks about life & how every person has to choose the way he lives life. And traveling begets thought.

A very slow, calm movie worth giving a look. The end title sequence will blow your mind.

BOTTOM LINE: Certainly, it is not my cup of tea when it comes to tiresome plots revolving around character's inner blankness. 5.5 out of 10.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Mouth-Kiss/Foreplay: Mediocre | Sex/Porn/Smoking/Alcohol: No | Violence: Strong | Gore: Mild | Drugs: No

Before going into the finer details, let's study some important facts associated with 'Road, Movie":

1. A widely appreciated project from Dev Benegal, the director of "English August" & "Split Wide Open".

2. Featuring, Abhay Deol in the lead, who is now known for his off-beat choice of subjects and understanding of the medium.

3. Presence of the veteran Satish Kaushik in a hopeful comic role which sounds pretty exciting.

4. Refreshing promotional material with visuals of an old truck and inviting visuals of Rajasthan.

5. And "Sar Jo Tera Chakraye" track from "Pyaasa" playing in the background.

What an ensemble of exciting stuff associated with a single project, and what a disastrous final product in the offering.

To be straight, I love artistic movies, especially the ones which have the power to enlighten and are widely acclaimed in the festival circuits. But with "Road, Movie", I was highly disappointed as it had nothing as compared to its striking promotional campaign and the earlier two movies from the director mentioned above.

Now the detailed review:

Once again, as seen in many recent projects, the movie starts off brilliantly with an artistic feel and ambiance. But right after the old truck comes into the story, the film steps onto an escalator, slowly moving downwards. Abhay Deol, who is not interested in his father's oil business, goes on to take an undisclosed assignment to drive an old truck to another unknown destination and keeps wandering in the deserts and plain regions with no living being in the sight. The viewer is never told why he took up this job, what was the purpose of his voyage, what goods he had to deliver and what was the actual destination he was heading for. Also it was quite weird to show that Abhay didn't even know that there was a projector and whole equipment of showing a movie in the truck he was driving. Moreover he very unintelligently takes up the job of driving an old truck through the lonely roads all alone without taking any helper along with him. That was indeed very daring thought put in by the writers.

Besides all this confusion, the project misses all those thrilling factors associated with a long road journey and its joy. The viewers who love travelling long distances through roads are sure going to be disappointed with the treatment given by the director to the theme. For instance, one strongly misses the highway chills, the roadside dhabas, the occasional stoppages, the view of wide barren lands along with great music running at the back, children waving from the roadsides and risky one nights stays in the cheap hotels while watching this weak movie on "Road theme". There is nothing stated above in the entire movie.

In fact the director is more interested in his outdoor cinema being arranged from the projector in the truck and its craze among the villagers in his vaguely written movie. Along with that, he also adds the plot of a mystified romance between Abhay and a nomad girl, the tragic end of a good hearted mechanic and a silly sequence about a desert don running a water-mafia. But sadly none of these sub-plots works in the movie.

On the contrary each new development on the screen makes the viewer even more confused makes him wondering about what the director actually wants to convey? Especially the sequence about the grand fair in the lonely desert, coming out of nowhere. This particular part is the most confusing one in the entire movie and is also left unexplained by the director just like that. May be he wanted the festival people to make their own creative conclusion about the same. Likewise the director never shows us any sound equipment being installed by anyone before screening the film in the outdoors. May be that was too a festival liberty taken by the director with style.

The other major question which came to my mind while watching "Road, Movie" was that why all the western filmmakers are still interested in showing the poverty, villages and rural areas of India in their movies more than anything else. Unfortunately the worldwide success of "Slumdog Millionaire" has contributed a lot in this direction.

At the same time, all these talented directors, simply forget the essence & culture of our country while shooting their intimate sexual scenes which seems to be quite funny. Like in "Road, Movie" too, at one end the director shows a nomad girl, who has never watched cinema in her life. Yet in a later sequence he shows the same village girl smooching Abhay Deol in a pure western style and passion. Frankly speaking that was quite funny and amateur kind of direction from the experienced director.

Technically the film stands out with its stunning visuals and great cinematography. But it moves at a very lazy pace which forces the viewer to look at his watch repeatedly. The screenplay falls flat and has nothing exceptional in store for the thinking viewer. Musically the film misses any special tracks to enjoy on a long drive (as per its title) and "Pyaasa's - Tel Maalish" song is also not used in any respectable context by the director. Talking about the performances, Abhay Deol fits to the role as a T, but the film would not prove to be another ace up his sleeve. His honest effort gets betrayed by a badly written script. Satish Kaushik is completely lovable. Mohammed Faizal Usmani shines with his witty dialogues and Tannishtha Chatterjee does her job well.

In a nutshell, "Road, Movie" is not at all exciting as suggested by its title and eye catching promotional campaign. Its neither a thought provoking artistic venture nor an interesting novel project made on a different theme. Its just a tiring, fruitless journey heading towards no-where.

The movie is awesome! A very brave attempt by the director!

The worst thing that could happen to a director is getting extremely shallow reviews. And which, unfortunately, happened with Dev Benegal. Although critics/reviewers appreciated the movie,but I believe, almost all of them could not decipher the metaphors, woven to form the story, which actually was the backbone of the discourse.Every character, every event in the story is well crafted. So, in this article, I just plan to throw a few hints on the metaphors used in the movie. For the sake of exhaustiveness of this article, I would like to mention that direction, cinematography etc. etc. are superb.

Superficially it seems that the story shows journey of a young boy, 'Vishnu' (Abhay Deol), from his home town to Samudrabad on road. But actually this was a philosophical portrait of 'The journey of life', and subtle metaphors were used as colors.Every thing is very cleverly shown. 1.Huge stress has been given on 'water'. Does 'water' signify water or something else? 2.What do those weird characters (group of water searching ladies, water lord etc.), portrayed by the director, signify actually? 3.Things, like the character of mechanic who always gives the right suggestion or the strange fair that suddenly appeared out of the blue an vanished in Shoonya, mean something ? Or probably are the side effects of Director's Block . 4.What does the 'Atma (means 'soul' in Hindi) Oil', that magically (and comically) solves every problem, signify? 5.At the very first thought, "Road, Movie", why this name?

.....and the list of all those riddles, which should spontaneously pop up in the mind of keen and intelligent viewer, go on . Solving and linking these riddles brings to you a great philosophical discourse.Special mention: The way in which the magic of the mesmerizing virtual world of film been picturized is simply admirable.

So Please go and watch out this awesome movie with the attention and respect that this movie deserves. (Originally posted at http://skepticeye.wordpress.com )

Just came back from watching this movie and realized why Robert DeNero wanted these guys to send him a DVD of the movie. The movie is brilliant. The story is nicely written, the direction and cinematography is superb and the background score could not have been better. Now to the important part, the actors. Mr Benegal got together an excellent cast for the movie and they don't disappoint. Abhay Deol, as usual is awesome. Satish Kaushik and Yashpal Sharma, seasoned actors do their part well, but adding to this was the excellent performance by Mohammed Faisal(the boy) and Tannishtha Chatterjee. And the reason I am ranting about the actors is that there is one scene in the movie which could have either made or broke a masterpiece.

This movie is a masterpiece. Go watch it.

Rating- 9/10

There are few films which give their viewer the freedom to interpret… Road Movies is one of such films.

Road Movie has depicted the struggle of the misfits to escape from reality, to escape into something which is fantasy and unreal. I don't want to disclose the plot of the movie; however there are some movies which don't need Plots.

Dev benegal have done a very brave Job in materializing his vision, I respect his hard work and determination as I know that it would have not been easy to put such dreams on 35MM screen.

Actors were real; Mohammed Faisal,Tannishtha Chatterjee, Abhay Deol and Yashpal Sharma were good. I liked Veerendra Saxena and Satish Kaushik was great.

Mesmerizing cinematography and assuasive background score had forced me to dream like the characters in the film.

My over all experience of the movie was so soothing that I once again fell in love with the art of watching cinema.

I would have written a detailed review but after wasting 2 hrs watching this, don't want to waste any more time writing about it. Gist is

1. No story 2. Barely any useful dialogues 3. Average acting 4. Pathetic direction.

I would have said something about the story but there is none. Abhay Deol is a good actor, he should refrain from this kind of experimentation.

Satish Kaushik manages to wear a coat while at the same time dying of thirst.

And I wonder trucks of 1942 did not need any fuel for 10 days at a stretch but does need water every 10 minutes.

So don't waste your time and electricity on watching this movie. It is a waste of storage space of the DVD it is burnt on.

PS: Starbucks should sue the movie. Not for money but to just prevent people from making the mistake of watching this.

To be honest, this movie is one of my favorite Indian movies in a long time. I have stopped watching contemporary bollywood garbage which it dishes out every other week.

I consider BLACK as India's best movie in last 30 years. 3 Idiots & Rang De Basanti are good, but this movie is in class of its own.

It almost feels MAGICAL that you are transported into Dev Benegal's world. Its mesmerizing movie. An astonishing work of cinematography.

Do anything but don't miss out on this HIDDEN GEM.

Also, this movie never had huge marketing behind it, i can understand why that was the case. Simply people in India don't like such artistic movies and most are illiterate but still it doesn't bring this movie down. I am glad such a movie was made and it is an awesome experience. You will feel entrenched in the Director's vision of India & Rajasthan.

This is a total ripoff of, well lets see.. Men in Black for one.. its almost the exact same story line. Seasoned cop is awaken to a new reality to perform in a similar capacity yet, in an outside the box reality....hmm. I could also argue that it rips off Back to the Future, The Matrix, Pirates of the Caribbean etc etc, It could have worked if the punch lines weren't so horrible. This was worse than the green Lantern. So bad.

Oh Wait, Beetlejuice did the whole the afterlife is like an office scene first too.. why didn't they get Michael Keaton at the front of the line already

And dare I say they enter the realm of the awful The Frighteners where the outer world mixes with MJFs reality world.

It's obvious they just took a lot of components from everything else and added the Green lantern to make it something more.

Redbox, all the way.

The first thing that you would probably feel at the end of the movie is - The movie was Strange. The movie basically doesn't have a "real" story as in nothing really happens. I would liken this movie to something very loosely on Easy Rider. The protagonists in that movie were on a trip to Mardi Gras, here the Mechanic is searching for a Mela. They encounter few people on the way, they reach the destination and the movie ends - to put it in a oversimplified terms.

This movie does contains few moments of subtle laughter - but doesn't give you enough. The scene with the local water don is quirky and it seems that the movie is going to change some pace - but it is left at that.

Abhay Deol seems to have carried his Dev D attitude in this movie which sometimes feels like a misfit. Satish Kaushik's character as the Mechanic is the best cast.

May be few years down the line this will be termed as a defining piece of work in Indian Cinema - Bollywood does needs to change its face to catchup with the global scene and not be a laughing stock with its song and dance sequences in huge bungalows. This just might be a baby step towards that direction.

When, first I watched this movie, obviously got attracted more to the cinematography than the story. Second time I concentrated more on the characters and their acting. You bet, I had the same feeling as Vishnu at the ending soundtrack :)

Vishnu is an educated, arrogant, selfish youth, like a boy, right out of the college, who wants to explore 'the world'. He is not happy with his life and has low opinion for everyone except himself.

Vishnu defies everything and starts his journey. On the way, he meet different kinds of characters. Its beautifully portrayed, how his road trip, alters his personality and how Vishnu evolves from within.

A very different Indian film that I'm used to seeing. Small, personal, quirky, funny, and sometimes quite touching, it follows a young man using the excuse of driving his uncle's ancient Chevy truck across the desert as a way to get away from having to continue on with his father's hair oil business.

Of course, along the way, he gathers friends and enemies, and learns a host of lessons about life, love, poverty and what it means to be a man. While it was fun to see this familiar story in such a different cultural context, it is still a familiar story, at times too familiar.

There were also moments where the delicate blend of humor and reality didn't quite work - dangerous situations solved too cutely, complex relationships wrapped up in a few moments, important social issues touched on, but not explored.

Still, this is beautifully photographed, well acted, enjoyable and a very human movie, that also shows the world-wide power of film (on the truck are projectors and old films that serve our hero more than once).

Not quite a great film, but a charming, well made, and heart-felt one that's well-worth catching.

Indian road movie (fairy)tale on a selfish man who knowns people (indeed, we could call them as guardian angels) who turn him a better person in his jorney through the desert road: a cheeky boy who says everything he wants to say, an old wise man who knows how to fix everything and make it work, and a gypsy woman who may soften a stony heart. It is a funny light-hearted movie with beautiful and colourful cinematography which deviates a lot from Bollywood mainstream: just 1 hour and 36 minutes, with dancing scenes only when the characters project them on the big screen. In relation to the general plot, there are striking similarities with a brilliant Brazilian movie from 2005, Cinema, Aspirins and Urubus: the main character gets his small truck and and travels through desert hinterlands with a marvelous novelty to sell (here it is not aspirin, but hair oil) and film reels to project to people who have never watched a movie. Desert and water are quite metaphorical, and people and events who appear in scene seem to be allegories in a cute fantastic realism. I loved 1942 Chevy truck!

Dev Benegal had previously captured the starkness of Bombay in his chilling 'Split Wide Open'. This time he enchants the viewer with the tantalizing, mysterious, and unsympathetic beauty of Rajasthan. Rajasthan has hardly ever been portrayed with such rawness. The stunning cinematography fascinatingly captures the exquisiteness of the hot landscape and the eclectic score gives it voice. As stunning as the shots are, none of them intrude on the story as Rajasthan is just as important a character as its leads.

Benegal's lyrical screenplay is first rate. It's full of metaphors. The dialogues are minimal but concise and loaded with subtle humour. The characters are human. Initially, they are hard to like but as the viewer witnesses their growth and how they achieve their triumph, one can't help but like them. I was only disappointed by the ending especially the fate of The Woman.

Abhay Deol does an inimitable job as the brooding young man in search of significance. Satish Kaushik springs a pleasant surprise. He's actually not annoying. Enigmatic Tannishtha Chatterjee is splendid both as actress and singer. The rest of the cast do a fine job.

Benegal has done it once again and this time his film also celebrates cinema. Not only does it pay tribute to some classics, but the sequences where the rural audience (some of them have never watched a movie in their life) reacts to films alone depict the place cinema has in our lives.