Review by — Navin Singh Bhardwaj

Anil Sharma is back with another family drama, Vanvaas, after Gadar 2. The film stars his son Utkarsh Sharma, Simrat Kaur, and Nana Patekar.

Story

The story begins with Deepak Tyagi (Nana Patekar), a resident of Shimla, celebrating his birthday with his three sons and their wives. Deepak wants to donate his house to a trust in memory of his late wife, but his sons disagree.

Deepak suffers from dementia and often forgets his daughters-in-law. His sons take advantage of his condition and leave him in Varanasi, telling everyone back home that he has passed away.

In Varanasi, Deepak meets Veeru (Utkarsh Sharma), Meena (Simrat Kaur), and Pappu (Rajpal Yadav). Veeru is a thief who steals from tourists, and Pappu is his accomplice. Veeru falls in love with Meena, and her aunt (Ashwini Kalsekar) challenges Veeru to take Deepak back to his home if he wants to marry Meena.

Writing-Directing and Music

Anil Sharma has written and directed the film, while Mithoon has composed the music. Sharma has managed to keep the first half engaging, but the second half becomes boring.

Nana Patekar’s monologues and poetic dialogues become repetitive and boring, not just for the lead actor but also for the audience.

The film’s pace is slow, and it feels like a film from 25 years ago. The storyline deviates from the main plot, and the flashbacks of the husband-wife relationships become tedious.

The music and background score are the only redeeming factors of the film.

Acting

The film has three lead actors and a plethora of character actors. Utkarsh Sharma and Simrat Kaur have tried their best, but they fail to convincingly portray the dialect, tone, and mannerisms of Uttar Pradesh.

Nana Patekar has performed well as the father, but the screenplay and dialogues have made his character melodramatic, which is hard to digest.

The film has many talented actors like Ashwini Kalsekar, Rajpal Yadav, Rajesh Sharma, Mushtaq Khan, and Manish Vadhwa, but they are underutilized.

Verdict

Vanvaas has good intentions, but Anil Sharma’s storytelling has marred its integrity. Vanvaas deserves 1.5 stars.