embraces two of cinema's greatest pleasures – the open road and the love of movies for their own glorious sake. Powered by the same desire to venture into unknown territory that inspires so many road stories, Dev Benegal's new feature has the distinct advantage of terrain and characters too rarely seen onscreen.
Young and passionate but without direction, Vishnu (Abhay Deol) runs the risk of falling into the family business. Unfortunately, his family sells a hair oil he finds distinctly embarrassing, especially as he watches his father hawk the Atma Hair Potion to vendors with humiliating enthusiasm.
And so Vishnu hits the road, finding a battered old truck as if by fate. Years ago it must have been a spectacular vehicle, ferrying projectors and an eclectic collection of films from village to town across Rajasthan. Now it barely sputters to life. But Vishnu, driven by wanderlust and a need to escape his fate back home, coaxes the green rattletrap along the highway, picking up passengers as he goes – a young runaway, a garrulous entertainer, a beautiful woman and, of course, a few corrupt villains.
Playing Vishnu as a rootless cosmopolitan, Abhay Deol further establishes himself as a key face of young India, following on his work in independent-minded films like Dev D, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Manorama Six Feet Under. Benegal also draws full, charismatic performances from the terrific Tannishtha Chatterjee and Satish Kaushik, both of whom made such a mark in Sarah Gavron's film Brick Lane, which won many hearts at the 2007 Festival.
Produced by Susan B. Landau and Ross Katz (producer of In the Bedroom and Lost in Translation) and possessed of an international sensibility, Road, Movie will draw a rush of recognition from anyone who has travelled the back roads of India. For everyone else, here is your new Cinema Paradiso.
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