Sólstafir

8/10

Spoilers

The land of Himanchal comes alive in so many frames, that it deserves credit for a character on screen. Sarthak Dasgupta's Music Teacher is a visually serene and melodious film I really enjoyed watching. Interestingly, there were untimely rains this December in Pune, and the weather outside was rivalling the foothills of Shimla, where most of the film is shot. Beni (Manav Kaul) comes to Shimla during the opening credits of the film and casually stands at the edge of the mountain cliff. Kaushik Mandal's camera hovers just above eye level to capture the entire valley behind him and we are engulfed by the beautiful greenery. Throughout the film, this natural beauty never leaves us. [spoiler]Beni is disgruntled and has come back to his hometown after trying his luck as a playback singer in Mumbai. He always dreams of making it in Mumbai and starts seeing his dream through his students, Jyotsna (Amrita Bagchi). She is a good singer but never really considers music as a career. Out of love towards Beni and Beni's incessant efforts and encouragement she decides to take part in a musical competition, gets a chance to go to Mumbai. A chance so desirable to Beni, that he neglects Jyotsna's feelings for him, only to regret later.[/spoiler] The story is not new, but the actors make it worth your while. Manav Kaul and his neighbour Geeta, played by the fabulous Divya Dutta bring emotion in almost every scene they are part of. The frames of longing are very well crafted. Any time you see a single person on screen with some natural element around him/her, it is a serene pleasure to get immersed in. Compared to these stalwarts, Amrita Bagchi falls short by a bit, but she compensates by just being full of infectious naughtiness in the early parts of the film. At 1 hour and 40 mins, it is a small movie, and that is good. There is not a lot to tell and towards the end, it starts to falter a bit. The indoor scenes do not have natural backdrops and then it becomes a bit of a chore. It is still recommended for Kaushik Mandal's camerawork and Rochak Kohli's music compositions. I particularly liked Ik Mode male version sung by Papon, do give this a try.