Zubaan

Socialite Mozez Singh makes his directorial debut with Zubaan, a musical drama about a young lad's journey of self-discovery. Dilsher (Vicky Kaushal), who hails from Gurdaspur wants to make it big at any cost and seeks out Gurcharan Sikand (Manish Chaudhari), a self-made man also from Gurdaspur who is now a big tycoon in Delhi towards that end.

Zubaan begins with a young Sikh boy, a very well-cast lad who looks like he's itching to turn into Vicky Kaushal -- who we know from Masaan and have seen all over the posters for this new film -- as soon as he grows up. This growing up, alas, happens way too quickly, and we're taken from a potentially fascinating and far more compelling backstory -- about a keertan singer who lost his ears and, thus, his tune, his reason to be -- into what is a well-meaning but feebly told story about that man's son.

A boy struggling to overcome childhood trauma. A young man learning to find his place. And that thing between fathers and sons. 'Zubaan' is about all of these things, and a mixed bag of a movie : some of it comes together really well ; others strands are all over the place.

Our lead here is Dilsher (Vicky Kaushal), an overly ambitious lad from Gurdaspur. He has a troubled past, a stammering problem and a dream to be the 'lion of Gurdaspur' just like his idol, the business tycoon Gurcharan Sikand (Manish Chaudhari). Manipulating his way to attain his goal, Dilsher not only comes to Delhi, but also makes his way up to becoming Gurcharan's close aide and the wishful son, much to the dislike of the latter's wife Mandy (Meghna Mallik) and son Surya (Raghav Chanana).

Newbie Vicky Kaushal had impressed the hell out of us in his debut film Masaan, which was critically acclaimed even internationally, but the lad has backed the wrong horse with his second outing Zubaan, which claims to be a musical drama, though music doesn't seem to play a major part in the narrative.

The film starts off with a religious song at the gurudwaara. This is followed by Dilsher (Vicky Kaushal) being bullied by some boys. When he takes resort in a construction site, he happens to meet Gurucharan Sikand (Manish Chaudhari) aka 'Lion of Gurdaspur', who happens to be a 'manager-turned-owner' of the said site. When Dilsher asks Gurucharan as to why he did not save him from the boys, pat comes the reply from Gurucharan that the only person who can save him is he himself.

For those who thought Vicky Kaushal's Masaan act last year was just a one-off flash in the pan affair, Zubaan is an eye-opener. In Zubaan, Kaushal plays Dilsher , the waylaid Sikh boy from Gurdaspur who only wants to be successful in ways that we normally describe success. So he schemes his way into the heart and home of a business tycoon Sikand (Manish Chaudhary, who exudes arrogant power the way Amrish Puri did in Subhash Ghai's Pardes) and ends up getting what he thinks he wants.

First-time director Mozez Singh's Zubaan has a marked similarity with its male protagonist. Both are unsure of the trajectory they desire. Inevitably, the lack of direction frequently leaves the film and its pivotal character in a limbo. At the heart of Zubaan is an all-too-familiar figure: an underdog who wages a battle against his own doubts and inadequacies, straying dangerously close to losing his moral compass in the bargain.

A young boy Dilsher (Vicky Kaushal) from a small town in Punjab moves to Delhi in the quest of prosperity. But as he journeys down the rocky road that leads to it, he is harrowed by the persistent question - what is success?

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. - Lord Buddha. This quote bests sums up Zubaan. A story about battling one's inner demons, evolving to be better versions of our dreams, and dealing with disappointment - the movie is a visual manifestation of the philosophical journey most of us go through.