'Zubaan' review: Unimportant plot twists confuse the viewer

Rating: **

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Sarah-Jane Dias, Raghav Chanana, Manish Chaudhari

Director: Mozez Singh

Genre: Drama

Vicky Kaushal debuted with a coming of age story in Masaan. If that is the kind of cinematic experience you expect of his next film Zubaan, you will be disappointed.

Zubaan begins with Dil-sher's (Kaushal) move to Delhi from Gurdaspur. He cons and manipulates his way into meeting his homegrown hero Gurucharan Sikand (Chaudhari), who is now a big deal in the capital. He then works his way into Sikand's dysfunctional family and tries to win over his confidence.

However, Dil-sher soon realises that the validation he seeks will not come from Sikand and that music, his childhood muse and his father's legacy, is the right path for him to follow.

Singh's script while trying to keep things interesting, confuses the viewer with unimportant plot twists. Most of the questions posed in the first half, that you await answers for post-intermission, are never acknowledged with clarity. Many sub-plots - of peripheral characters - get the screen time they don't deserve.

For a film about music, Ashutosh Phatak's tunes don't strike a chord. A few songs, including the last one, are hummable at best. The film rides on Kaushal's shoulders. Singh's direction doesn't bring out the actor's best but he shows promise. Kaushal lacks the gravitas he had in Masaan, but at least he tries to rise above a patchy script .


Also read: Team 'Zubaan' overwhelmed with response at Busan International Film Festival