Film: Tu Hai Mera Sunday
Director: Milind Dhaimade
Cast: Barun Sobti, Shahana Goswami, Vishal Malhotra, Maanvi Gagroo, Avinash Tiwary
Rating: 4 Quints out of 5
The first time I heard about Tu Hai Mera Sunday, was when I saw the poster of the film on my Twitter timeline. After a quick glance, I filed it away neatly in the “films I won’t be seeing” section in my mind. The title was random, the actors were unknown and the film had no “buzz” around it. Then I came across the trailer - it seemed to be about a motley group of Mumbaikars who wanted to play football but couldn’t find space for it. Again, not interested. But then, I heard a few positive reactions (not the regular air-kissing B-town variety), even Aamir Khan tweeted about loving the film and it piqued my interest enough to give it a try and I am so glad that I did.
Tu Hai Mera Sunday is a small film with an enormous heart which brings Mumbai to life and hooks you one scene at a time. Yes, the narrative revolves around a band of men who have no place to play their favourite game of football on a Sunday, but it’s also about so much more.
While you can spot a few predictable tropes in the film (for eg the gang is made up guys from perfectly mixed religious backgrounds: there’s Arjun - a Hindu, Dominic - a Christian, Rashid - a Muslim, Mehernosh - a Parsi and you have to have the quintessential Gujju businessman - Jayesh Bhai), it unfolds with a fair amount of unpredictability and quirkiness.
Writer-director Milind Dhaimade is in complete command over the story and its execution, showing a fine grip over the craft of storytelling. It’s a buddy film, a rom-com and an emotional drama all wrapped in one, and all of it plays out smoothly without stepping on one another.
This indie film also boasts of all-round pitch perfect performances. While the main group of 5 guys played by Barun Sobti, Avinash Tiwary, Vishal Malhotra, Nakul Bhalla and Jay Upadhyay flounder and end up venting out their frustrations about living a stifled life in the city, the female characters, namely Shahana Goswami, Maanvi Gangroo and Rasika Duggal remain strong and anchored. The ensemble cast is excellent, so that’s a thumbs up for the guys at Casting Bay.
Tu Hai Mera Sunday also goes beyond the surface-level recording of slice-of-life feel good moments. In a memorable scene, when the group lands up in Goa to enjoy a weekend of football (which they can’t in Mumbai), Mehernosh loses it and asks the gang why all of them are such escapists, why are you ready to accept things instead of putting up a fight and changing them? This episode comes unnervingly close to when several angry Mumbaikars are asking the same questions online after the tragedy at Elphinstone Road station.
A line in the film’s song Thodi si jagah goes“Badi hai ghutan teri baahon mein, bas itni chhoot de ki saans chal sake...” - it’s a line that every true blue Mumbaikar lives by.
Charming, delightful, uplifting and entertaining all at once, Tu Hai Mera Sunday should be on your must-watch list this weekend.
Rating: 4 Quints out of 5
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)