Film: Yeh Khula Aasmaan
Directed by Gitanjali Sinha
Cast: Raghubir Yadav, Raj Tandon, Anya Anand, Yashpal Sharma, Nitin Kerur
Rating: **

‘Mera tareeka galat hoga, but my intentions are right,’ says the London-based Kailash (Yashpal) to his wife Rama (Manjusha Godse), as he tries to justify pushing his son Avinash (Raj) to excel in his studies, ‘after all there is so much competition’.

It pretty much sums up the tone that most parents andchildren can identify with today. Avinash is the quintessential youngster, reeling under extreme academic and parental pressure to perform well. He is studying in Mumbai, while his guilt-ridden parents are busy earning a rich lifestyle in London, well-aware of not being able to give any time to their child. After failing to qualify the IIT entrance exams, a lonely and depressed Avinash, with nowhere to go and out of desperation decides to reach out to his Dadu (Raghubir) and visits him in Bhagalpur. It’s a tearful reunion as the grandson and grandfather meet.

 Though Dadu himself is a broken man, who has even given up dreaming of his son ever returning to meet him, as he hasn’t done it in the past 10 years, he realises that it is crucial for Avinash to regain his lost confidence and sets out to help him do just that. While Avinash finds that much-needed calm and break from the stress, and slowly regains some faith in his own decisions, thanks to Dadu’s encouraging words, for the grandfather, Avinash is like a new lease of life.

 Dadu who was once a champion kite-flyer, but had given it up after his son left, now trains Avinash to compete in the local kite-flying competition, which is no less than a war. Salim, whose grandfather had lost to Dadu years ago, now looks to beat the grandson and win the title. Supported by his good friend Govinda (Nitin Kerur) and love interest Muskaan (Anya), Avinash takes on the challenge, but is still unsure of his abilities.

There’s no doubt that film is full of some beautiful and sensitive moments especially those shared between the grandfather and the grandson, but the director fails to string these highlights securely enough to keep the interest alive throughout. Just when you feel drawn towards the pair’s emotional connect, over which the director seems to have a strong grip, the slow pace acts as a dampener. What doesn’t help is that the film’s premise is nothing new and right till the end, the story stays utterly predictable. Yes, the film has several preachy messages that one could easily relate to, but the pace at which they have been stretched take the film away from the entertaining bracket and bring them closer to the boring slot at times.

The strong point are the lyrics, but music is far from impressive. As for performances that Raghubir excels in his role is no surprise. As for the newcomer Raj, he shows promise, but falls victim to cliched and staid dialogues. He does show the spark in the emotional scenes however and his transformation from the unsure boy to the more confident one is well-portrayed. Anya is okay in her role of the sweet girl next door as is Nitin as the best friend, but Yashpal and Manjusha barely make an impact. The other supporting cast are average. This is one sweet film with the right intention, but goes wrong in execution. The film’s said to have done well at several international film festivals including one for sports films, as the creditsread, but at the BO, it may not appeal to those seeking pure entertainment. Overall, it’s not a bad one to catch with your grandparents, but don’t go in with sky-high expectations and you won’t be disappointed.