Barefoot to Goa (2015) Online

Barefoot to Goa is an indie film written, directed and co-produced by a Mumbai-based filmmaker named Praveen Morchhale. Morchhale's debut film, Barefoot to Goa was in competition at the 2013 Mumbai Film Festival in its Celebrate Age section. On the face of it, Morchhale's film is a tale of two siblings, an eleven year old brother and his nine year old precocious sister, who witness the loss of innocence during a life-changing road trip they undertake, stepping out of their cocooned environment for the very first time in their lives, in order to meet their ailing, abandoned grandmother. But, in its essence, Barefoot to Goa is a social commentary on the great rural-urban divide in India. Morchhale limns a vivid canvas to depict the dichotomy between the two Indias and the manner in which their inhabitants think, behave, act, and live. How a selfish daughter-in-law living in the comfort of a middle-class urban settlement deliberately tries to cut all the ties between her husband and his aging mother. How a destitute, deaf-and-dumb rural couple selflessly shower their hospitality on total strangers.

Barefoot to Goa closely examines, through its characters, the three different stages of the human life-cycle: childhood, middle-age and dotage. It's a cinematic essay that celebrates the innocence of the young, mocks the indifference of the grown ups, and mourns the loneliness of the old. Morchhale's film serves to be a parable on the moribund human bonds in a fast-paced world. As an exemplum of our urban society's moral and cultural decadence, Barefoot to Goa is a warning that poignantly highlights the futility of life and death. And, yet, it's a movie that's full of hope for the whole of mankind. In its short runtime of 80 minutes, the movie touches upon several complex motifs that deal with life and humanity at large. It is for all these reasons that one just cannot regard Barefoot to Goa as a run-of-the-mill children's film.

Barefoot to Goa inevitably brings to one's mind the 1955 Satyajit Ray masterpiece Pather Panchali, which, like Morchhale's film, revolved around two young siblings who experience loss of innocence while struggling to come to terms with the hard realities of life. Morchhale, like Ray, not only chooses a subject that's quite difficult to market but also treats it in a manner that's breathtakingly refreshing. While Ray's work was an adaptation of a popular Bengali novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, Barefoot to Goa is based on an original screenplay by Morchhale himself. Morchhale's bold move to make non-actors play pivotal roles in the movie reminds one of Italian Neorealist gems like The Bicycle Thief. All this as well as the fact that Morchhale shows courage to make such a different film at a time when Indian cinema finds itself at the crossroads—while it's been doing really well commercially, it's clearly been left far behind, whether in terms of quality or the laurels received in the international arena—makes his effort a very special one.

Whenever one talks of the 21st century avant-garde cinema, it's imperative that one talks about independent filmmakers. Buoyed by their inexorable passion for cinema and undeterred by the paucity of resources, this tenacious breed of artists has been instrumental to the constant evolution of cinema in today's age of commercialization. And the onus truly lies with all those who understand and appreciate cinema to shower praise on this ingenious brigade of filmmakers by celebrating their sui generis works of cinema. In the recent years Hindi cinema has seen a resurgence of a parallel stream of filmmaking that seems to have blurred the line between the mainstream and the art house cinema. Today, the independent filmmakers are being actively backed by established production houses committed to improving the quality of cinema in India, a trend which has given rise to films like Dhobi Ghat, Paan Singh Tomar, Ship of Theseus, Lootera, The Lunchbox, etc. Barefoot to Goa, even though it is not funded by any big production house, in the opinion of this critic, is the crowning jewel of this new avant- garde movement in Hindi cinema.

Overall, Barefoot to Goa is a profound work of cinema that needs to be watched by everyone who loves and admires filmmaking that's both honest and pristine. Morchhale's film can be deemed brilliant on both the technical and emotional fronts, especially given the budget constraints that one often associates with an indie feature film. Morchhale uses minimal dialogue and mostly relies on his powerful imagery to convey the message to his audience. The characters written by Morchhale are quite memorable and the actors who play them help them bring to life. Morchhale needs to be commended for eliciting such convincing performances from his actors, especially the two young leads who play siblings. The road trip that the two kids take comes across as such a rich and powerful experience for the viewers that some of the scenes are likely to stay with them for ever. The soothing music written by the team of Jack Francis and Rohit Shama immensely adds to the movie's poignant feel. Ujjwal Chandra's editing is topnotch and the same can be said of the John Breakmas Kerketta's breathtaking cinematography. Barefoot to Goa can definitely prove to be a cathartic experience for those on the lookout for something to soothe their senses. While an average moviegoer may fail to appreciate the movie, the intelligent viewer will savor the food for thought which it offers in plenty.

(This review was originally published in my film blog "A Potpourri of Vestiges")

Barefoot to Goa, Praveen Morchhale's debut film, conveys a beautiful as well as strong message which is indeed very relevant, soul- touching and also thought provoking. It has been already showcased in many international festivals all across the globe and gathered many accolades. For the first time ever, a film's commercial release is funded by 238 Proud Funders from 15 countries. After watching the movie, I did feel that, isn't it the story of almost every household today. Yes, Praveen touches a contemporary social issue. Parents do every bit to make their children self-reliant, independent, and educated. The same children, after growing up, move to different cities, countries for better career prospects. This is inevitable. But what is saddening is that aging parents are abandoned in some distant land and absolutely forgotten in the mad race of earning livelihood or living one's own life. They have become a liability. The relationships are not valued, turning out to be merely a ritual. Today, when a person thinks about his or her family, it is limited to his / her spouse, and children i.e. the immediate family. What about the aging parents, who don't feature in the list, and are left to fight their own battle that too at the fag end of their lives. Relationships have taken a beating in this fast paced society. We don't spend quality time with our loved ones. Children don't get to experience the 'story-telling grandmother' in person. There is a strong need for privacy. But isn't it ironical that one's privacy is assumed to be at stake due to one's own parents. Kudos to Praveen and his team, the theme has been handled with considerable sensitivity. No over-the-top dialogues, no melodrama, rather, silence is used to convey a strong message. Barefoot to Goa does explore the nuances of human values and relationships, and also it questions the innocence we overlook.

The Storyline: The movie begins at Goa where Dadi (Farrukh Jaffar) is going to a typist to get a letter hand-written for her son and his family. Legendary singer Yesudas' song 'Naina do Pyare…" (his return to Bollywood singing after two decades) adds so much meaning to these frames. It conveys so beautifully the whole soul of the movie. The emotions on typist's face are captured so beautifully when he reads out the letter to Dadi. In spite of not getting responses from her son and family, Dadi is regularly sending them letters and some gifts viz. Laddu, Lattu (spinning top or wooden spinner) etc.

These letters though get delivered at her son's place in Mumbai, but neither reaches her son or grandchildren. Purva Parag (Mother) dumps the sweets into the waste basket and hides the letters from husband (Kuldeep Dubey) as well as children. But, one day, when grand children Diya (Saara Nahar) and Prakhar (Prakhar Morchhale) coincidently find these letters from grandmother, that is where their journey Barefoot to Goa begins to bring their ailing grandmother (suffering from cancer) to Mumbai.

How do Diya and Prakhar manage to reach their grandmother's place at Goa forms rest of the story. How do they deal with the things when they move out of their cocoon? They come across lot of good Samaritans who become part of their journey. Unfazed by the uncertainties, they keep exploring the un-tread path, fully determined to bring their Dadi back.

The screenplay picks up both the good and not so good parts of rural and urban life. On one side, we see selfless support of a few strangers and on the other side, we see somebody not even able to accommodate one's own family. The irony is shown that there is room for full- time maid at home, but no space for ailing mother-in-law. Innocence of children is captured so beautifully. Do they become successful in reaching grandmother? How does the climax shape up?

Certain scenes worth mentioning: Father nostalgically expressing about childhood days and his mother to Diya which is followed by a deep breath (is it his helplessness or guilt?); Diya and Prakhar looking into dictionary to find the meaning of cancer; Prakhar losing one of his priced possession Guitar, but the very next moment, both Diya and Prakhar are enjoying and playing with splash of water on the roadside.

The show-stopper scene is definitely the last scene, it makes one ponder.

Cast: Farrukh as Dadi is extremely good. Her being content with what she has, her loneliness, her positivity all are so beautifully depicted by her. She represents so many forlorn elders of our society. Prakhar's face spoke volumes, he as a caring elder brother is very good, though I felt, he could have been explored more. Sara as Diya steals the show with her innocence as well as strong determination. Rest of the cast are also good and convincing.

Barefoot to Goa is a mourning of the death of values and beliefs without being mournful. In Praveen Morchhale's words, it is a bright film about sadness. A movie of less words, but with lot of depth.

The message through this movie is so strong that it stands beyond any rating, still let me rate it.It must be watched.

I adore independent films, and had all the reason to be excited about this crowd-sourced drama. But, it is made on such a childish note that it looks like a mess.

Diya (Saara Nahar) and Prakhar (Prakhar Morchhale) are two school- going siblings born to irritable parents in the city of Mumbai. Their mother is one careless and dominating personality who won't let her husband's mother come and live with them. Tired of the eternal wait to meet their grandmother who lives in Goa, the duo set out one day, unprepared and impromptu, with the hope of spending time with their granny who would make sweets for them.

What is a very novel approach to showcase the ridiculous lifestyle decisions we make involving our family members, the film uses subtlety as its biggest power. There is enough material for one to ponder about life's tragedies and especially about their grandmothers, but there is not one remarkable moment in the film. Except for the lady who plays the granny, none of the cast perform well. It was very clear that they were following the previously-read script without any practice or imagination. Director Praveen Morchhale manages to write some good points, but his shoddy direction spoils the broth. Despite the actors' poor performance, the photography could have saved the film, but thank the cash-strapped production which provides zero cinematic support to the feature.

Except the music and a reminder that we should always care for our parents and grandparents, there is no one thing special about this film. And please note that the film's distribution was crowd- sourced, not the actual film production. Further, Morchhale tries to cram too many topics into the 75- minute narrative. And, as a result, loses focus on the core subject, which is placed on the table with a cranky, kneejerker ending.

BOTTOM LINE: Praveen Morchhale's Barefoot to Goa has an interesting idea at its base, but is built with low quality materials and rusted equipment. Read the synopsis online and forever forget about the film.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

"Barefoot to Goa" is an indie film that beautifully explores the three stages of life. It shows an old mother who lives alone in Goa and yearns for his son (who leads a busy life in Mumbai). The daughter-in-law tries to cut off the relations between the mother and the son, as she fears that is the mother stay with them in Mumbai, it will inhibit her independence. Then, there are the children, who are concerned about their grandmother and want to bring her to Mumbai. Through a set of events, the children realize that their parents are not going to make any effort to bring their grandmother home, they decide to take the journey to their grandmothers home themselves. What happens in the journey? Do they reach their grandmother and bring her back with them? That is what the film is all about.

Since it is crowd sourced and made on a shoe-string budget, the production value is not very high. Also, since the director wanted to capture the experience of the trip and editing is not very crisp either. Also, the story is very linear and predictable to some extent. The acting looks passable, but given the fact that non-actors were cast-ed it is still very impactful.

Im reminded of the central theme of this U2 track (Running to stand still) after watching this movie. This movie is rare as it carries the deepest messages of life. Thank you Mr. Praveen for such a beautiful reflection on the truth of our lives. This movie is strictly avoidable for regular Hindi movie fans who generally crave only for "hot" appearances.

When we are young we wish to travel far and wide. When we get old rather wiser, the greatest distance to travel is the one between hearts. Watch this film to believe in your heart. Watch the movie if you have some taste for irony.