Darbaan is actually a clever adaptation of the erstwhile Bengali film

Darbaan is actually a clever adaptation of the erstwhile Bengali film starring Uttam Kumar that was also in turn adapted by the director along with Rakesh Jadhav and Radhika Anand from Rabindranath Tagore's Khokababur Pratyabartan.  #Review by Jyoti Venkatesh

Something about the story

  The story begins in 1971 and is set in the backdrop of the then-Indira Gandhi-led government’s decision to nationalize coal mines. The film almost entirely revolves around Raicharan (Sharib Hashmi) , who works as an attendant to Anukul, the only kid of a mining magnate called Naren Tripathi (Harsh Chhaya) in Jharia in then-Bihar-now-Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district. The film has been directed by Bipin Nadkarni fifteen years after he had made his debut as a director with the Marathi film Uttarayan 

And Here comes the twist in Darbaan

Raicharan grows up with Naren and is considered one of the family. With the mines gone, Naren falls on hard days and one by one has to let go of all his domestic help. Raicharan returns to his village and is leading a peaceful life with his wife Bhuri (Rasika Dugal) when Anukul, a financially well-off adult, seeks him out. Raicharan meets Anukul’s wife (Flora Saini) and their little child. A tragedy follows when inadvertently Raicharan loses the kid when he takes him out for a walk. But naturally, accusations fly and Raicharan is forced to leave. A few years later, Raicharan becomes a father and brings up his own child as though he continues to serve his master’s son. Eventually, consumed by guilt, he decides to sacrifice his son to fill the void in his master’s family. The tragic incident changes their lives forever and ultimately affects Raicharan’s mental equilibrium.

When Annu Kapoor shares about his warm relationship with Anukul

In a voiceover in the film, Annu Kapoor tells the viewers that though Rai Charan is a servant in the household, he shares a warm relationship with Anukul as he has been there since his childhood and also both of them belong to the same age group. While Sharib Hashmi steals the show as the protagonist and leaves his stamp on each and every scene, Rasika Dugal as his wife has not been utilized properly at all. Flora Saini’s character as Anukul’s wife does not afford her any scope to display her talent as it has been underwritten and she has no scope besides a few dialogues about a mother’s instinct. Harsh Chhaya is good but then he has also been sidetracked while his real life wife Suneeta Sengupta as his reel wife does justice to her role as his wife. Sharad Kelkar impresses with his screen presence but has little to contribute to the emotional quotient of the film.

'Music' plays a 'Key'role in every film

The soulful and melodious soundtrack of the film is composed by Amartya Rahut and Raajeev V. Bhalla whereas the meaningful lyrics have been written by Manoj Yadav, Siddhant Kaushal and Akshay K. Saxena. The cinematographer Amalendu Chaudhary is excellent and succeeds in delivering so many striking shots across several locations especially in Jharia and Gangtok. The film is watchable if not for anything, at least for Sharib Hashmi’s superb portrayal of the character of Rai Charan. In fact the extra star is actually for Sharib though the pace of the film leaves a lot to be desired though the duration of the film is just about an hour and a half.

Conclusion is, 

DARBAAN

Producer-Director: Bipin Nadkarni

Star Cast: Sharib Hashmi, Sharad Kelkar, Flora Saini, Rasika Dugal , Suneeta Sengupta and Harsh Chhaya

Genre: Social

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Emotional & Heartwarming!