Title: Jugnuma (The Fable)
Director: Raam Reddy
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, Deepak Dobriyal,Tillotama Shome
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 3 Stars
Jugnuma – The Fable is set in the spring of 1989, and is about Dev, played by Manoj Bajpayee and his family, comprising his wife, daughter, son and two dogs, who are living in a colonial mansion in the Himalayas. They own a vast fruit orchard estate and are living a comfortable humdrum life, until the time when Dev discovers that trees from his orchard are mysteriously getting burned and there isn’t any reason for it. With the regularity of trees being burnt increasing, and no possible explanation in sight, everyone becomes a suspect. Is it the workers? Is it the peaceful nomads who keep passing by? A shady middleman who is complicating the investigation? A witch? No one knows.
The film stars Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, Deepak Dobriyal and Tillotama Shome.
One of my favourite dialogues from the film, which re voiced by the narrator are: “The ancient mountain peaks whisper secrets to each other”, and mybe this is the right time to state that the dialogues of the film have been penned by Varun Grover.
Director Raam Reddy took me into a world of the late 80s, where ambassadors, Readers Digest, and woolen sweaters were common place, and gave me the feeling of one of those Doordarshan movies we would all sit together and watch during our childhood.
Actor's performance
Manoj with his mechanical wings and the accompanying special effects are smartly done, and it doesn't look like there's any vfx involved, which clearly is always the best signs of good vfx.
Wealthy people play golf. Or go on multiple international holidays. Manoj Bajpayee on the other hand likes to spend his free time flying high above the peaks into the clouds- but what does that mean? Is it an invention by him? A metaphor? Or some mystical truth hidden in this film?
Tillotama Shome as one of the poor workers wife is probably one of the delicate depictions of a mother I have seen in Indian cinema in recent times, and Deepak Dobriyal just seems to become each character he plays in his films and series.
The Colonel with a handlebar moustache is nice touch, and for a moment I thought it was Goga Kapoor back from the dead. Interestingly, also, his real name is apparently Viking.
Priyanka Bose as Nandini, Dev's wife; Hiral Sidhu as Vanya, Dev's daughter; and the young Awan Pookot as Juju, Dev's son play their characters to the T, staying true to the script and feel.
FPJ verdict
Overall, the movie has a calming effect, and that can be said both in terms not only of its content, but also of its promotions- it has won several international prestigious awards and at the same time it doesn’t involve some overly muscled idiot walking in slow motion expecting us to clap that they have arrived. You can watch the film in theatres on September 12.
If slow dramas are what you like with a hint of mystery then you can try it out. Family friendly, with a run time of just under 2 hours.
