It is well past midnight and we just got back after seeing Kapoor and Sons. That it is a Dharma Productions movie was sufficient to pique a desire to watch and 2 weeks into its release, we finally managed to wrest some time out for it! The fact that we always need to factor in two kids under the age of 6 and whether they are in mood good enough to sit through ten minutes of a movie without the 'why are we even here?!' moans and remonstrances is a tale for another day. Well, but, being fair to my little ones, they were most generous today. As planned and as hoped, they were both asleep after the mandatory box of popcorn (that was most promptly dropped into their laps!), nuzzled up nice and cosy in the warmth of our arms! A quick sigh of relief and a sincere prayer of continued slumber for the next 120 mins, we began.

So, now for the movie! A very welcome change indeed. After the dissapointment of some past new releases that were probably just a flash in the pan, this one came across as both invigorating and introspective. Its a story of, obviously, the senior Kapoor and his sons and grandsons. A family strung together with a fine grained and dainty thread, vulnerable to the slighest tug, but resolute in its desire to be together. 

But, fortunately for us, the Director has spared us the discourses and melodrama that a movie of such intent could easily be! I usually refrain from reading any reviews of a movie that I want to see, so Rishi Kapoor, as a 90 year bastion of the Kapoor household came an interesting surprise to me. He is of course, impeccable. Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah are irreplaceable too. Umm, Alia Bhatt is not very important to the plot, but definitely not irrelevent. Had it not been for her and the rollicking Dadu (Rishi Kapoor), the family travails could have been a little irksome. But, the star of the movie and the biggest reason I've heard women are going to see the movie ( I was'nt earlier, but am now!) is Fawad Khan. A dapper no doubt, but what screen presence! The other hero just fades away in oblivion when they share screen space.

The movie is very well crafted. It is essentially a reminder to us that no matter how harmed we might consider ourselves to be, we all have our own dark alleys. Life is too uncertain and unforseeable to while away in futile brawls and bickering. It will slowly melt away like a block of ice, and all we will be left with is repentence, remorse and self reproach. Accept and forgive. That is what keeps the heart happy and family together.

( Finishing up, why do I have a feeling like I just wrote a scene for a Karan Johar movie?!)