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Balaji Motion Pictures, Good Co. and Saraswati Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.’s Goodbye is a family drama.
Harish Bhalla (Amitabh Bachchan) and his wife, Gayatri (Neena Gupta), have four kids — Karan (Pavail Gulati), Tara (Rashmika Mandana), Angad (Sahil Mehta) and Nakul (Abhishekh Khan). Gayatri passes away suddenly but, as bad luck would have it, all the four children are away in different cities/countries where they are working. Three of the four children reach their home in time for the cremation while the fourth (Nakul) gets the message very late and, therefore, reaches after the cremation. Even as the cremation and other rituals are underway, the tension between the father and the kids manifests itself, sometimes in full view of the mourning relatives and friends. Why is there so much tension among the family members? And what happens after all the rituals post-demise are completed.
Vikas Bahl has tried to write a social comedy on a sensitive topic like death and the rituals observed thereafter. The manner in which he has penned the story is not of the kind in which he is able to create much humour as several of the bickerings appear futile. The behaviour of Tara at such a sensitive time looks weird, to say the least. The audience gets the feeling that even if Tara is not comfortable with the rituals, a dignified behaviour would’ve prompted her to remain quiet rather than create a fuss over anything and everything. While Harish Bhalla’s stance is mature and understandable, Tara’s is not, making the drama unappealing. However, the way both of them argue even in front of outsiders is not acceptable. In the face of such death, it seems weird that both the adults should be behaving in such a childish manner.
Vikas Bahl’s screenplay is also not half as engaging as it ought to have been. There are also several lapses in the screenplay. The family members have a change of heart when they go to the pilgrim place to immerse the ashes in the holy river but how and why that happens is simply not explained. This appears to be a major lapse in the screenplay as it confuses the viewers about what exactly has transpired for the family members to reform. Harish Bhalla’s confrontation with his son, Karan, after knocking at his bedroom door appears to be in bad taste and gets embarrassing for the audience as the two discuss the son’s sex life — that too in the presence of the daughter-in-law. It would not be incorrect to say that it is the comedy created by the behaviour of the visiting mourners, which is more entertaining than that created by the actions, deeds and comments of the family members because in the latter case, the emotion of grief is far more overpowering for the audience to enjoy the humour. Even if a couple of light scenes involving the family members do have the desired impact, the tragedy that has befallen them comes in the way of the audience’s enjoyment of the same. Not just the light scenes, even the serious and dramatic ones lose in impact. For instance, the scene in which Harish Bhalla breaks down while ‘talking’ to Gayatri just before immersing her ashes in the river should’ve made the viewers weep but even Amitabh Bachchan’s performance is unable to shake them if only because the build-up to that scene (the drama till that point) is poor. However, some of the emotional scenes are quite touching and would make the weak-hearted cry. As mentioned above, the comedy created by the behaviour of the others around the family members does evoke laughter. The track of Harish Bhalla’s younger days is boring and fails to evoke sentiments. Some scenes also look contrived and included just to create an impact rather than flowing organically. For instance, the scene in which Tara gets a call from boyfriend Mudassar (Shivin Narang) and is embarrassed because the phone is on speaker mode and, therefore, his comments can be heard by the entire family. The viewers are unable to understand what prevents Tara from disabling the speaker mode after his first sentence itself. Points like who is referred to as Stupid (Harish Bhalla by Gayatri, or Gayatri by Harish Bhalla, or their pet dog) are not even being mentioned here but they do get on the audience’s nerves. Vikas Bahl’s dialogues are well-written and underline the fact that he is a keen observer of human behaviour.
Amitabh Bachchan does a fantastic job as Harish Bhalla. His performance is flawless even if the script has its share of flaws. Rashmika Mandana doesn’t quite impress, thanks only to her weird character. She comes across as an irritating and spoilt brat who lacks social etiquettes. Her heavy South Indian accent is also irritating. Neena Gupta is endearing as Gayatri. Pavail Gulati shines with a supremely natural performance. Sahil Mehta is extremely natural as Angad and remains in character throughout. Abhishekh Khan impresses with a fine performance in his brief debut role as Nakul. Eli Avrram lends average support. Shivin Narang looks cute in the role of Mudassar but he doesn’t get much scope. Payal Thapa is effective as Delna, the house help. Ashish Vidyarthi leaves a mark as P.P. Singh. Divya Seth (as a friend of Gayatri) and Shayank Shukla (as Chintan) lend phenomenal support due to their well-written scenes and their sheer sense of timing. Jyoti Kapoor (as Gayatri’s friend, Mrs. Wig) and Annapurna Soni (as Gayatri’s friend, Pummy) lend able support. Sunil Grover (in a special appearance) entertains as the pandit. But some of his portions are stretched. Hansa Singh has her moments as Gayatri’s friend. Arun Bali and Neelu Kohli provide wonderful support. Others are adequate.
Vikas Bahl’s direction is appropriate but his script will not cut ice with too many people. Amit Trivedi’s music is fairly melodious but a film like this would’ve been enhanced by a couple of hit or super-hit songs. ‘Maaye’ is the best song; ‘Chann pardes’ is also appealing. Swanand Kirkire’s lyrics are good. The lyrics of the ‘Hik’ song are penned by Vikas Bahl and Amit Trivedi. Vijay Ganguly’s choreography is okay. Amit Trivedi’s background music is quite nice. Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti’s cinematography is nice. Production designing (by Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty) is fair. A. Sreekar Prasad’s editing is alright.
On the whole, Goodbye has a weak foundation in the sense that it appears to trivialise death. Hence it will not be able to score at the ticket counters.
Released on 7-10-’22 at Inox (daily 5 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PEN Marudhar Cine Entertainment. Publicity: so-so. Opening: dull in spite of reduced admission rates. …….Also released all over. Opening was not up to the mark.