The film has done its round at the festival circuit and has garnered appreciable applause. It isn’t hard to see why. Because, Road to Sangam is a sensitive plea for secularism and liberalism, even as it shuns the shrill cry of the fundamentalists in any and every religion. More importantly, it articulates the moderate Muslim voice which needs to be heard loud and clear in this cauldron of increasingly hysterical extremist rhetoric. Paresh Rawal’s Hashmatullah isn’t just a modest car mechanic. He’s a walking, talking Preamble of India, upholding the essential values of a sovereign, democratic, secular nation.The story is simple. Tushar Gandhi, playing himself, wants to transport an urn containing Gandhi’s ashes for immersion in the Sangam. But the old Ford he wants to use needs to be overhauled before the procession of Gandhiwadis can make their way on this historic journey. What’s more interesting is the juxtaposition of this one-liner plot against the communally sensitive backdrop of the city, Allahabad, which is still simmering after a blast that has caused grave concern amongst the Muslim community.

The self-appointed heads of the community have ordered a complete shut-down of their shops and have decided to boycott the event to lodge their protest against the establishment. Mechanic Hashmatullah must not only repair the car’s engine under such dire circumstances, he must also teach his community a few lessons in Gandhism, secularism, Indianism. Indeed, an arduous task which he accomplishes with a rare dignity and restraint.

First timer Amit Rai does an admirable job in making a thought provoking film that drones the message of equality and humanity without getting clichéd.The story is gripping but the pace is extremely slow giving the film the feel of a docu-feature, which somehow evaporates the tremendous impact it made at the interval.Although the director insisted to keep the visuals exactly the way he wanted, I suggest he should have done away with the prolonged clippings of pre and post independence period which for some reason didn’t get merged withthe film seamlessly. The special effect used in the last scene to create a ‘mob sequence’ looked exactly as a cut-copy-paste job. Tighter editing was the need of the hour.

Paresh Rawal is excellent in the film with his fiery spirit masked with a calm demeanor. The way he approaches the issue by subtly adapting non-violence is too good.Pawan Malhotra as the Maulavi who keeps provoking the committee men in the name of religion deserves a special mention. Boy! With his voice modulation, kohl eyes and beard, he definitely looked the part.Om Puri is good, but this is certainly not one of his best performances.

Watch the film for Paresh Rawal’s retake on his Mumbai Meri Jaan act. And for its topical message.

Video Source: DVD
Host: Zshare
Chapters: 5

part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4

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