Thodasa Roomani Ho Jayen review :
Amol Palekar's desi adaptation of Hollywood classic 'The Rainmaker' (1956); Thodasa Roomani Ho Jayen was highly experimental in nature with most of its dialogues in lyrical form. Even the songs were perfectly blended in to the storyline.
The plot revolved around seedhi saadhi plain jane Binny (Anita Kanwar) and her family who live in a small town where there are no rains so far. Binny likes the local collector JD (Vikram Gokhale) but he largely ignores her. Her mind is as 'sukha' as the imminent drought they are facing.
In comes Baarishkar (Nana Patekar) who promises rains in lieu of Rs. 5000 cash. Binny's father accepts the offer and the rainmaker or Baarishkar as he is called, sets his plan to action.
The film is slow in parts and quite a few sequences appear extended beyond their worth. But still somewhere, the movie is able to connect with its audience and that is because of its deep rooted positive message of inner beauty and self esteem. It truly cheers us up. The performances are expectedly super fine with Nana Patekar, Anita Kanwar and Vikram Gokhale being the clear standouts. Infact, Anita Kanwar was truly outstanding here but sorrily, she never got any due for it.
Baarishkar's role was written with Naseeruddin Shah in mind but post Tridev's (1989) success, he had hiked up his price which the producers couldn't afford. Thus, Nana got the role and made it his own. Just listen to him narrating the meaning of Baarish in his intro scene. Super!!
Overall, Thodasa Roomani Ho Jayen is recommended to the discerning viewer.
Regards,
Sumeet Nadkarni.
