SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017 (PAGE 4) MOVIE-REVIEW NATURE @n excellent Romcom Mugh^l Ro^d The small town seems to be the flavour of Bollywood. Babli in her. Hindi films have come a long way from days of the elegant The hurdle however is the picture of the author on the Romance between the 'strait jacketed' hero and coy and well book, which is that of Pritam (Rajkummar Rao), a friend of Road to development mannered heroine in a metropolis or in the Swiss Alps as Chirag who he had convinced to masquerade as the author reflected in films like 'Chandni', 'Kabhi Kabhie' and 'Dilwale in order to hide his love for Babli, as she's now happily mar- Dulhanian Le Jayenge'. ried. Mohammad Shafait In sharp contrast are characters of films released in While Chirag serves as the postman of Bitti and delivers The 84 KM Mughal road, which draws its importance recent years like 'Tanu weds Manu', 'Shuddh Desi her letters to the author, he realises that Bitti has actually from the pages of history, is fast emerging as a potent eco- Romance', 'Fukrey', 'Behen Hogi Teri' and 'Badrinath Ki fallen for the author, and not the publisher. nomic corridor between state's major regions of Kashmir Dulhanian' which are seen to display an increasing realism Chirag convinces Pritam to do him a favour yet again and Jammu. in their behaviour and candour in their expressions of love. and sets up his meeting with Bitti. But he trains Pritam to The road connects Shopian district of South Kashmir Ashwini Iyer Tewari's 'Bareilly Ki Barfi ' in another tri- project himself as an embodiment of everything that Bitti with Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu division.. First used by angular love story between Bitti, Chirag and Pritam, resid- hates -- all her misogynistic prospective grooms rolled into the Mughal rulers, the history of this route goes back to 431 ing in the small town of Bareilly. one. The film is about the love triangle between Bitti, Chirag years when in 1586 the Mughal army under the command of 'Bareilly Ki Barfi 'is the story of Bitti Mishra (Kriti and Pritam. Qasim Khan entered the valley through this area. Sanon), the daughter of Mishra family residing in Bareilly. A slice-of-life romance in the backdrop of a small town, In modern days, the idea of connecting the twin regions A bohemian girl, Bitti Mishra works at the electricity board, 'Bareilly Ki Barfi ' bowls you over with its refreshing can- through this route was first tossed in 1978 but was soon dour and its 'matter of fact' feel that comes abandoned for certain reasons. across from the interactions between its char- After 23 years of huge gap it was in 2005, on the persist- acters. ent demand of people of either side, that the Government Bitti, who indulges in smoking and breaks decided to take up the revival of the project. The recon- into a 'break dance' at the drop of a hat, is struction was taken up under Prime Minister's unlike any of the women characters one has Reconstruction Plan by establishing two Mughal road divi- come across in mainstream Bollywood. In this sions in Shopian and Bafliaz and the foundation stone was corridor. In addition to the huge potential in-terms of context, it seems an extension of the female laid at Heerpura in Shopian and at Bafliaz in Poonch by the Tourism, enhanced trade links between two regions and protagonists in films like 'Tanu weds Manu' then Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed. The actual providing an alternate route, the Mughal road has also for and Shuddh Desi Romance'. work wever started in Feb, 2006. time immemorial served as safe passage for nomads and The screenplay and dialogues by Nitesh After toil of many years and innumerable halts & hic- their livestock. In summer, hundreds of nomadic families are seen travelling from different areas of Rajouri and Tewari (of Dangal' fame) bring across the cups, it was only in July 2009 that Mughal road was opened Poonch along with their livestock towards the high altitude flavour of the small town Bareilly. He has also for inspection by a standing committee of J&K Legislative grazing pastures in the valley. The development of mughal etched out the characters of Bitti, Chirag and Council. After incurring a whopping expenditure of Rs 640 road has provided these nomadic families with an opportu- Pritam brilliantly, lending a life like feel to crore, the road was finally thrown open for light vehicles in nity of ferrying their valuable livestock in trucks, thereby them, which adds to the vibrancy of the film. May 2012. minimizing chances of any kind of mishap enroute. Like his earlier film 'Dangal', he manages to Over the years, the new road has not only enhanced the Nonetheless, the road also encompasses different chal- impart an 'earthy' feel to 'Bareilly Ki Barfi ', connectivity between the two regions, particularly Kashmir which will make the audience identify with valley and Rajouri-Poonch of Pir Panjal, but also ushered a lenges and poses several difficulties for the Govt. The biggest lives of the three protagonists. new era of development for both the regions. The employ- challenge being faced is keeping the road open for the year After 'Nil Battey Sannata', Ashwini Iyer ment avenues in tourism industry, transport sector and round. As the road passes through the places witnessing Tewari again manages to draw us into the business have increased manifolds. heavy snowfall in the winter months, marked by heightened charm and the vibrancy of small town life. To begin with, many roadside outlets including dhabas, risk of avalanches and landslides, results in the closure of road There is a refreshing honesty about the charac- tea stalls and hotels have already come up along the road. for a minimum of 5 months. The stretch of 31 km from ters of the film, which makes one identify with The business in terms of exchange of goods and services Dubjian to Chattapani area sees maximum erosion and loss of their lives. She also manages to extract brilliant between the two regions has picked up considerably, which vast patches of road. Considerable damage and degradation is performances from the cast. can go a long way in improving the economic status of peo- caused to the road in the winter months. The repair and main- As the bohemian girl next door Bitti, Kriti ple living across the two regions. tenance work for the same costs Rs 10 crore besides entailing Sanon is effortlessly entertaining. Her trans- The historic road passes through dense forests of deodar, an expenditure of Rs.70-80 lakh for snow clearance annually. formation from the stylish diva of films large stretches of lush green pastures. The highest pass To deal with various challenges visa -vie round the year 'Dilwale' to the bohemian Bitti is amazing. She enroute, at an altitude of 11500Ft (3505m) is Peer Ki Gali, connectivity, reducing the travel time, development of brings to life the character of Bitti, which is has a great potential if developed as winter resort like tourist places, the State Govt. has come up with several pro- thanks also to the excellent script. It is easily Gulmarg and Pahalgam. The historic sites of Sukh Sarai, grammes and action plans. The proposed 7KM tunnel from one of the best performances of her career so Aliabad sarai, Behramgala and Noori Chamb provide apt Chattapani to Zazinar is one such way that can realize the is a casual smoker, watches English movies and loves break far. sites for Heritage Tourism. Similarly Dheera ki Gali, Thana twin benefits of reducing travel time along the route and dance. As Chirag, who writes the book 'Bareilly Ki Barfi ' out of Mandi and Chingus could be developed as important tourist help travelers skip the avalanche prone zones en-route. The Her parents have brought her up like a boy, which his unrequited love for Babli and who tries hard to ensure and business centres. In addition, Religious Tourism in the proposal for the project has been approved by the Union explains her free spiritedness. However, for all her bohemi- that Bitti does not fall for his friend Pritam, Ayushmann likes of shrine of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah(RA) at Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways and the National an nature, she is unable to find a suitable groom. Khurrana comes across as cute and endearing. The surprise Shahdara Sharief and shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad Aziz Having resigned herself to being a misfit in this small- Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation of the film is, however, Rajkummar Rao as Pritam. He (RA) at Peer ki Gali has huge potential for promotion. The (NHIDC) has already invited bids for preparation of town, Bitty decides to run away from home. At the railway area also presents ample opportunities in terms of comes up with another ace performance both as the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the construction of pas- book stall, she stumbles upon a novel called 'Bareilly Ki Adventure Tourism like trekking, mountaineering and rock reserved Pritam as well as his 'loud mouthed' avatar in sage way estimated to cost of Rs. 1200 crore. Barfi' , the female protagonist of which reads exactly like which Chirag asks him to meet Bitti. Another award worthy climbing. her. To harness the huge tourism potential of the region, the Slope stabilization, another matter of concern along the act from the actor after 'Aligarh', 'citylights ' and 'Trapped'. route, is also being looked into. A project of Rs 200 crore The book that she grabs is ghost written by Chirag Dubey Among other actors, Pankaj Tripathi and Seema Pahwa State Government has also recently approved the creation of has been proposed to deal with risk posed by land/mud (Ayushmann Khurrana) who had written a book in memory impress as parents of Bitti.