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By Taran
Adarsh, June 13, 2008 - 11:15 IST
 Quite often, a burning issue that hits front-page
news makes it on the Hindi screen as well. SUMMER
2007, directed by Suhail Tatari, also projects a
disturbing issue: Farmers committing suicides. The
intentions of the film-makers should be lauded. But
there's a hitch… The film does highlight the issue
quite effectively [albeit, in patches], but offers
no solution to the crisis. Instead, this film
focuses on the 'awakening' of the careless and
carefree youth, a la RANG DE BASANTI.
Besides, Tatari seems to have got swayed by the
script, so much so that he doesn't know when to
apply brakes. The film goes on and on and on and on…
there's hardly any respite in the second hour and
you actually want to scream, 'Ab bas bhi karo yaar'.
This one's the lonnnnnnnnnngest 3-hour movie, which
tries to pack in so many sub-plots at one go.
But, most importantly, why a title like SUMMER 2007?
How does it convey what the film is all about? What
is the relevance with the issue it raises?
In a nutshell, SUMMER 2007 has an engaging first
half, but goes haywire in the second [marathon]
hour. At best it would appeal to a tiny section of
intellectuals. There's no hope otherwise!
Five medical students [Sikander, Gul Panag, Arjan
Bajwa, Alekh Sangal, Uvika] represent the urban
youth of today. Their lives take a turn when they
land up in one of the most deprived villages of
Maharashtra. Their rural posting turns into a
soul-searching journey where they are forced to
confront their own apathy, their own fears.
 Before they can flee from there, they get sucked
into the whirlpool of currents. Each of the five
undergo different kinds of catharsis and in the end,
they have to make a choice. Do they leave the mess
just as they had found it and get away from there?
Or do they choose to get involved?
As mentioned at the very outset, the intentions are
right, but the scripting isn't. The director
succeeds in involving the viewer into the lives of
the oh-so-cool urban kids, who are far removed from
the harsh realities of life. The scenes at the
medical college, their tryst with politics, their
decision to spend a month in a village in Vidarbha…
everything's going fine in the first hour.
But problems begin to surface in the post-interval
portions. The focus shifts from lack of medical
facilities in rural India, to the power games money
lenders play, to the main protagonist finally
proving to be a conscientious citizen. Wait, there's
more! A love story has been woven in the plot and a
couple of songs do show up as well, including a
nautanki number. And also naxalites!
Director Suhail Tatari should've focused on the core
issue and in turn, controlled the running time to
approx. 2 hours. Also, he could've done with a
better [and tighter] script. Take these instances:
Everyone's out to save the life of Sachin Khedekar
in the end, but what happens to him [when the boat
catches fire] is just not revealed. A dying Ashutosh
Rana does mention that he's safe… but how? What
happens to the corrupt money lender [Vikram Gokhale]
eventually? And why does Sikander surrender to the
cops, when the lady cop [Shweta Menon] had already
given him a clean chit?
Music is another sore point. Ideally, it should've
been a songless film. Editing is loose. Either the
editor had no say in the matter or he lost all
objectivity while editing the film.
 To give the credit where's it's due, the
performances by the entire cast is the saving grace.
Sikander is evolving into a fine actor. He's a
complete natural and handles the most complex of
scenes with remarkable ease. Gul Panag is efficient.
This is one talent who hasn't got her due in Hindi
films. Alekh Sangal springs a pleasant surprise.
He's excellent. Arjan Bajwa enacts his part very
well. In fact, he's so well restrained. Uvika looks
photogenic and does a decent job as an actor.
Ashutosh Rana is in top form yet again. Why don't we
see more of you these days, Ashutosh? Vikram Gokhale
never gets it wrong and he's perfect here as well.
But a topnotch actor like Prashant Narayanan
deserved more footage for sure. Sachin Khedekar is
competent. Shweta Menon leaves a strong impression.
On the whole, SUMMER 2007 is a good concept gone
wrong thanks to too many sub-plots and a really
lonnnnnnng running time [close to almost 3 hours].
At the box-office, it has no chances whatsoever!
Rating * 1/2
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