Karwaan: A Road Trip You Didn’t Know You Needed

Akarsh Khurana's Karwaan is an uplifting, expressing film that uses a road trip as a metaphor for the turns and bends of life as well as unsaid blessings. In 2018, the slice-of-life drama brings together an unlikely trio  Dulquer Salmaan, Irrfan Khan, and Mithila Palkar  on a road trip that none of them had imagined but all of them needed.

The movie is about Avinash (Dulquer Salmaan), a frustrated IT professional from Bengaluru who finds himself trapped in a job he had never dreamt of. His dull life is shaken when he comes to know that his father passed away in a road accident. But when the mortuary gets it wrong, he is delivered a different body, and he embarks upon a road trip to Kochi to exchange corpses. They are joined in this bizarre quest by Shaukat (Irrfan Khan), a foul-mouthed, cursing friend whose perspective is different, and Tanya (Mithila Palkar), a tough little girl with issues of her own.

Most notable about Karwaan is that it's so normal. It's not a flashy drama or a moral film. Instead, it's a low-strung, low-key exploration of life, apology, family bonds, and forgiveness. The conversation between the characters is real and often silently richer.

Irrfan Khan, as expected, is a scene-stealer. His organised comic timing and sharp one-liners warm and amuse the otherwise lackluster storytelling. Dulquer Salmaan, in his debut in Bollywood, balances the tight rope of suppressing and naturalism with one flawless note of Avinash's inner conflict and change. Novelty and freshness are brought to the cast by Mithila Palkar as she bridges the age gap with ease.

The beautiful South Indian landscapes are a perfect setting to the emotional rollercoaster. The music, especially tracks like "Chota Sa Fasana" and "Heartquake," are perfectly in tune with the tone of the movie that is light-hearted, free-floating, yet introspective.

Karwaan is flawed. Parts of the movie lag in their pace, and some of the development of the characters is done on the cheap. But it's the warmth of the movie, the wit of the one-liners, and the tear-inducing moments that linger.

In short, Karwaan is a sentimental, spiritual movie about finding meaning in chaos , healing from the past, and embracing life's bumpy tracks. A pleasant, feel-good movie.