The Comedian review: Satish Kaushik brings a smile on your lips and tears in your eyes with his last film in a leading role

The film will surely be remembered majorly for the talented actor’s 'simply memorable' performance

PC: Instagram

The Comedian

Story
The film revolves around the lonely life of Hasmukh Lal (Satish Kaushik), who is an actor by profession, by his own admission. Due to some reasons, he becomes extremely irritable and short tempered. Life takes a U-turn and also changes for the better when a little girl Kushi (Grace Girdhar) enters his life as his next-door neighbour.

Review
The film starts off with Hasmukh Lal (Satish Kaushik) being called as a Chief Guest at an event, where primarily all the guests are mostly Punjabis (Sardarjis in specific). The very moment he goes up on stage, everyone present there demands him to tell a joke. And when he hesitates, the show’s client tells Hasmukh’s manager that, if he does not tell a joke and entertain everyone, there won’t be any money that will be paid. What follows after that is Hasmukh innocently telling a Sardarji joke, only to get thrown away as it offends everyone present. Hasmukh, then, explains to his manager that he is not just a comedian, but someone who can do serious roles, emotional roles, romantic roles and that he also knows horse riding! And that is why he is called ‘Hasmukh, the man of a thousand faces’.

Also Read: The Comedian trailer: Satish Kaushik melts your heart in the role of a comedian-actor who has lost his laughter 

Increasing age and lack of good offers makes him extremely irritable and short tempered, which also affects his personal life in a big way. Life for him changes drastically one day when he gets a new neighbour who has a happy go lucky daughter named Kushi (Grace Girdhar). The sad part is that the girl suffers from cancer, but she doesn’t let that affect her smile in any way. She not only smiles and laughs, but also makes the world do the same through her vlogs. Before her untimely departure from the world, she takes three promises from Hasmukh Lal. What are the three promises, does Hasmukh Lal fulfil those three promises and what drastic change does she cause in his life is what forms the rest of the film.

Also Read: Remembering Satish Kaushik at OTTplay Awards: When he spoke about celebrating OTT content across languages | Exclusive 

The film, overall, is a common man’s take on happiness and ways to smile, despite the challenging situations. The film’s script just could not have been any simpler. The film, which is devoid of any VFX and high-octane sequences, gives the film a very ‘next-door’ feeling. With no intervals, this almost 24-minute short film will definitely make you smile because of the simplicity of the content and will also make you cry, because you know that the man who is making you laugh in the film (the late Satish Kaushik) is no longer amongst us.

Performances
The film primarily rests on two shoulders- Satish Kaushik and Grace Girdhar. Both play their respective parts with utmost sincerity. Satish Kaushik excels in his role of an actor who refuses to believe that he is left behind in the race and that he has to give auditions to keep up with the times. His gradual transformation in the film is flawlessly smooth and extremely believable. He is surely bound to make you shed a tear or two at the end of the film. On the other hand, there’s Grace Girdhar, who matches the acting prowess of late Satish Kaushik with supreme confidence with her happy-go-lucky act. 

A few extra brownies points to her for portraying a character with an eternal smile, despite knowing that her days are numbered on earth. There have been quite a few films that mirror the pure and simple relationship between an elderly man and a child. But, since ‘The Comedian’ is a short film comparatively, and also the veteran actor Satish Kaushik’s last film as the lead, it is bound to stay with you forever. As far as the other actors go (like Sameer Khakar and others) even though they have no major screen time, they do justice in whatever role they play.

Direction
Since the director (Katyavan Shivpuri) had a very simple story to be told through his direction, he did not have to take resort to any heavy-duty story angles, plots, climax and likes. Because Katyavan Shivpuri also happens to be the film’s writer himself, he very well knew what was expected of him as a director. He has kept the film crisp and in its elements. A special mention to the DoP (Arnold Fernandes) for being the icing on the cake through his camera.

Music
Considering the film’s length, there was definitely no room to accommodate any full-fledged song. Despite that, Prashanth Srinivas’ music surely adds the much-required flavour to the film in retaining its simplicity.

Verdict
Overall, ‘The Comedian’ is a must watch film for every age. The film’s length notwithstanding, it does give out a simple and sweet message to everyone.

Share

Where To Watch