There was only one way to find out if the film, a topic of controversy since late May this year, was worthy of all the fuss: to watch it. And it was a genuinely poignant experience to watch Ishqiya-fame Abhishek Chaubey's crime drama unfold and speak volumes about a state in grave peril.
Tommy (Kapoor) is a London-bred Punjabi rock-star who goes by the name Gabru among his fans. Cocaine is a prime ingredient in his lavish lifestyle which soon becomes evident to the viewers who witness his and his crew's eccentricity and madness. One of his little-known fans is Bali (Prabhjyot) who regards Gabru as his idol and cocaine as his medicine. The person who has no idea about Bali's frequent bouts of psychedelic enjoyment is his brother Sartaj (Dosanjh), a cop and a minor yet ignorant player in the corrupted law-enforcement system of Punjab. Dr. Sahni (Khan) is the only major character in the story who doesn't do drugs, and is more of a crusader against them than a medical practitioner. Slightly deviated from all these personages is a Bihari migrant and hockey ace (Bhatt) who was promised a national-level tournament but was handed an insecticide spraying machine instead. Things take a virulent turn for all of them when, one by one, Tommy gets jailed, Bali gets hospitalized, Sartaj gets taunted by Dr. Sahni for his role in the drug problem, and the migrant getting entangled in a petty peddling issue.
It doesn't take much time for the writers to set the scene and let drugs take on the remaining part. And it is also evident what they really had in mind: to explicitly showcase the drug menace in the state and its horrendous consequences, some of which are worse than death. Perhaps the best scene of the film and a scene where the viewers will definitely get a jolt if they are paying attention is when Gabru finds himself locked up in a shared jail cell where also are sitting two of his hardcore teen fans who were arrested for hitting their own mother after she refused to give them money to buy drugs, a habit which they directly imbibed from their rock-star. Brilliant!
The score is absolutely stunning as it supports the sequences in unleashing their total effect. With some fabulous sampling of songs, the narration is pretty straightforward, if not crisp. It does go haywire a couple of times, but they are brief and were probably mandatory for easy flow of the script. Outstanding performances by Kapoor and Bhatt. It is isn't easy to portray such characters. Dosanjh is fine and so is his co-actor who seemed to go into Jab We Met mode at times. Supporting cast is good, especially Satish Kaushik.
With a fast-paced climax, the film is gritty, dark, gory, and tragic for all the stories that intertwine towards the end shut shop once the idea is successfully resonated. It doesn't establish nonsense.
BOTTOM LINE: Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab is an important film that only cares about exhibiting the current scenario of a state embroiled in a drug menace. It almost makes you believe in the story, which everyone knows is at least partially true. Go watch it in your nearest theater.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO
