User reviews

Ivan Ayr is a craftsman, a gifted storyteller who proved his supremacy in his feature debut "Soni" a slow burn character study. I was excited to see what the director does next and read a lot of positive reviews for his latest film in festival circuits. I finally watched Milestone, it's on Netflix and I'm still in awe thinking how this movie was pulled off. It is a work that does not speak much, but still packs a punch. The film paints a bleak portrait of alienation through the story of a bereaved truck driver, who confronts himself in the wake of his wife's death. He is on the verge of losing his job, his truck (2nd home), his identity and everything. All this to the benefit of a young new trainee and the story just follows whatever is in real life, the generation gap and its characters. From scene to scene, Milestone proves that in cinema, anything can happen with less words and the impact is loud. The duration of the long shots stretches and stretches, imposing a grim atmosphere alternating between stark close-ups and long shots as the characters appear tiny amidst the desolated village. It manages to pull us into the world of the Truck driver. The extended camera trips past rusty empty landscapes, collapsed roads, apartment and small objects in the truck create a hopeless atmosphere. At the same time, Ivan also demonstrates a tendency towards tension scenes with minimalism based on political and social degeneration that resonates with the system. The most memorable moment is in the climax - that final scene with rain will remain indelible in my memory, I bet it will leave you gobsmacked. To say much of this film is to ruin it, a pure cinema experience that strikes a surprising balance; It simply shouldn't be missed. I would also recommend Las acacias (2011) by Pablo Giorgelli.

That said, I'm glad that the future of Indian cinema is in good hands with talents like Ivan Ayr, Prantik Basu, Ekta Mittal, Ronny Sen, Sajin Babu, Bhaskar Hazarika, Pushpendra Singh, Ashim Ahluwalia, Aadish Keluskar, Vijay Jayapal, Sidharth Srinivasan, Aditya Vikram Sengupta, Lubdhak Chatterjee, Vedant Mitter, Shlok Sharma, Chaitanya Tamhane, Lijo Jose Pellissery, Shambhavi Kaul, Rima Das, Leena Manimekalai, P. S. Vinothraj, Arun Matheswaran, Arun Prabu Purushothaman, Amartya Bhattacharyya, Kabir Mehta, Arati Kadav, Krishnendu Kalesh, Sruthil Mathew, Brothers Babusenan, Prathap Joseph, Pandian Sooravali, Amal Noushad, Rahman Brothers, Nila Madhab Panda, Sanju Surendran, Payal Kapadia, Geethu Mohandas, Sandhya Suri, Amit Dutta, Amit Masurkar, Rohit Mittal, Arun Karthick, Gurvinder Singh, Mangesh Joshi, Achal Mishra, Ridham Janve, Krishnendu Kalesh, Devashish Makhija, Anand Gandhi, Udita Bhargava, Indranil Roychowdhury, Nipun Dharmadhikari, Abhijeet Warang, Balaji Vembu Chelli, Thiagarajan Kumararaja, Umesh Amshi and others.

A rivetting performance by the lead character Ghalib who coneys more from the expressions than the words which he rarely speaks.

A slow moving film but compels you to watch. Cinematography captures the sombre mood of the film. Yoi feel sad for the characters, their destinies and the helpless situations they are forced into.

Overall an impressive film. Characters touch you emotionally (even a phone conversation where we don't see the woman talking).

A must watch for off the beat movie lovers!

Ivan Ayr made a splash at the international circuit with an engrossing women-cop drama, Soni, released in 2018. The brilliant director is back with yet another riveting tale of a truck driver in Milestone.

Milestone (Meel Patthar) tells the story of Ghalib, a bereaved truck driver whose world falls apart when he loses his wife and performs his duty not just to survive but to escape the state of loneliness. He faces the challenge when the Delhi Transport company hires an intern who pose a threat to his job. There are couple of things before you begin to watch Milestone. It is not a film that will cheer you nor it has any commercial aspect that will entertain you to the core. Milestone is a craft which gets as real as possible. The protagonist played brilliantly by Suvinder Vicky is very much like a common man with tons of responsibility, life filled with problems and challenges, sleepless nights, frustration and anger. However, life goes on and get so heavy making your beard hair turn gray coupled with backaches. Yet, Ghalib does not shy or run away. He stands for his peer who is beaten up by a local party, pays handsomely to his in-law to settle for his wife's untimely death as per his village panchayat's decision and even helps a unknown woman find her brother who goes missing for a week.

The best part of watching Milestone is the characters around Ghalib are so real. Right from the father-son duo who runs the Delhi Transport, society people who are complaining and blabbering about the lift not working to Ghalib's neighbor who reminds him about the pain his wife was suffering in his absence. Milestone is a slow-burn desolated film which will keep you engrossed but at the same time is not everyone's cup of tea considering the current situation. Another highlight of Milestone is the magnificent camera work by Angello Faccini capturing the North India highway, rugged terrain to the enriching climax as the rain falls on the windshield of Ghalib's truck.

Even though it is 98 minutes flick devoid of any light-hearted scene, the screenplay was good keeping me engrossed as I was curious to know more about Ghalib. Art direction evoked a cultural and emotional reaction while background score could have made it better ( I wish something similar to beautiful track composed by Ludovico Einaudi in Nomadland).

Milestone belonged to the Punjabi actor Suvinder Vicky who perfectly plays the role of Ghalib to T. Suvinder Vicky has less dialogues but more of expression which he does with a aplomb. His impeccable acting makes Milestone worth-watching as get engaged with world of truck drivers in India. As I said, the side actors were brilliant as they played the real life character so appropriately.

Milestone is like painting a picture on the canvas which gets better with deep and intense characters who bring out life in a story of a lonesome truck driver. Good 3/5.

"The shadow seems melting when seen from a distance" One may find it little jejune as at times it does seem dawdling esp during the first half .. however, minimal dialogues capture the essence of the humdrums of an average commoner so beautifully .. life is a journey and at times we forget to notice the milestones that passed by, that we leave behind .. It's an undaunted perspective of a life on road.. superb decorous performance by Suvinder Vicky . The sound design is noteworthy.. . A great watch.

I watched Milestone : Meel Pathar on Netflix in orig. Hindi/Punjabi w/Eng. Subtitles.

Meel Pathar starts with a dark ambiance and sustains this for the most part. After the first fifteen minutes I didn't really want to watch the rest of the film. I continued because the main character Ghalib (well portrayed by Suvinder Vicky) looked exactly like a distant relative :-)))) now thats a reason to watch a film if any ....

Turned out to be quite a good film though in the Gloomy genre.

Ghalib is what many would consider a stereotypical roughneck seasoned truck driver. His colleague and good friend is Dilbagh, possibly older to Ghalib. A loader's strike in on and the truck drivers end up giving a hand with the loading and unloading of goods, causing Ghalib severe back strain. The truck owner's son wants to infuse new blood into the business. Ghalib asks for a loader to accompany him on his trips but the owner gives him a young lad Pash (Lakshvir Saran) to train as a driver. In the meantime, Dilbagh is unceremoniously replaced by a younger driver and Ghalib also fears he may lose his job to the new boy.

A background sub plot is that Ghalib's Sikkimese wife Etali has committed suicide and this is another reason for his gloomy countenance. Her father and sister approach Ghalib's village panchayat demanding compensation for the loss of their daughter. Ghalib says he never illtreated his wife, and did everything to make her happy including selling his village home and buying a flat in the city. The panchayat still decides that Ghalib should give them some compensation but the sister in law strangely refuses his offer of Rs2 lac cash. He is given a months time to think of what else he can offer.

Ghalib and the young Pash bond of sorts. Ghalib offers Pash money to resign as he fears he will be fired if Pash becomes a regular driver. Pash refuses the money but says he will quit if Ghalib marries his older sister. A shocked Ghalib slaps him and walks away. Ghalib is invited for a cup of tea by his Kashmiri neighbour (well essayed by Pavitra Mattoo) when he goes to return a toy dropped in his balcony by the lady's child. Over tea, the lady talks about Etali. During the conversation Ghalib admits that his wife's suspicions about his infidelities was true. Ghalib obtains a hard to get and expensive liquor licence permit and offers it to his inlaws who accept this as compensation much to the panchayat's surprise.

Another sub plot is Pash's elder sister calling Ghalib as she is worried that she can not get through to her brother for a few days. Ghalib's truck driven by Pash has broken down, Ghalib traces him and calls the sister back to inform her. In the process Ghalib and the sister have a longish, amiable conversation hinting that Ghalib may perhaps consider a new life with a new wife and a brighter future to look forward to.

The sets and locations are realistic, the acting is strong by all and the plot is good though appears boring at times and could have been speeded up for easier watching. I fast forwarded my way through a few frames.

Meel Pathar is not a film for everyone, but it is good nonetheless.

This is a masterpiece, we need more movies of this sort. If you are that mainstream Bollywood lover, please do favour by not calling this a documentary. Your tiny brain needs Salman Khan to tantalise it.

Movie ka main hero jo driver h uski acting 10out of 10 h story mujhe to smj ni ayi par movie boot realistic h or movie bich m he end kar di story complet he ni hue.

Kept me glued from the beginning till the end . Lakshvir Singh Saran at this best !!

Frustrated non star below standard viewers self proclaimed intelligent with zero intelligence what does Salman khan has to do with this movie or for that matter any star kid. If you are frustrated with your life blaming star kid is not going to make your life better . Movie is ok nothing great good for one time watch. NGC makes many interesting documentaries too.

Meet patthar is a film maker's wet dream. A poignant character sketch that stands tall. I watched this right after watching Nomadland and the latter doesn't even close to what this film is. It's most striking feature is its sound design and production that really comes out as there is no background score as such. The Foley work is top notch and the sound really holds you in an embrace (highly recommend using good quality headphones while watching this to appreciate Gautam Nair's amazing work). The quietness really adds to the cold winter mood of north India. The carefully subtle treatment of the character is breath of fresh air amidst the overtly loud and heavy treatment currently being dished out as content. Chopin's Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor in the ending credits is icing on the cake.

This deserves the Academy award more than Nomadland.

This movie revolves around story of a truck driver. It's directed nicely tho with a decent plot about ups and downs of a driver life. Tho movie wasn't that much entertaining. But yeah it gave a good message in one place. It should be a documentary rather than a movie plus dk why there were some scenes added in this movie for no reason plus ending was below average.

A movie that throws light in to the plight of the working class in a capitalist economy.

Example of an intelligent cinema!! Great acting 👏 !!

The movie might seem slow but it is very engaging. Everything depicted is so close to reality that it sometimes doesn't look like a movie. A masterclass.

I was intrigued with the initial buzz for the film which happened somewhere in 2020. The fact that it was Ivan Ayr's second film after the powerful "Soni" got me excited and I hoped the film to find a place in a streaming platform as soon as possible. Meel Patthar is poetic and that poetry is subtle. Ayr is not at all interested in spoon feeding the audience about the protagonist's crisis but instead gives them an opportunity to explore it by themselves. It's perhaps one of the best films to come out this year and it might require a couple of more viewings to understand the.essence it encapsulates.

It is a story of a 50+ man hard working man in midlife crises, The main character had occupational health issues due to long hours on road. No different than most White Collar North Americans professionals having occupational health issues due to long hours on keyboards!

Wife of 50+ year old hard working truck driver commits suicide; and the jury directs him to pay her family because the wife 'doubted' that he had an affair. From his income, the wife had been living not only comfortably but was also supporting her family. The settlement is almost all his pension!

This is a story of truck driver in his world; and 40% of white collared males are in same situation in North America, courtesy "Divorce Industry"

I cannot thank myself enough for understanding the film !! Ther's so much happening even in the quietest of scenes. Its a celebration of melancholy. The actors have done splendid work. First 'Soni' and now 'Meel patthar. Ivan ayr has a bright future in directorial ventures.

Ivan Ayr does it again. This beautifully directed movie about a lonely driver makes your wonder of their struggle and harsh lives. I'm surprised to see such low ratings for this wonderful movie.

Excellent Movie With Amazing Cinema.

Storyline is great from beginning to end you are just watching it with interest.

Milestone may be an Indian movie but it depicts a human story of everyday struggles & survival that is global.

It is a movie about a truck driver who has just completed 500,000 kms (310685 miles) and is now facing a threat of losing his job to a new kid who he's been put incharge of training.

This movie is a character study of us humans and is layered with many truths. It is a mirror not just to Classism but also to Ageism. How we treat & value young vs the old. And ultimately it is about the low value of human rights over self internet.

Labor is considered essential, but is shunned off when it comes to giving them the bare minimum wage raise of just 2 rupees, and are also easily replaceable if needed. A harsh reality that this pandemic has so clearly shown us.

Director Ivan Ayr in his second outing after the brilliant Soni again brings his minimalist style of cinema. There is no spoon feeding here. But the screenplay will makes sure that at no point will you feel that the movie is heavy or preachy. At the runtime of 98 minutes the movie doesn't feel long either.

The cast of this movie is made up of lesser known people but everyone's performance is on point, especially the protagonist driver played by Suvinder Vicky. The emptiness & loneliness he feels despite being surrounded by so many people is haunting.

I loved the cinematography of this movie. Cinematographer Angello Faccini beautifully captures the essence of the highway life. This is not your typical Bollywood romanticized version. This is the real world.

This film is most underrated and misunderstood movie because of the many subtexts it conveys. For the external look of the film, it might convey that it's a truck driver's day to day job issues, health issues or tough worklife style or existentialism or even corporate, master , slave sort of socialistic approach over families.

But it also have a story of a driver's recovery of his beloved wife's recent and his own inner journey to heal himself and give justice to the family while moving on all well crafted under deeper layers of what generally you might see externally.

Ivan Ayr's film explores an aging truck driver's life after he completes a record 500000 Kilometres on road,a fear of replacement haunts him throughout the film.