Lekh Review: Punjabi Mania present before you the full movie review of recently released Punjabi movie titled ‘Lekh’.
Cast: Gurnam Bhullar, Tania, Kaka Kautki, Harman Dhaliwal, Harman Brar.
Director: Manvir Brar.
Producers: Gunbir Singh Sidhu, Manmord Singh Sidhu and Sandeep Bansal.
Music: B Praak.
Genre: Drama, Romantic.
Running Time: 122 minutes (U certified).
Lekh Review
"Mohabbat jadon uggar di hai, eh os umar di kahani hai..."
Going by this line mentioned in the initial posters of the movie, 'Lekh' is a school-time love story of Class 11 commerce students Rajvir (Gurnam Bhullar) and Ronak (Tania).
An innocent, pristine, unadulterated and uncorrupted relation treats you with arguably the best sequences of the movie in the first half itself. Rajvir making desperate and sometimes unsuccessful attempts to sit with Ronak in a school bus, asking her out to watch 'Mel Karade Rabba', writing names on a notebook and discussing things as random as different types of pickles just to make a conversation with a girl he likes comes out as both organic and adorable.
Furthermore, an archetype applaudable arc of the movie and its characters lies in the form of a teenage bonding with unfulfilled longing getting converted into two adults pulling out all the stops for a platonic closure albeit unintentionally.
After crossing paths fortuitously after a decade, Rajvir and Ronak confer about what they've lost and gained in the years gone by without each other.
Quashing myths around love stories meant for sole intention of entertainment, writer Jagdeep Sidhu excels in leaving audiences with lessons to be learnt. Unlike Sidhu's directorial blockbuster 'Qismat' series, audiences might not leave the cinema halls weeping but will unequivocally leave the cinema halls with life lessons.
However, much like Sidhu's previous movies as a director, songs created by music director B Praak and lyricist Jaani leave a heartfelt impact to the extent of becoming a character in itself. While it is difficult to pick a favourite song, the ace pair weave another commendable music album despite a tune or two (in the background) sounding quite like B Praak's previous works.
Having watched all his movies till date, I was waiting for this particular time to write that the actor in Gurnam Bhullar has finally arrived! In Lekh, Bhullar finally puts on display a performance which was needed for an actor who has multiple releases lined up for the year. Bhullar, who sure had impressed viewers in his previous movies although in parts, can be proud of this coming of age character both in terms of the movie's plot and his acting career's graph.
Tania, on the other hand, is routinely splendid in Lekh. With both the actors quite evidently undergoing physical tranformations for their characters, their victory lies in Sidhu justifying the same with apt script and dialogues. Actors' endeavour around working on their bodies looks all the more special when such modifications are backed by appropriate plots.
Saabi, Ronak's friend, played by debutant Harman Dhaliwal, is not just any usual run-of-the-mill lead actor's friend. Astutetly written by Sidhu, Dhaliwal leaves no stone unturned in leaving a mark.
As far as debutants are concerned, another one who should've been mentioned by now is director Manvir Brar. It is wholly unfair that presence of prominent aforementioned names overshadow Brar's performance in Lekh. Barring a handful of blemishes, Brar successfully manages to marshal Lekh quite well for a first-timer. Without wanting to sound repetitive, Brar and Lekh's pinnacle lies in bringing out the best out of Bhullar.
While Sidhu and Brar could've done a better job regarding the pace of the movie especially after the interval, they make up for it with a mature and sagacious climax. In sharp contrast to contemporary Punjabi movies of this genre, Lekh will go down as an epitome of evolved writing in the Punjabi film industry.
