Movie Review: Yaaram

Triple Talaq used to be a Damocles sword hanging on the head of most married Muslim women. The recent historic judgement by the judiciary had done away with this harmful process. And provided a much-needed relief to Muslim women all over India. It was a sad but cruel fact that men used to use the threat of triple Talaq as a controlling device against their wives. Worse, even if uttered in anger, the only way the couple could remarry was when the wife married someone else and got a divorce from that person. It used to lead to unnecessary complications, not to mention much mental anguish for all concerned. Marathi film Halal (2016), set in a small village, offered a sensitive take on the subject.

Yaaram too is based on triple talaq and halala but instead of treating it as a drama, director Ovais Khan treats it as a rom com. And instead of rural India, the film is set in the plush locales of Mauritius. Rohit (Prateik Babbar) plays a Mauritius based businessman who comes to Mumbai to meet a girl (Subha Rajput) with his parents (Dalip Tahil and Anita Raj). She asks him why is he going for an arranged marriage, and he replies that the girl he was interested in had married the man of her choice. The film then takes a flashback where we come to know Zoya (Ishita Raj), Sahil (Siddhanth Kapoor) and Rohit used to be best of friends in college. Rohit helps Sahil propose to Zoya and exits their lives. Cut to present day, where Rohit learns that Sahil had divorced Zoya in anger. Sahil repents his actions and wants Zoya back in his life. He asks Rohit to convert, marry Zoya and then divorce her for his sake. Whether this plan would succeed forms the crux of the film. 

Yaaram is a film made with the right intentions but suffers from faulty execution. The film's screenplay, direction and editing all needed more work. In its present state the film the film looks like an amateur theatre production. It's trying to say and do the right things but the faulty writing waylays the attempt. Attention to detail, so crucial to good filmmaking has been absent here. Bereft of a coherent screenplay or direction, the actors flounder to stay on top of things. Prateik Babbar, Siddhanth Kapoor and Ishita Raj are all competent actors. Their dedication can't be denied but the truth is that the world's best actors couldn't have salvaged this film.

Let's reiterate that triple talaq really was a messy piece of work and the film rightly pointed out that it was thankfully done away with. 

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