‘Zubaan’ is an awe-inspiring journey of self-discovery with music as its soul and has executed it well. That's quite remarkable for a debutante director! However, the film does have a few loopholes. The plot weakens in some areas of the film, especially in the scenes between Vicky and Sarah inducing few yawns from the audience. What weighs it down more is the fact that the album has packed 14 songs, none of it being a standout piece. The cinematography of the flick is breathtakingly beautiful, and those colourful cinematic palettes bring alive the story on the big screen. This adds as a positive point to the film. All in all, ‘Zubaan’ is a visual manifestation of the philosophical journey most of us go through and how one deals with disappointment, perfectly presented by Vicky!

The journey of course is different for everyone, but Kaushal takes his audience along every nuanced histrionic of Dilsher’s. A crafty combination of the fire in Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay from Deewar with Raj Kapoor-like innocence, Kaushal proves he is every bit the actor through Dilsher. But Singh isn’t entirely original as we have seen many similarly themed stories before; his craft nevertheless is noteworthy. Supported by actors like Raghav Chanana and Meghna Malik, Singh manages to convey the intended intensity. After a fabulous job in Angry Indian Goddesses, Sarah Jane Dias only gets better here. So does Kaushal. What we saw of him in Masaan is no fluke; this guy is here to stay. He is dignified and composed in a unique way. Music and choreography also give the movie an extra edge over other musicals. The songs are very much part of the narrative; they are mysterious and imply more than the obvious. While you may forget everything about the movie sometime later, Ashu Pathak’s music and lyrics will haunt you. Overall, Zubaan is one of the better music-based films in the last couple of years, and will make for a quite a movie experience. Don’t miss it if you can help it.

First-time director Mozez Singh's Zubaan has a marked similarity with its male protagonist. Both are unsure of the trajectory they desire. Inevitably, the lack of direction frequently leaves the film and its pivotal character in a limbo. At the heart of Zubaan is an all-too-familiar figure: an underdog who wages a battle against his own doubts and inadequacies, straying dangerously close to losing his moral compass in the bargain. Zubaan has the whimsicality of an independent film. But, to its own detriment, it is tempered with the random trappings of a Bollywood musical. The technical attributes are first-rate. Zubaan is beautifully filmed (cinematographer: Swapnil Sonawane) and Khyatee Kanchan's production design is impressive. The soundscape, too, is lively, with music composer Ashu Pathak coming up with a score that does its bit to shore up the story. Zubaan stretches itself too thin at times in trying to raise its narrative tempo. In its quieter moments, however, it does manage to get its voice heard. Watch it for the latter bits - and for Vicky Kaushal.

The first hour or so of this film, in fact, rolls out with the abrupt immediacy of a television show recap, as if we’re catching up with what we already know. ('Last week, on Zubaan...'). This means a rushed prologue-style overdramatic musical score, alongside consistently expository all-clarifying dialogue, and this prologue hangover haunts the whole film. The heroine is obviously bohemian and free-spirited and, well, lithe -- and has nothing really to do with the story, per se. The film, in a rush to tell its story with emotive punch, leaves many an unanswered question, questions as basic as what Dilsher has been hired as, and why his job description includes skulking around in cavernous clubs at night while bugs crawl up his shoulder. The whole film emerges, sadly, like one of those ads where you can half-hum the song but you forget what it was for. Look, Zubaan isn’t a bad film. It is decently made and reasonably well acted, especially by Manish Chaudhari who conquers the screen in his swaggering role of a boorish businessman. Perhaps we ought to take a cue from the strikingly-haired French hip-hop dancers who pat the hero and heroine on their shoulders when they finally do kiss, and treat this boring little film with what it demands most: indulgence.

The core of it is in the way Kaushal and Chaudhari manouever around each other, testing each other, and when the director keeps it grounded, it comes off real and strong. But then everything gets filmi and wispy. The writing is patchy, with Kaushal not coming off as striking as he was in ‘Masaan’ : he’s good yes, he makes us watch, yes, but is already familiar. And the climactic passage is too stretched. Singh clearly has a voice, though, and a talent for creating twisty drama. Pity the plot dips and the tone shifts, which results in the film speaking in parts, and being muzzled in the rest. But the music is lovely: in many places, I listened more than I looked.

Zubaan has a feeble story which doesn't do justice to its technical finesse. It is hardly appealing in the first hour but with solid performers like Vicky Kaushal and Manish Chaudhari, the film soars over its runtime. The musical is high on drama. Juxtaposed with the track of a father-son duo who is struggling to acknowledge each other, is the one of a son who is fighting ghosts from the past with the help of his Babaji's music. The only track that doesn't work here is Dilsher's love story with Amira (Sarah-Jane Dias), which is jarring. They have zero chemistry and the film could have done without the romantic element. When the plot fumbles, production takes over. Swapnil Sonawane's camerawork is worthy applauding. The production quality is far superior than most movies of recent times. Zubaan might test your patience but it is heartbreaking in parts. Luckily, the melodrama is kept at bay even when the protagonist finds himself divided between materialism and mirth.