Film Review: Viraam

In one of the scenes in the film, Maatun (Urmila Mahanta), promoted from a lowly housemaid position to a responsible post in the office, is the only one who doesn’t arise from her chair to greet her boss, Abhiraj Malhotra (Narendra Jha). That eloquence just about sums up the genre of the film, besides the relationship between the two.
Abhiraj, a highly successful industrialist (though in a scene he is shown putting up in a 2-star hotel – probably the producer couldn’t afford the extra stars) in Dehradun, is in semi-depression after the death of his wife Sunita (Monica Ravan) a decade ago. When he chances upon a desolate girl (Maatun) from Purulia and offers her shelter in his house as a househelp, his life changes.

With every move of hers (and there are plenty of them!) he is reminded of his late wife and very soon, the shelter he afforded her turns more from sanctuary and emotional support to physical. Director Ziaullah Khan makes it plainly obvious within the first hour in which direction the film is heading. Whereas it’s a tailor-made role for Urmila Mahanta, Jha clearly seems uncomfortable in his romantic avatar, particularly as the director loses no time to change genres midway through the film. Maatun’s wardrobe, especially the hues, would surely give established dress designers an inferiority complex.

The expected twists and turns arrive in due course but the acting is pedestrian, as is the script.