Patang (2011) User Reviews

A homage to a festival now almost forgotten

[muditjainmj-81529 · 7/10 · 22 May 2020]

If you're not from Gujarat, there's a good chance you're not really known with the kite festival, or Uttarayan. Now the film isn't really about the kite festival, although if you wanted you could cut out a documentary out of the film itself. Based in the old town of Ahmedabad, it shows the life amdist the busy streets, beautifully presented age old architecture. The city's culture woven into the film. It neglects the developed part of the town, with high-rises and wide highways, and chooses to carefully bounds intself to the intricate markets and gullys. If you've ever been to such busy streets of Gujarat, you'd find resemblence.

It's about a son that moved away from his family to earn a fortune, visiting back along with his daughter to relive his childhood spent in those very streets. A girl brought up in Delhi, experiencing the life and culture and facing orthodox prejudices amongst a town way behind the time. A nephew struggling with gambling habits, having hard time accepting help and criticism coming from his uncle who was never there when his family needed him.

Beautifully shot and edited, with untimely dad-zooms to give you a nostalgic effect, film grains and flashes.

What I didnt like was the casting. Which i suppose was not really thought upon. I like Nawazuddin Siddiqui's work, but let's be honest, he can't play a Gujarati boy.

It's a good watch though. You wouldn't regret it.

Waste of time

[yourever · 1/10 · 25 September 2016]

I saw this movie looking at cast such as Nawazuddin, Seema Biswas, but end up wasting my time, what waste of cast and resources. Average performances from big names, no story, no plot, also poor acting by unknown actors, e.g. Jayesh's mother.

I don't really understand what made the directors, producers to create such a crap movie.

Performance wise, Nawazudding was not so good, Seema Biswas average, the only good performance I like is from Sugandha Garg.

The movie as the name suggested, neither showed the grace of Patang festival nor the culture of it.

An immensely likable film

[runamokprods · 9/10 · 12 September 2014]

A sweet, simple and beautifully shot film set in India, it tells the story of an extended family during the yearly Ahmedabad kite festival. As stunning shots of the sky filled with kites remind us of the bigger picture, we watch what happens when a well to do uncle and his sexy, smart daughter come to visit from the big city of Delhi. The awkward warmth between these comparative strangers and their kin makes for a lot of gentle, quiet drama, and occasional comedy.

It's one of those films where not much happens, yet we get to know (and like) the characters intimately, and somehow there's enough dramatic tension (and humor) in the small moments of anger or connection, or understandings made or missed that it never feels dull. It almost has an Altmanesque feeling in the way it cuts between it's multiple stories, but Bhargava doesn't have Altman's satiric edge. He isn't making fun of these characters, even when they're funny – intentionally or unintentionally.

A good-hearted, feel good film, that manages to be honest, and to avoid the saccharine after-taste those kind of phrases usually suggest (and usually send me running the other way)

Frustratingly, as of the moment it's only available for downloading or streaming. A blu-ray of this would be wonderful.

Poor Poor casting n storyline not

[Tomayto_Tomahto · 2/10 · 22 October 2018]

Am a big fan of Kite festival, brings back a lot of childhood memories, this could have been memorable with some good casting and a bit more to the storyline. W/o such it turned out to be nonsense of a movie. Label it a documentary and I would say I liked it.

Casting could not have been more worse, u have 2 UP/North Indian mega actors speaking fluent hindi and the rest typical Gujjus with their f'up hindi and possibly popped their acting cherry with this gig. I guess the director/producers ran out of money signing Nawaz & Seema and then picked up their family for the rest of the cast - J.

Otherwise did enjoy the Sankranti celebration, the dazzling kites filled sky and real life depiction of family get togethers - perhaps too close to real for my liking.