The fact that I belong to Uttar Pradesh, the dregs
of North India and the very same time zone; there can’t be any possible chance
of denial that I might not know about these hugely popular & highly erotic
writing materials, openly available at all book stores at crowded state
bus-stations and local newspaper vendors under a fictional handle-name of
Mastram. I never really bothered much about who’s the man behind and what force
could drive him to enter this very exploitable yet offensive sector till Akhilesh
Jaiswal’s fictional biography MASTRAM came into limelight.
A small town writer from Himachal Pradesh dreams to
make it big as a novel-writer in big cities like Delhi. He definitely is aware
of the consequences of being a writer so doesn’t want to get into married life
but soon he’s told about the girl being a typical housewife material who can
cook lip-smacking mutton, he agrees. Now, this is the era where most publishers
are only interested in printing study materials and not some boring ‘shuddh Hindi’
literature. Rajaram- our protagonist is forced to look out for some ‘masaaledar’
addition to his stories, often explained by people around as sex. And, thus
Rajaram turns into Mastram- an unknown iconic writer of soft-porn novels!
Many would look at it with expectations to be a
pornographic movie that would tickle mostly the lower part of human body but
the writer-director Jaiswal boldly decides to focus on the writer’s catch-22
situation while changing gears from one kind to a completely different, the pain
of losing opportunity to be known and famous and also the categorical expansion
that creates competition in his self-claimed province. Film also talks; if not
in volumes, in suggestions for sure, about the hypocrisy of the two-faced society.
People, who read him the most, start disgusting him in the same measure after
his identity comes out in light.
The real hero of MASTRAM besides the fascinating concept
is Mukesh Chhabra- the casting director of the film. This man does magic with
his strong sense in reading the characters and finding out talents that can
carry it more than what is written, briefed or expected. Though Rahul Bagga as Rajaram
is very recluse, reserved and restricted for the most part, it’s the supporting
cast that outshines everyone else in the crew. Debutante Tara-alisha Berry as
his charming wife, Akash Dhaiya with his publisher partner and Istiyak Khan as
his best friend are outstanding.
With aesthetically shot intimate sequences, hilariously
erotic dialogues on the likes of the original Mastram bestsellers, nicely built
plot and believable performances, if MASTRAM couldn’t take a deserving leap
from being just watchable, it is only because it lacks more layers to the story
with time and again getting repetitive especially with the episodic visualizations
of erotic stories he pens down.
Overall, it is an entertaining effort to bring the
legend of Indian soft-porn back on screen. Watch it to relive the era or to get
a brief intro to this yesteryear’s guilty pleasure if you haven’t been fortunate
enough to enjoy till date. Do not expect orgasmic pleasure but a satisfying
experience is guaranteed! [3/5]
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