Masaan

Masaan tracks the lives of two young people in Varanasi, India.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/cannes-film-review-masaan-1201504265/|date=23 May 2015|title=Cannes Film Review: Masaan|author=Jay Weissberg|access-date=27 July 2015|work=Variety|archive-date=24 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724175457/http://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/cannes-film-review-masaan-1201504265/|url-status=live}}

Devi Pathak (Richa Chadda), a trainer at a coaching computer center and her student, Piyush Aggarwal, are caught having sex in a hotel room by policemen who had been tipped off by the hotel staff. Inspector Mishra records the barely clad Devi on his mobile phone. Piyush locks himself in the bathroom and commits suicide by slitting his wrists. Inspector Mishra threatens to book Devi for abetting Piyush's suicide and demands a bribe of {{INRConvert|300|k|lk=r|year=2015}} from Devi's father Vidyadhar Pathak, a Sanskrit professor who now runs a book shop with an income of about Rs 10000 per month. Pathak is tempted by a betting game, where people bet on small boys to dive and collect the maximum number of coins from the Ganges riverbed within a specified time. He had previously barred Jhonta, a boy who works at his shop, from participating in the diving game but relents after Mishra's threats increase. Devi cycles through jobs at different coaching centers, facing harassment by colleagues as the news of her affair spreads. She eventually gets a temporary government job in Indian Railways, but tells her father she wishes to leave Varanasi to study at Allahabad University as soon as Mishra's bribe is paid in full.

Deepak Kumar (Vicky Kaushal) is the youngest of a Dom family working in the cremation ghats. He is a civil engineering student at a polytechnic college. Deepak's father doesn't want to see his sons continue the hereditary job. Deepak falls in love with Shaalu Gupta (Shweta Tripathi), a high caste Hindu girl. They start meeting each other and during a trip to Allahabad on the banks of the Ganges, they share an intimate moment. Back in Varanasi, Deepak tells her about his caste and the work he does burning corpses. Shaalu doesn't mind and says that she is ready to run away with him if her parents refuse. She asks him to focus on his exams and getting a good job.

On a pilgrimage trip with her family, Shaalu dies in a bus accident. Her body with those of other victims ends up at the same cremation ground where Deepak's family works. Deepak is devastated on seeing her dead body. He eventually overcomes his grief and is hired by Indian Railways as an engineer in Allahabad.

In a special diving competition, Pathak bets Rs 10000, a significant portion of his remaining savings, on Jhonta. Jhonta drowns and is taken to a hospital by Vidyadhar, who vows to never let the boy participate in the diving competition again. As Jhonta regains consciousness, he is shown to have found Shaalu's ring, which had been thrown into the Ganga by Deepak in a fit of grief. Jhonta gives it to Vidyadhar, who sells the ring to fully pay off Inspector Mishra.

Before leaving Varanasi, Devi visits Piyush's family, where his father shouts at and slaps her away. She comes to the banks of the Ganges to immerse the gift Piyush had given her on that fateful day in the hotel. Deepak, who is by the bank, notices her crying and offers her water to drink. A boatman beckons, offering both of them a ride towards Sangam. They both board the boat and strike up a conversation.

Masaan, a film about characters locked in the cycle of pain and salvation, depicts the existential problem expressed in the above phrase. While Varun Grover's screenplay has a poetic-realism feel to it, the film's mise-en-scene and other filmic aspects as sound, cinematography, and even casting choices assist to accentuate the film's key themes. 'Masaan,' a story about characters afflicted by various disasters, thematically explores concerns about suffering, agony, and redemption.{{Cite web |last=Pant |first=Parth |date=12 May 2020 |title=How Neeraj Ghaywan's 'Masaan' amplifies its themes through Visual Storytelling |url=https://www.highonfilms.com/masaan-2015-analysis/ |access-date=12 May 2022 |website=High On Films |language=en-us |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819192303/https://www.highonfilms.com/masaan-2015-analysis/ |url-status=live }} The title, which means crematorium, and the setting hint to the film's themes of entropy, destruction, and resurrection.{{Cite web |last=Jha |first=Lata |date=24 July 2015 |title=Critically acclaimed 'Masaan' sees a limited release |url=https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/36epInYO3bHT2okkFpUADJ/Critically-acclaimed-Masaan-sees-a-limited-release.html |access-date=12 May 2022 |website=mint |language=en |archive-date=27 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727071043/http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/36epInYO3bHT2okkFpUADJ/Critically-acclaimed-Masaan-sees-a-limited-release.html |url-status=live }} Masaan is set in Varanasi, historic centre of spirituality and redemption, which is portrayed as a storehouse of antiquated values and a boiling pot of unsatisfied ambitions.{{Cite web |title=Straight from the ghat « Rajeev Masand – movies that matter : from bollywood, hollywood and everywhere else |url=https://rajeevmasand.com/admin/reviews/our-films/straight-from-the-ghat/ |access-date=12 May 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405113515/http://rajeevmasand.com/admin/reviews/our-films/straight-from-the-ghat/ |url-status=live }} Two paths are intertwined, one in sorrow and the other in optimism. Devi (Richa Chadha) has an appropriate relationship with her lover, which leads to blackmail and harassment from a police officer (Bhagwan Tiwari) as well as the quiet fury of her father Pathak (Sanjay Mishra). Even as Devi retreats into a catatonic shell, Pathak takes tiny and major risks to maintain his honour, aided by the energetic Jhonta (Nikhil Sahni), a child who works for him.{{Cite web |last=Ramnath |first=Nandini |title=Film review: The understated and compelling 'Masaan' finds life and hope in the city of corpses |url=http://scroll.in/article/743244/film-review-the-understated-and-compelling-masaan-finds-life-and-hope-in-the-city-of-corpses |access-date=12 May 2022 |website=Scroll.in |date=24 July 2015 |language=en-US |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628101436/https://scroll.in/article/743244/film-review-the-understated-and-compelling-masaan-finds-life-and-hope-in-the-city-of-corpses |url-status=live }}

Meanwhile, Deepak (Vicky Kaushal) has begun his trek out of the Varanasi cremation grounds, a caste-ordained purgatory where his Dom family has been sweeping embers over remains for years.{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Pramit |date=24 July 2019 |title=5 Years Of 'Masaan': An Exploration Of the Tragedies Inflicted By Life |url=https://in.mashable.com/entertainment/5117/5-years-of-masaan-an-exploration-of-the-tragedies-inflicted-by-society-and-circumstance |access-date=12 May 2022 |website=Mashable India |language=en-in |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819135246/https://in.mashable.com/entertainment/5117/5-years-of-masaan-an-exploration-of-the-tragedies-inflicted-by-society-and-circumstance |url-status=live }}

• Richa Chadda as Devi Pathak
• Vicky Kaushal as Deepak Kumar
• Shweta Tripathi as Shaalu Gupta
• Sanjay Mishra as Vidyadhar Pathak
• Pankaj Tripathi as Sadhya
• Rohit Saraf as Parul
• Bhagwan Tiwari as Inspector Mishra
• Nikhil Sahni as Jhonta
• Vineet Kumar as Dom Raja{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyo.in/arts/masaan-fly-away-solo-neeraj-ghaywan-varanasi-richa-chadha-dom-community-caste-gender-vyapam/story/1/5129.html|title=Masaan: A world where love rules, not money|website=www.dailyo.in|access-date=18 February 2018|archive-date=18 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218150500/https://www.dailyo.in/arts/masaan-fly-away-solo-neeraj-ghaywan-varanasi-richa-chadha-dom-community-caste-gender-vyapam/story/1/5129.html|url-status=live}}
• Shree Dhar Dubey as KK
• Satya Kam Anand as Vikram Mallah
• Amitabh Bachchan as a Poet
• Niharica Raizada in a special appearance

{{Infobox album

| name = Masaan: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

| type = Soundtrack

| artist = Indian Ocean

| cover =

| alt =

| caption = Zee Music Company

| released = {{Start date|df=yes|2015|06|07}}{{cite web |url=https://itunes.apple.com/in/album/masaan-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-single/1119984984 |title=Masaan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |publisher=iTunes |access-date=6 July 2018 |archive-date=6 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706075535/https://itunes.apple.com/in/album/masaan-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-single/1119984984 |url-status=dead }}

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Feature film soundtrack

| length = 18:07

| language = Hindi

| label = Zee Music Company

| producer =

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

| misc = {{External media

| audio1 = {{YouTube|kI3Zq6fJ5eM|Audio Jukebox}}}}

}}

The music for Masaan's songs was composed by Indian Ocean and the lyrics were written by Varun Grover. The album received positive reviews from critics.{{cite web|url=http://www.musicaloud.com/2015/07/08/masaan-music-review-bollywood-soundtrack/|title=Masaan - Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack)|work=Music Aloud|date=8 July 2015|access-date=8 July 2015|archive-date=9 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709072823/http://www.musicaloud.com/2015/07/08/masaan-music-review-bollywood-soundtrack/|url-status=live}}

The film contains various examples of Urdu & Hindi poetry at different junctures including works by Akbar Allahabadi, Basheer Badr, Brij Narayan Chakbast, Mirza Ghalib, Uday Prakash and Dushyant Kumar.{{cite news |last1=Lakhani |first1=Somya |title=Secret Love: How Hindi poetry has become 'cool' |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/secret-love-hindi-kavita-youtube-channel-hindi-literature-3024758/ |access-date=17 April 2019 |publisher=The Indian Express |date=11 September 2016 |archive-date=17 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417090820/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/secret-love-hindi-kavita-youtube-channel-hindi-literature-3024758/ |url-status=live }} Explaining this as a conscious tribute, the film's lyricist Varun Grover explained that he wanted to show Shaalu (played by Shweta Tripathi) as a person whose hobby is to read Hindi poetry and shaayari, as this is a common hobby of millennial and generation x youngsters in Northern India, especially when in love, but this aspect is rarely shown in Hindi films.{{cite news |title=Hindi Kavita - Kuch ban jaate hain - Uday Prakash: Varun Grover in Hindi Studio with Manish Gupta |publisher=Hindi Kavita |date=25 October 2015}}{{cite web |last1=Pal |first1=Sanchari |title=Meet the NRI Who Returned To India To Make Millions Fall in Love with Hindi Poetry |url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/68222/manish-gupta-youtube-hindi-poetry/ |website=www.thebetterindia.com |date=14 September 2016 |publisher=The Better India |access-date=17 April 2019 |archive-date=17 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417091019/https://www.thebetterindia.com/68222/manish-gupta-youtube-hindi-poetry/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Grover |first1=Varun |title=How the magic of Dushyant Kumar's poetry inspired this Bollywood lyricist |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/how-the-magic-of-dushyant-kumars-poetry-inspired-this-bollywood-lyricist/ |access-date=17 April 2019 |publisher=The Indian Express |archive-date=17 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417091020/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/how-the-magic-of-dushyant-kumars-poetry-inspired-this-bollywood-lyricist/ |url-status=live }}

The song ("Tu Kisi Rail Si") is based on the work of the poet Dushyant Kumar.{{cite web|url=http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/sing-along-here-are-the-lyrics-to-masaans-mann-kasturi-and-tu-kisi-rail-si-2362770.html|title=Sing along: Varun Grover decodes the lyrics to Masaan|work=FirstPost|date=25 July 2015|access-date=25 July 2015|archive-date=28 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728173403/http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/sing-along-here-are-the-lyrics-to-masaans-mann-kasturi-and-tu-kisi-rail-si-2362770.html|url-status=live}}

{{track listing

| headline = Masaan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack){{cite web|url=http://www.hungama.com/music/song-mann-kasturi/15033440|title=Masaan tracklist|work=Hungama|date=8 July 2015|access-date=8 July 2015|archive-date=5 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605114437/http://www.hungama.com/music/song-mann-kasturi/15033440|url-status=live}}

| extra_column = Singer(s)

| total_length =

| all_lyrics =

| title1 = Tu Kisi Rail Si

| lyrics1 = Varun Grover (Adapted from a poem by Dushyant Kumar)

| extra1 = Swanand Kirkire, Amitabh Bachchan

| length1 = 03:50

| title2 = Mann Kasturi

| lyrics2 = Sanjeev Sharma, Varun Grover

| extra2 = Amit Kilam

| length2 = 07:13

| title3 = Bhor

| lyrics3 = Sanjeev Sharma

| extra3 = Amit Kilam, Rahul Ram and Himanshu Joshi

| title4 = "Tumhari Nazrein Katam"

| length4 = 05:48

| lyrics4 = Varun Grover

| extra4 = Kailash Kher

| length3 = 07:00

}}

Masaan received overwhelming critical acclaim from the mainstream media. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes |id=fly_away_solo |type=movie |title=Fly Away Solo

|access-date=3 March 2022 }}

Calling it "a very engaging debut" by Neeraj Ghaywan, Allan Hunter in Screen Daily wrote, "Vicky Kaushal brings a gauche charm to Deepak and Richa Chadda invests the long suffering Devi with a weary, unwavering determination to move forward. Cinematographer Avinash Arun Dhaware captures some fantastic images of Banares that convey the bustling spirit of the city from the brightly lit street markets to the flurry of sparks that dot the night sky from the funeral pyres."{{cite web|url=http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/masaan-review/5088466.article|date=20 May 2015|title='Masaan': Review|author=Allan Hunter|access-date=27 July 2015|work=Screen Daily|archive-date=22 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722203135/http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/masaan-review/5088466.article|url-status=live}} Deborah Young writing in The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a classically poignant drama of star-crossed love" and "part of the new generation of indie films whose clear intent is to set ablaze a hidebound society’s constrictions on personal liberty."{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/masaan-cannes-review-797795|date=24 May 2015|title=Masaan': Cannes Review|author=Deborah Young|access-date=27 July 2015|work=The Hollywood Reporter|archive-date=4 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150804141943/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/masaan-cannes-review-797795|url-status=live}} Jay Weissberg in his review for the Variety magazine, however, found it "a heartfelt yet overambitious tale of class and gender inequality" with the director failing to find "ways to overcome script and editing weaknesses, resulting in a disappointing drama."

Senior journalist Shekhar Gupta wrote in his National Interest column that Masaan left a deep impression on him, "get[ting] the pulse of small-town India as no other I have seen."{{cite web|url=http://www.daily.in/arts/masaan-neeraj-ghaywan-richa-chadha-middle-india-youth-small-towns-dil-dhadakne-do-bunty-aur-babli/story/1/5180.html|date=24 July 2015|title=Masaan: Rise of the new middle India|author=Shekhar Gupta|access-date=27 July 2015|work=Daily O}} The director has woven Ganga intimately into Varun Grover's tight screenplay, Gayatri Gauri wrote in First Post adding "Several crucial moments swirl around the Ganga, beautifully shot without succumbing to visual exotica, and after you leave the cinema, they linger in your memory, like the flames dying slowly in the cremation grounds where so much of Masaan unfurls."{{cite web|url=http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/masaan-review-poignant-tender-beautiful-cannes-winner-portrait-small-town-india-2358906.html|date=23 July 2015|title=Masaan review: Poignant, tender and beautiful, this Cannes winner is a portrait of small-town India|author=Gayatri Gauri|access-date=27 July 2015|work=First Post|archive-date=25 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725231040/http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/masaan-review-poignant-tender-beautiful-cannes-winner-portrait-small-town-india-2358906.html|url-status=live}}

Shubra Gupta wrote in The Indian Express, "Masaan is imbued with a sense of place and time, poetry and lyricism, and it captures the essence of Banaras, constant-yet-changeable, with felicity and feel. It also announces the arrival of new talents in its writer and director: Grover’s story is eminently worth telling, and Ghaywan tells it beautifully."{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/masaan-movie-review/#sthash.Eg4SqFlq.dpuf|date=19 July 2015|title=Masaan review: There is a tussle between what has always been, and what can be|author=Shubra Gupta|access-date=27 July 2015|work=First Post|archive-date=27 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727111150/http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/masaan-movie-review/#sthash.Eg4SqFlq.dpuf|url-status=live}} "Ghaywan, in his very first film, creates a deeply affecting world that devastates and uplifts at the same time, and that becomes a part of your world long after the film is over," wrote Nikhil Taneja reviewing the film for The Huffington Post.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.in/nikhil-taneja-/masaan-review-a-fine-film_b_7869922.html|date=25 July 2015|title=Masaan Review: A Fine Film Packed With Fantastic Performances|author=Nikhil Taneja|access-date=27 July 2015|work=The Huffington Post|archive-date=6 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806222453/http://www.huffingtonpost.in/nikhil-taneja-/masaan-review-a-fine-film_b_7869922.html|url-status=live}}

The film released for streaming on Hotstar was found to be heavily censored, which caused a controversy involving the streaming platform and the producers of the film.{{Cite web|last=Dua|first=Mansi|date=7 April 2016|title=Do Not Watch Masaan on Hotstar, Warns Anurag Kashyap|url=https://www.thequint.com/social-buzz/2016/04/07/do-not-watch-masaan-on-hotstar-warns-anurag-kashyap|access-date=22 July 2020|website=TheQuint|language=en|archive-date=14 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714220641/http://www.thequint.com/social-buzz/2016/04/07/do-not-watch-masaan-on-hotstar-warns-anurag-kashyap|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=War of words within Team 'Masaan' - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/War-of-words-within-Team-Masaan/articleshow/51752453.cms|access-date=22 July 2020|website=The Times of India|date=28 January 2017 |language=en|archive-date=10 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710050247/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/War-of-words-within-Team-Masaan/articleshow/51752453.cms|url-status=live}}

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{{National Film Award Best First Film of a Director}}

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