Bela Negi, the first-time director, takes us into the lives of the village folk in a close-knit community through the story of Ramesh (Deepak) who left the village for the greener pastures of a city life but, unable to make himself a career as a writer, returns to the mountainous hamlet to his tetchy wife, an ailing mother, a cocky son and an unmarried sister-in-law.
He takes up the job of a school teacher and is often scorned at by all and sundry in the village for his quirkiness, one of them being taking a book along to read while defecating in an open field.
Fortune turns around in the humdrum life of this mediocre teacher when he wins a swanky red car in a television contest. Overnight, the bumbling schmuck becomes a hero in everybody’s eyes. But sooner than expected his dream-come-true becomes a nightmare. How?
Deepak Dobriyal’s slightly over-the-top portrayal of a gauche teacher suits the requirement of the film quite well. The campiness in his character is endearing to watch, particularly after he wins the car but can’t maintain it, nor pay for its fuel. The film’s other star is Amlan Dutta’s camera which beautifully captures the rural idyll of Uttarakhand.
The film runs out of fuel in the second half when the story stretches on and on without reaching anywhere. One gets the impression that Bela Negi had too much film stock but not enough grain in the story to tell.
As a result, Daayen Ya Baayen ends up as strictly a one-time watch film, that too for those who can sit through slow and sluggish arty movies.
