Apna Asmaan has its heart in the right place, yet it fails to move. It’s to do with the film’s odd mix of reality, metaphor and medical mumbo-jumbo. Just as you begin connecting with the slow learner Budhi (Dhruv) and his parents (witty and loveableIrrfan and graceful Shobhana) the narrative jerkily turns into a medical fantasy.
Budhi becomes a math genius with a ‘neuron-recharging’ injection called Brain Booster. As he morphs into a violent Frankenstein, the Budhia (remember the 6-year-old marathon runner?) metaphor emerges: every child has its own destiny and parents shouldn’t get ambitious for them. The narrative is tedious, the audience fails to empathise with the characters. OnlyIrrfan delivers; he is like the spine that makes the film stand. My pet peeve: in-film advertising. It is OK in a Karan Johar flick; he hasn’t aimed at anything beyond money. But in a sanctimonious Apna Asmaan, the blatant plugs for Nerolacand Twinnings feelhorribly wrong.
