Discovering and re-discovering the nuances and joys of life in the face of imminent death is one of the oldest narrative tropes that originated in literature and made its way into the realm of cinema. While it has often been a recurring motif in films of major directors all over the world, Hollywood seemed to appropriate it within the mainstream framework especially in the romantic comedy genre. From the trailer of Anu Menon’s Waiting, it apparently belongs to that canon.
The film is about two an old man and a young woman whose paths cross in a hospital where their respective spouses are admitted in critical conditions. These two distinctly different individuals strike up a friendly relationship and the rest of the film is about them getting enriched out of this relationship and learning to appreciate life and its different perspectives.
From the content of the trailer, there is no reason to expect anything but a typical feel good film. There’s hardly any possibility of encountering anything exciting in terms of form or cinematic techniques since these films function within a domain which tend to follow an aesthetic idea of market acceptance and the thumb rule is that every image should look good; balanced framing, vibrant colours, etc. So typically these films depend on two factors, the acting and the writing. Waiting features Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin in the lead pair and needless to say that both their reputed skills and the sheer quirkiness of bringing them together would be exciting for a certain section of audience. However the writing quality, in terms of plots, scenarios and dialogues as evident from the trailer seem to be rather mediocre in their sugary sweetness and with things like Naseeruddin Shah being clueless about twitter, even the humour feels slightly dated. But for those willing to go the theatres just to watch a couple of good performances on screen, Waiting looks just like what the doctor ordered!
