Home > Magazine > Bollywood Buzz > MOVIE REVIEW: Uunchai (Heights)

MOVIE REVIEW: Uunchai (Heights)

By Gitanjali Chak

December 2022

Uunchai (Heights)

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Neena Gupta

Director: Sooraj Barjatya

Music Director: Amit Trivedi

Sooraj Barjatya’s first directorial in seven years, Uunchai, is a rather long but heartwarming ode to friendship which would have made more of an impact had it been shorter. However, a strong emotional core, excellent cinematography, and fine performances by the ensemble cast camouflage, to a great extent, the flaws in the writing and editing.

Three best friends, all in their seventies—Amit Srivastava (Amitabh Bachchan), Om Sharma (Anupam Kher), and Javed Siddiqui (Boman Irani) decide to embark on a trek to the Everest Base Camp to honor the last wish of their late buddy, Bhupen (Danny Dengzongpa). A simple trek to the mighty Himalayas turns out to be an emotional and spiritual journey for each of them, not to mention, one fraught with challenges.

As adventure tourist guide Shraddha Gupta, Parineeti Chopra holds her own even though hers is the least fleshed out character in the film. Boman gets the pulse of his character, Javed; and both he and his onscreen wife Neena Gupta light up the screen with their chemistry. Anupam Kher as the crybaby of the group is endearing. It is wonderful to see Sarika (playing the trio’s fellow traveller Mala, who is holding on to a painful past) and Danny Denzongpa after a hiatus. And last but certainly not the least, there’s Amitabh Bachchan who is outstanding as a celebrated author, now battling the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

To sum up, Uunchai scales new heights in terms of concept but never quite reaches the top. Watch it anyway.

TOP 10 SONGS