Meel Patthar (Milestone) Movie Review: A deeply moving poem on relentless pursuits of life

Ivan Ayr’s indie film reminds one of how poetic cinema can be when it is as reflective, as ruminant

Milestone begins with a blank screen for precisely half a minute. It’s as though he were emulating Andrei Tarkovsky, who famously explained his ‘dull’ opening shots by saying, “Viewers who walked into the wrong theatre will have time to leave before the main action starts.” There’s a calming stillness in the frame, one that allows for the film’s moments to really affect you. The film shows that it takes a certain stillness in order to get you moved.

Director Ayr paints the life of a truck driver named Ghalib (Suvinder Vicky), an old-timer with decades of experience in the field. Grieving from the death of his wife, Ghalib has hit the road in an attempt to escape reality. He calls it passion, but in truth, the job is all he seems to know and care about. In a later scene, he says, “I do this job because this is who I am. My misery is that this is all I am.”

The road becomes his companion, his only purpose. Trouble arrives when his friend and colleague Dilbaug (Gurinder Makna) gets sacked for poor eyesight at night. In the eyes of their boss, Dilbaug’s poor eyesight isn’t too far away from Ghalib’s backache. It’s at this juncture that Ghalib is assigned a new intern to tutor: A young man named Pash (Lakshvir Saran). Milestone‘s handling of its theme and subtext reminds you a lot of Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men. The film’s charm lies in its subtle treatment of its heavy text, with many scenes serving to unravel more and more layers in the film’s narrative.

Both Ghalib and Dilbaug are facing the wrath of nature’s oldest rule—

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https://www.cinemaexpress.com/reviews/hindi/2021/may/07/meel-patthar-milestone-movie-review-a-deeply-moving-rumination-on-life-24369.html