Ankhon Dekhi is another one of those underrated Bollywood gems very few people have heard of and even fewer have seen, simply because it dared to rely on its storytelling and its performances to reach out to the audience, instead of adding typical Bollywood glamour, some widely known faces and unnecessary musical numbers to attract hordes of moviegoers.
The film centers around Rajesh Bauji (Sanjay Mishra), a man living in Old Delhi with his family. The movie begins with his dream, where he sees himself flying as if he is a bird, free from all responsibilities and worldly restraints. All of a sudden, Bauji’s normal lifestyle gets turned on its head after he has an encounter with his daughter Rita’s (Maya Sarao) lover.
When the family comes to know of her affair, they decide to go beat up the boy, as Babuji is told that he is held in ill repute. Upon meeting him, however, Babuji comes to realise that he is, in fact, a very nice person. From then on, Babuji decides he will believe only what he can see with his own eyes, lest he be misled again.
Hilarity ensues as Babuji now regularly comes up with new eccentric ideas to gain proper knowledge, and gradually becomes the source of both bewilderment and entertainment for his neighbourhood and even steadily develops a group of followers. One instant he stops talking as he thinks listening to other people talk will provide him with better knowledge, the next he’s seen sitting in front of the tiger’s cage in the zoo to confirm tigers really do roar.
Ankhon Dekhi is about those people who are usually cast off as minor characters in your usual glossy Bollywood flicks, the ones the spotlight never shines on, the ones reduced to being comic reliefs. Hidden underneath the humorous, goofy dialogue and the quirky characters, at heart Ankhon Dekhi asks a deeply philosophical question that you won’t be able to stop thinking about long after the movie is over. Rajat Kapoor works his magic both in his direction and his portrayal of Babuji’s younger brother in the movie. Rafey Mahmood’s cinematography beautifies the Old Delhi lanes and gives them an almost nostalgic quality.
Ankhon Dekhi also benefits from the performances of its ensemble of actors, each one fitting their character just perfectly. While Mishra’s Babuji is at once exasperating and endearing, Seema Pahwa, who plays his wife, is always a delight on screen and this time too, owns your attention every time she’s in the frame. In the second half, the narrative loses its pace a little and stumbles a few times, but ultimately the story comes together incredibly well and you’ll find your eyes wet as the end credits roll in.
We, as the audience, have a responsibility to uplift movies that are bold enough to portray the true Indian lifestyle just the way it originally is, that tell our ordinary, everyday stories with overwhelming tenderness and affection. That being said, I’d urge you to watch Ankhon Dekhi if you haven’t yet, and other such movies too, so that you can see for yourself the magic in simplicity.