Director: Jonathan Augustin
Cast: Moin Khan, Nyla Masood, Saagar Kale, Neha Bam, and others
Ratings: 4 stars
They say dreams keep everyone alive and to have one gives a reason to live even more beautifully. Writer-director Jonathan Augustin bring an emotional tale of unusual relationships with The Lift Boy, which has a big share of sweet moments, even though it could have been about five minutes shorter in the first half, which is working under the radar to establish the emotional tapestry of behaviour and relationships
Raju Tawade (debutant Moin Khan), a lower-middle-class, English-speaking Maharashtrian boy, lives with parents Krishna Tawade (Saagar Kale) and Lakshmi (Neha Bam). Aspires to become a writer, but is forced to become an engineer to fulfil his parents’ wish. His life suddenly turns upside down when he has to serve in his father’s job as a lift boy in a posh building after his Baba suffers a heart attack.
There, he meets Maureen D’souza (Nyla Masood)a rich widow who owns the posh building and stays alone in a sprawling apartment after her husband Colin’s death. Gradually, Raju befriends her along with other residents. To his surprise, Maureen promises him to teach engineering drawing, which has been the one single subject he has repeatedly failed to clear. As he works hard for the first time to study under her guidance, Fate, through a friend tempt him with other options. What happens next forms the resolution that the first half had been scripting the setup for.
The Lift Boy is loosely based on a real story set in Mumbai. Director Jonathan Augustin delivers an engaging tale that elevates your emotions and mood, and also leaves you teary-eyed the process. In the end, the slightly slowish set up of the first half is forgotten, and the comes out as a sure shot winner.
Jonathan has pleasingly weaved a heart warming story alongside the primary plot. It has been shot aesthetically — especially the skyline of Mumbai and the sunsets.
Debutant Moin Khan is very good for a first-time performance. The one who steals the show is surely Nyla Masood. She is raw, real and extremely cinvincing. You will definitely take her character Maureen D’souza back home. Rest of the entire secondary star cast does justice in their respective roles, particularly Raju’s father,played by Saagar Kale.
The Lift Boy is a slice of a life film which is a perfect watch over the weekend. As Augusti ln told me before the film, “It is never about a destination, it is always about a journey.” The Lift Boy is a beautiful, engaging, entertaining journey indeed. Don’t miss it.
