Road to Ladakh 2004
by
Ashvin Kumar
I had not expected to be exposed to Irrfan’s bare ass forty days after his death. This film was on my watchlist for the past 15 years, but it is only today that I managed to spare fifty minutes for its sparse runtime. Irrfan did the film for gratis, yet chose to bare his ass before the camera! Shot beyond the Rohtang Pass and in the Spiti Valley, the film focuses on two individuals played by Koel Purie and Irrfan, who criss-cross Ladakh in quest of adventure.
Koel Puri’s crooked teeth-work, taut jawline and the mole over her left eyebrow lend her some kind of inexplicable exotic charm. Irrfan is at his trademark best- sacks below his eyes, desi cowboy charm , pauses and gaps in his delivery, tongue rolling over dialogues as if he was ad-libbing them. Nothing is rushed here, there is time for all their quirks and mannerisms.
This is Ashvin Kumar’s debut feature. He later went on to make Little Terrorist, Dazed in Doon, The Forest and Inshallah,Football. This film was shot in quite some difficult circumstances amid surprising torrential rains. It rained for 5 out of the scheduled 16 days. The actors did not charge a penny for their efforts, and even arranged their own visits to and fro from Ladakh. The result is a film laced with lazy elegance. This is Irrfan at his very best, the unalloyed, untempered Irrfan !
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